Momatt Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 My recreation dimensions are pretty close. Hammered out of 1.5 inch mild steel bar with a forge welded 1080 bit. Forged to finish I won’t grind but to sharpen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Looks like a pretty good reproduction. Have you tried it out yet? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momatt Posted May 8, 2020 Author Share Posted May 8, 2020 Not yet frosty. I need to split out some handles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Hmmmm. Made an ax head. Need an ax to split out an ax handle. . . Maybe whittle down a branch with the ax head for a temporary handle to split a finish handle? I'll bet the name of the viking who solved this quandary by forging his ax with an integral handle was Estwing. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Ready to try one in real Wrought Iron? A knife and a branch will do for handle making though a drawknife will make it easier...which as I recall was in the chest as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momatt Posted May 8, 2020 Author Share Posted May 8, 2020 Thomas, the trick is finding the wrought in a size large enough! I want to try the hammers with steel faces. 15 pounds of one inch diameter wrought bars went for over 100 dollars on eBay this week!! I have some 1/2 inch wrought bars I’ve been tempted to try and forge weld into a hammer sized billet. One of the most satisfying aspects of smithing for me is taking material you have and through welding up or drawing down making what you want. I have no press or power hammer so at this point forge welding up is easier at least as I approach one inch stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Welding up multiple pieces to make a product would be how it was done. I'm wondering if a V block spring swage would let a person weld four pieces at a time, rather than weld a stack or make multiple welds. That's just me skyballing an idea, I haven't tried it. I have welded bundles in a swage with good results though. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 You are looking at the expensive places and are surprised it isn't cheap? I'd start looking at country junk stores---when things open up again. The ones with lots of rusty metal piled up around them in the yard. Remember you are buying scrap metal NOT antiques! I get mine for 20 cents a pound at the scrapyard. Of course I invest time in hunting it; but without a smartphone or TV I find I have more time to spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momatt Posted May 8, 2020 Author Share Posted May 8, 2020 True! I have a place scoped out I saw what look to be wagon rims that are 1/2 inch thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 So far 90% of the tyres I have sourced are WI, often lower grades. Prices vary wildly, I've been given them free, been charged US$5 a piece, bought them for 20 cents a pound at the scrapyard and have turned down people wanting $50-$120; just for the rims! (Have an old wheel on CL recently that was falling apart and the seller wanted $450!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momatt Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 I put a haft on the axe and am surprised. It’s the most poorly balanced thing I think I’ve ever held. Surprising to me as usually period pieces forms evolved more form follows function. Would be useless for hewing unless struck and cant imagine a more unwieldy weapon unless on a long pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilwaukeeJon Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Very cool. Hope you know about Rowan Taylor’s wonderful videos about reproducing tools of this sort. Can you say more about the archaeological piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Cold it have been used for hewing as opposed to felling? A lot of medieval European axes tend to be very weight forward---like the goose wing axe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilwaukeeJon Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Maybe it just will take some time to learn the tool. I've made a number of larger Japanese dog head hammers and they sure felt odd to begin with. However, when I finally got a sense of their distinctive feel and the proper arm/wrist movement to get them in motion, they turned out to be incredibly efficient and unusually powerful precisely because of the front-heavy balance. Not much like a regular Western forging hammer, to be sure, but now a mainstay in my arsenal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momatt Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 I think you are both right. The book says it was a carpenters axe. I have done some hewing with broad axes (in fact in my profile pic I am doing just that) and its likely my unfamiliarity with it that makes me think it crap! A Japanese craftsman might say the same about the finest western push style dovetail saw. I think the original was struck as it appears to be peened or mushroomed. Perhaps a 12 year old viking was yelled at by his dad for mistreating it, ha ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilwaukeeJon Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 “Bad Thor! You go to your room....ok, well your corner of the dilapidated hut we call home” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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