Anthony Karakas Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Hello, I am curious as to what types of steel people are using to make a serviceable hawk without forge welding a high carbon bit. Further, are you able to do a home heat treat, or do you send it out for heat treat? Conversely, do some of you prefer to forge a bit into a mild steel body? Thank you, Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 well, about heat treating, that all depends how well you are, if you don't think your all that good at heat treating, and you have the money, than sure, send it of to have it professionally heat treated. But, heat treating is a very good skill to have, and would recommend that if you plan on doing blacksmithing for a while, to the point of where you make your own chisel, or punch,ect., and need it heat treated, you then don't have to send it of and wait a week. (I just made that up, as an example, I never have sent any thing that I've made to be professionally heat treated, I'm not sure how long it is until you get it back). like I said, its a good skill to have. If I'm doing a wrapped eye hawk than I prefer to have a mild steel body, and a high carbon bit forge welded in place for the cutting edge. That's mainly because of cost, and because if I wrapped a high carbon piece of steel and forge welded it into a hawk, then the forge weld is right on the cutting edge, which doesn't make for a great edge. if I'm doing a punched eye tomahawk I prefer to have a mild steel body, again mainly because of cost. Now if I have an extra piece of tool steel big enough for a tomahawk than ill use it, but that's not always the case. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Turn around from a heat treater can be anywhere from 24 hours to 2 weeks depending on who you send it to. When I had my shop we used one company that did it in 24 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdriack Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 4140 steel is popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Old ball peen hammers are what I generally start students off on when hawk forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Karakas Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 I just came across a couple nice pieces of A2 and D2. Will these make a good hawk? Are they reasonable to heat treat, or should they be sent out for heat treating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 A bit more on the expensive and advanced technique sides than a simple easy to forge easy to heat treat steel Have you checked out the heat treatment for D2? Have you ever forged air hardening steels before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Karakas Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 Thomas, Yes i have, and no i have not. Is there a trick in forging air hardening steel? What do you mean by "expensive"? The pieces i bought were practically free. Or am i missing your point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 1 minute ago, Anthony Karakas said: Thomas, Yes i have, and no i have not. Is there a trick in forging air hardening steel? What do you mean by "expensive"? The pieces i bought were practically free. Or am i missing your point? Air hardening steels require very precise temperature control for forging and heat treating. No tricks involved, just very precise steps. If you have a controlled atmosphere furnace or a good oven and stainless foil it can be done but it will require a much higher up-front investment in equipment. IMHO a steel like D2 would be a waste of time and resources for a hawk. You can forge an axe head from a water hardening steel like 4140 and temper it by eye just by inserting hot drifts into the eye of the axe after hardening and watching the colors run down to the edge. Tempering D2 to RC in the mid 40s, which is where an axe needs to be, will require an oven that can hold it steady at between 1100 and 1200 hundred for an extended period. It's not complicated, it just requires equipment not typically found in a blacksmith shop. If you do decide to forge it please update us with photos and tell us how it went! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Karakas Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 Thanks to all for your comments, input and wisdom I will definitely be holding off on the A2 and D2... I am just finishing my first hawk (without a cracked eye, that is) in 4140. Still need to heat treat and fit a handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 That piece may have been inexpensive but look into replacement costs; because if you do a good job *somebody* will want another just like that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benton Frisse Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Sorry I'm jumping in a little late. I really like 5160 for my hawks. Easy to come by, go snag some old leaf springs, and hardens easy enough, too. A lot of folks who manufacture tomahawks use 5160. Granted, not all leaf springs are 5160. I like that they come in a nice stock, too. 1/4 to 3/8 in thick, 2 inches wide, you can forge them into many applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Karakas Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 Thanks Benton; in the case of leaf spring material, would this be for a "wrap around" style hawk where you forge weld the ends? I just picked up some 7/8" 4140 steel round bar. I have started the piece and shaped it, now i am ready to punch and drift the eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.