I Got some pictures to load give me your opinion these are my first attempts at tomahawksi

Edited March 25, 201511 yr by MAD MAX
added pic

Very nice!

What did you start with?

Russell

Very nice!

What did you start with?

Russell

​The top one and very bottom ones were built form Mobile home leaf springs about 3/4 inch thick. The center one I started out with a piece of 1 inch square that was from a broken pick ax bit. The leaf springs were xxxx to hammer out as I didn't have my anvil yet. And putting the hole through the leaf spring material was not easy at all. I have three more almost done.

They look terrible..

for your 100th axe, look absolutely magnificent for one of your first 10! I would cary one, and do so with pride.  

 

Those look pretty good. I'd be thinking more of a polled axe though. Did you slit and drift then for the eye? If so would you want to show the tooling you used?

Those look pretty good. I'd be thinking more of a polled axe though. Did you slit and drift then for the eye? If so would you want to show the tooling you used?

​They are only about a pound or so each. The two made from Leaf spring were drilled after annealing and some forging. They were then drifted with a tomahawk drift from iron mountain forge. The center one was chisel split hot then drifted with the same drift. I doubt Ill drill any more as I had a  heck of a time getting them drilled. As the leaf spring material is tough even in annealed state. I am considering keeping the top one as I am pretty partial to its feel. I am working on one made from a industrial high carbon pry bar.

Was part of the pre slit/drift process to upset the piece to provide more stock for the slit process? 

I have a large quantity of Leaf springs and was wanting to give a tomahawk a try, but other then using a rail spike and forge welding a bit in I hadnt thought of using leaf springs to make them, but that to me looks what you did to make them. 

I like them, specifically the first one. 

 

Malice, the sprigs he is talking about are 1 1/2x3/4" in the middle and taper tordthe eyes

Ahhh, Cant say I have ever seen a mobile home leaf spring, but now that i read it again, 3/4 thick stock would work great for slitting and drifting I would think as thats about as thick as a rail spike. 

However in looking at them and contemplating the upset process, I am going to give upsetting the end of a normal 1/4 inch thick leaf spring a try, and see if I cant make a half decent hatchet out of it that way.

Might work, might not, but the only way ill ever know is if I try...

Like Charles says the leaf springs are 3/4 thick and are great for this. I have tried a little upsetting a thinner leaf spring but its pretty hard to get it not to want to fold over and it mushrooms out leaving an hour glass shape viewed from the end. Leaf spring steel is hard to work with so be ready. and make sure you get it hot enough and I always stop pounding on leaf spring just BEFORE the heat color is gone. So in other words I stop pounding at a dull barely visible red.

Stop pounding at brite red, then planish

as to 1/4" spring, I would either use a thin piece of none Crome steel as a welding plate ( hand saw blade? To make it easer to weld. I know how to form an eye in a thin plate but the blade ends up out of plane like an ads 

look at over the road trucks and trailers some have 3/4" by 3" springs ( those that haven't gone with air bags) and torsion bars from IFS 4 wheel drive trucks for heavy round spring stock

I'm a big fan of throwing hawks and I can't wait to try to make one. The blacksmith who gave us lessons had a couple of "works in progress" tomahawks on his bench. He was taking leaf spring and shape forging a mirror pattern, then folding it to form the eye and forging the sides together.