October 2, 201510 yr I had some down time at work so I tried something I've been thinking about. The body is from 2x3/8 A36 strap, I folded the strap around a rod and TIG welded the joint. The cutting edge is TIG using needles from an air scaler for the filler rod till it was 3/8 thick and 3/8 high. After that I hammered the blade out and finished shaping with a torch and grinder. The texture was done with the scaler and brushed. The handle is an old sledge handle, at first I just burnt the handle a bit for looks and I didn't like it so I painted it black then sanded clean to show the grain. I haven't decided if I'm going to do more or just leave it as is. I'm also thinking about doing a matching blade. It sure as heck isn't the Norse but I like it.
October 2, 201510 yr TJ is a weldor first, lol. But a creative on. If he dosnt watch out I may liberate hus axe...tho, i would like to see him produce a sax to go with it...
October 2, 201510 yr Author I still haven't decided on the matching blade but here is the finished axe.
October 2, 201510 yr Another creative solution with great results. There are many ways to skin a cat...
October 2, 201510 yr Like the resultant for quite a bit. Your file/grind work on the edges to produce the sexy curves on the top and bottom of the hawk really sell this. What did you do about heat treating?
October 2, 201510 yr Author It was a bit of a guess because I wasn't sure how the welding would effect the blade so I heated to a bright orange and quenched in hydraulic fluid ( I know its not the healthiest but this was all done at work on free time so I'm kinda limited) For the temper I brought it to a purple/blue and that seems to have worked well. The edge will still cut with a mill file but doesn't dull splitting 4x4's . Just since Charles asked I'm going to make a matching seax, it'll be the first one I've done so we'll see how it turns out. I think I am going to try the welding method on some tools to test and see how well it really works. I would really like to get more feedback from everyone on welding the bit this way, if anyone has tried it and how it worked for them, or maybe I'm just a silly welder thinking crazy stuff.
October 2, 201510 yr Functionally, your method is similar to someone who tacks weld joints on ornamental work with a MIG and then completes them with forge welding technique. I personally see nothing wrong with either - whatever constitutes the best means to the end should take precedence.
October 11, 201510 yr Good looking hawk, never would have guessed the construction method from the pics.
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