Considering a tomahawk

Bob Warner

KNIFE MAKER
I am considering making a tomahawk. I have never made one before and think I want to give it a shot. I am not concerned too much about the forging and there are a million out there for shape ideas.

Unfortunately I do not have a drift and wonder if others have made them without a drift. I want it to look right but buying a drift is kinda out right now as is anything that costs cash.

If anyone can recommend a way to make an accurate drift, I would appreciate it.

If anyone wants to trade a drift for something I may have, I am open to that also.

Advice?
 
Hi Bob,blacksmiths depot has them for $35 I think.It would be very hard to make a teardrop drift so that it would fit a standard handle.I made many handles,you could do that and it wouldn't matter.I now make about 2 hawks a week and I buy unfinished handles,so if this is going to be a one off, forge and grind your own drift.In other words time is money and if you have more time than $s then go for it----:)Best Regards Butch
 
Those hawk drifts are a paint to make.Lots and lots of grinding..
One thing you can do is the wrap and weld method. Get it welded up and then forge in the bottom a bit, it wouldent be perfect but it would be close. Maybe do that and true it up with a half round file..There is a hammer poll hawk laying on the bench right now that should have been finished tonight but we planted beans and corn this evening. That and the season finale of NCIS was on,.,,:D Heres the kind of head I mean..
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Those wrap hawks are nice and I will probably make some of them when I get my forging arm back in shape. I have a friend that makes them with farriers rasps and they are pretty nice.

I have new 10 hawk handles just waiting for me to make some hawks. I guess I will sacrifice one of them by wrapping it with thin steel and drifting a hole in some steel and then forge a drift that fits the hole.

I plan to make a couple damascus hawks down the road a bit.
 
Bob, take one of the handles and some cardboard. cut the cardboard into squares and cut holes in them so that they fit up on the handle about an inch apart. now forge the drift as close as you can. you can start with an axle or something close. after forging use the templates you made from the cardboard to finish grind the drift then harden and temper the drift.
 
That is a good idea Bill. Better than the measuring with dial calipers I thought of earlier.

I was going to take a 1.5" round and weld a 1/4" rod to it lengthwise and then fill in the voids with welds.

Then grind, grind, grind. Good thing I have a belt grinder that goes about 900MPH. With a 36 grit belt I should get close fairly fast.

Much better than sacrificing the handle as described above also.

Thanks.
 
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdLMSJhW7k0"]YouTube- Making a Forged Tomahawk Drift from a Pipe Wrench Handle[/nomedia]

Coal Creek Forge has a youtube video posted

He starts with a scrap pipe wrench handle and fills it in with weld, then puts a cap on it.

The wrench handle is ductile iron- cast iron, which needs preheat to weld...
It seems like a lot of trouble to me, preheating, welding, grinding to me, but he starts with a close to finished shape.

Being the welder that you are, I suspect you may have black steel binding/baling wire.
you can wrap it around the wooden handle from one end to the other.

that very ductile wire should give a pretty good female form of the shape.



wouldn't a real smith forge it to shape ? (smile)
 
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That is a good idea also Sam, I remember when I was smart.

I USED to be a real smith but motorcycles and Suburbans do not mix well and 4-1/2 years ago my ability to smith for hours was taken away by a hit and run Suburban driver.

Now I grind a lot. Heck, I even have to sit to grind.

Tracy was there when I went through all that mess, it was not and STILL is not a good time. Broke my L2 vertebra since then so I just do what I can and forget doing the rest.

I am not proud, I grind and sit but I still move metal.
 
I understand completely. I have a laundry list of back and nerve problems myself. Lisa does all the regular blacksmithing now. s-hooks, dinner bells, fireplace sets ect.She sets up at the crafts fairs and such.Regular forging is too much for me now. Im really just the instructor/ point and shoot guy now. One reason we do so many of those wrap and weld hawks. More attention required but very little forging :D
 
That is a good idea also Sam, I remember when I was smart.

I USED to be a real smith but motorcycles and Suburbans do not mix well and 4-1/2 years ago my ability to smith for hours was taken away by a hit and run Suburban driver.

Now I grind a lot. Heck, I even have to sit to grind.

Tracy was there when I went through all that mess, it was not and STILL is not a good time. Broke my L2 vertebra since then so I just do what I can and forget doing the rest.

I am not proud, I grind and sit but I still move metal.


I'm still working on smithing skills, so that last part was just a little dig to keep uo the fire vs dust debate.

I ride too, and at least once a day somebody does something that damn near gets ya killed. I hate hot rodder loud exhaust, but it's true loud pipes save lives. I know what pain is, but have the opposite trouble though, I can't sit for more that 1 hour without being in absolute agony.
 
Those hawk drifts are a paint to make.Lots and lots of grinding..
One thing you can do is the wrap and weld method. Get it welded up and then forge in the bottom a bit, it wouldent be perfect but it would be close. Maybe do that and true it up with a half round file..There is a hammer poll hawk laying on the bench right now that should have been finished tonight but we planted beans and corn this evening. That and the season finale of NCIS was on,.,,:D Heres the kind of head I mean..
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Gentlemen, please excuse my intrusion in this conversation but my ignorance of some of the terms being used are making me crazy with curiosity. When you say wrap and weld method, is that when you forge a rectangular piece of steel around a mandrel (Is that the right word for it?) , then weld the two sides together to form the blade? & Mr. Kentucky, I have to say Sir, that tomahawk is just freakin' beautiful. Do you use the term "jimping" for file work on the blade's top as you would describe it on a knife, or is there a different word to describe it on a 'hawk? Also Gents, is a 'hawk Drift like a mandrel (please excuse my poor education when it comes to smithing terms.) to forge the eye in the blade's head to pass the handle thru? Thanks in advance for your assistance all. Sincerely, Rick Oshay.
 
Yes sir, the wrap and weld method is pretty much what you desribed. bend the bar around a mandrel to get the set, weld it together for the blade and use a drift to set the socket..Thanks for the compliment and Im sorry it ook me so long to respond. Id forgot about this thread..To be honest I just call it filework, there may be a different name folks use for it on a hawk Im not sure..
 
Try Uncle Al (Al Lawrence) in DeQueen, Arkansas. I bought one from him several years ago and I noticed he had several on his table at the Arkansa show this year.
 
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