Svartalfar Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 G'day all, I am a smith from Victoria, Australia who has been at the anvil for 5 years. I have made the decision to dedicate myself to making the finest axes possible. The reason for this post is I am at my wits end trying to find credible information on axe eye drifts. I have scoured every book and forum for information, however all I can find is posts like thishttp://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/29034-a-forged-belt-camp-axehatchet-in-curly-maplewip-pics/ . These are very helpful, but they leave out so much. How many drifts were used, what size and shape where they, how much of a taper did they have, what is the best shape eye for what type of axe? All these questions elude my grasp. I have made a multitude of prototypes but nothing that has produced consistent results. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time, Sincerely, PLEASE do not do post this way again, it is very hard to read and totally screws with the translators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickOHH Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I don't claim to be an expert by any means but from my understanding, I would say one drift, with a long gradual taper, think triangle profile with rounded corners. The eye should be a taper that matches the wedge that the head requires, which comes down to intended use ie a axe for hardwoods, softwoods or splitting or if you want a general purpose. Eye size will depend on overall weight also heftier head would want a slightly wider eye to handle the increased force. Try all the axes you can and see which you like and which you don't , what patterns you like then match the eye according to shape desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalanton Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I have been a bit fixated with axe making myself, and would love to hear other's input on this subject. from what I can see, there is a very distinct relationship between the drift and the resulting axe. one drift shape will not be universal for all axe types and every axe maker has a subtly different eye shape that will fit their design specifically. this is the beauty in it really. there is not right or wrong answer, the resulting tool will have attributes that will make that tool specific for its task, splitting vs. chopping vs. carving, etc. as we gain experience in this art form, we gain an intuitive grasp on which drift shape will suit the desired final axe, and since we may use any size along it's tapered length, we also begin to grasp when we have drifted the proper size hole for the desired outcome. a lot of axes have probably been made on small bick anvils with no drift at all. after all the drift is really nothing more than an anvil for the inside of the eye. this would make a very versatile tool indeed for forming the eye of any shape and size. I could be wrong about this, I am sure the experts can chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 several ways to go about this: one is to collect historical pieces and make drifts to match. Another is to find what styles of handles are available locally and make drifts to make use of those. Remember too that most earlier axes were forge welded rather than punched and drifted. One issue is there is no one best axe. Most localities used to have their own distinct styles back when things were made locally and some even made the transition to modern manufacturing (cf Kent Broad Axe) I picked up several axes while in Germany that have a quite different eye on them than the ones in USA making handle sourcing involving a tedious amount of time with a draw knife. BTW do you do much forging of the sides with the drift in place? How big a power hammer do you have? Do you do your punching with it? All in all I would experiment to find what you think works best and let the axe-world beat a path to your door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Historicaly there are 3 major ways of forging an axe, one is to slit and drift. This method is one of the oldest methods used. A second is to split the back, folding the eard older to weld the pole, this method generaly predates wrap and weld. Then we have rap and weld. The wedge shaped axe eye is also old as aze making, as when you split out staves from a log you end up with triagular shaped staves. Les work to form a handle this way. The other two types are a tanged head driven into a root berel, and a socketed head, that used a forked branch as the handle Now, steeling an axe is anither can of wormes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 *old*/coarse wrought iron was prone to splitting when drifted and they often worked hard to avoid doing so. (Practical Blacksmithing has some examples in it from the late 19th century) All the viking era axes I have examined showed signs of forge welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 i havent had the opertunity to travel to england or norway and examin viking erra axes in person, but the photoes and documentation show a progresian from slit and drift, to pole welded to wrap and weld (in nordid axes) the mesomere find contain mostly slit and drift tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Charles; can you share some of that documentation? I'm always eager to learn more, especially when it seems different from what I have already seen! (and as Captn Atli says "there are not medieval mil specs"!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 I'll try and track it down, but I'm afraid when I get a case of "squirel" I dont stop to take notes, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svartalfar Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 May I ask who this Captn Atli? Sounds like a man who is keeping all the medieval mill specs to himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Bruce Blackistone, aka Captain Atli,----One of the few viking ship captains I know on the East Coast of the USA; their ship is moored at his place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svartalfar Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 A guy called Bruce Blackistone does not need a moniker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Tell that to his momma, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAD MAX Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 I haven't read the forum in a while cause of being at work so much, but I saw this and thought I would throw my two cents in for good or bad. I haven't actually made a full sized ax as yet, my focus has been split and drift tomahawks. I use a rather wide and thin chisel to start with, then I go to a little larger chisel that is a kind of a "junk" chisel. Meaning I don't much care if it loses its temper. I then use the drift that is made for Tomahawks to finnish. I think an ax could be done in a similar way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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