Tomahawk from a railway spike....

[guzzo]

I had a bit of time on my hands today so I started to make a tomahawk. I got an old railway spike and heated it up im my old forge. Here it is so far....will post more as I go along. Next I will clean it up a bit with an angle grinder then punch the hole through the middle.View attachment 240458 Here is my anvil....an old rock crushing thing and a big log...3 foot in the ground and 3 foot out.View attachment 240459

 

[grannieannie]

I think it looks great...clever you Do you have a purpose for it, or is it just for a bit of fun?

 

[grannieannie]

you must have some solid hands on you.

I think there's something very sexy about a man who's strong enough to do stuff like that...

 

[guzzo]

I think it looks great...clever you Do you have a purpose for it, or is it just for a bit of fun?

It will be a handy thing to have about the camp....and for a bit of fun...and.....I was watching the Last of the Mohican's .....you listen to that music and see if you don't feel like making a tomahawk hahah.........The Gael - Last of the Mohicans Theme (Dougie Maclean) - YouTube

 

[Wrightpython]

I made some out of old horse shoes when i use to work as farrier they work okay prob is like your spike the metal is to soft so i would suggest on final heat treatment dunk into some really old engine oil to add carbon toughens up blade so you can get good lasting edge. Hope this helps james

 

[guzzo]

I made some out of old horse shoes when i use to work as farrier they work okay prob is like your spike the metal is to soft so i would suggest on final heat treatment dunk into some really old engine oil to add carbon toughens up blade so you can get good lasting edge. Hope this helps james

Thanks James....it just so happens that I do use old engine oil....I have made quite a few knives but thought I would give this a go..A Farrier hey!! I would love an anvil but hard to find where I am

 

[Beard]

Nice bit of smithy work there. The million dollar question though is, can you make a railway spike out of an old tomahawk?

 

[guzzo]

Nice bit of smithy work there. The million dollar question though is, can you make a railway spike out of an old tomahawk?

I had not thought of that!

 

[jedi_339]

A nice start, I'd like to get my hands on some old truck leaf springs, that's what my khukuri is made out of (handmade in Nepal), seems like it'd work a treat.

I love your willingness to just give it a crack guzzo

 

[waruikazi]

Nice mate... well niceish lol. A mate an i are gearing up for a knife off in a couple weeks. We're taking a weekend to each make a knife and whoever makes the best knife is the winner.

My scrimshaw tools should arrive today too...

 

[guzzo]

Nice mate... well niceish lol. A mate an i are gearing up for a knife off in a couple weeks. We're taking a weekend to each make a knife and whoever makes the best knife is the winner.

My scrimshaw tools should arrive today too...

A knife off....sounds great....listen to the Mohican music Gordo...I will be very interested in how the Scrimshaw gear works...make sure you let me know. Did you end up getting the belt sander?

A nice start, I'd like to get my hands on some old truck leaf springs, that's what my khukuri is made out of (handmade in Nepal), seems like it'd work a treat.

I love your willingness to just give it a crack guzzo

Old springs are great and make fantastic knives...only draw back is it rusts. I heat it up till it is between cherry red and yellow and test it with a magnet. When the magnet does not stick I quench it in motor oil then temper in my kitchen oven.

 

[waruikazi]

My scrimshaw tools arrived today along with a book on advanced scrimshaw techniques lol. Have you had a go yet Guzz? I had a bit of a dig on a croc bone i've got at home, exactly the same as drawing, only completely different lol. You're pretty artsy mate so i recon you would produce some pretty sweet designs.

 

[guzzo]

My scrimshaw tools arrived today along with a book on advanced scrimshaw techniques lol. Have you had a go yet Guzz? I had a bit of a dig on a croc bone i've got at home, exactly the same as drawing, only completely different lol. You're pretty artsy mate so i recon you would produce some pretty sweet designs.

Cool!
I tried but I did not have the tools so it was crud...make sure you show me how you go! Where did you get the tools from?

 

[waruikazi]

Cool!
I tried but I did not have the tools so it was crud...make sure you show me how you go! Where did you get the tools from?

Got them off Ebay from a bloke in the US. Was about $30 for a scribe with two carbide tips. Was reading the book i bought and apparently bone is no good for scrimshaw, too porous. It says you need to seal it with a resin so the ink doesn't soak into areas where you don't want it.

 

[guzzo]

Got them off Ebay from a bloke in the US. Was about $30 for a scribe with two carbide tips. Was reading the book i bought and apparently bone is no good for scrimshaw, too porous. It says you need to seal it with a resin so the ink doesn't soak into areas where you don't want it.

I wonder how it would go if you boiled it. I made an arrowhead necklace from some boiled bone and it polished up like glass...Intersting though I suppose you will know soon enough when you give it a go....how did it go on the croc bone?

 

[waruikazi]

I wonder how it would go if you boiled it. I made an arrowhead necklace from some boiled bone and it polished up like glass...Intersting though I suppose you will know soon enough when you give it a go....how did it go on the croc bone?

I gave it a quick sand with 80grit and it polished up really well. I don't have any wax or ink atm so i can't finish it just yet. But scratching it was suprisingly easy, because there is a lot more drag than drawing it is a little harder to control than drawing on paper and your hand tires out a little quick. But it's fun!

I'm looking at buying some synthetic ivory to use for knife scales.

 

[guzzo]

I gave it a quick sand with 80grit and it polished up really well. I don't have any wax or ink atm so i can't finish it just yet. But scratching it was suprisingly easy, because there is a lot more drag than drawing it is a little harder to control than drawing on paper and your hand tires out a little quick. But it's fun!

I'm looking at buying some synthetic ivory to use for knife scales.

Synthetic Ivory!....I am going to look that up.....I have seen some amazing scrimshaw....makes a knife one of a kind too. I am going to get a cold chisel today to punch through the spike to make a hole for the handle of the tomahawk...

I am having a major internal battle on what to do this weekend...Do more on my painting,do more on the tomahawk, make a new snake enclosure,go for a dirtbike ride out the back of home and scout for new hunting areas or stay home and do housework Decisions! Decisions!!!

 

[waruikazi]

Lol, i think i'm gonna spend most of my weekend writing a proposal for the school council to pay me money and give me a car to go look for reptiles every evening. I might try and fit some kjnife designing in there somewhere too.

Synthetic Ivory!....I am going to look that up.....I have seen some amazing scrimshaw....makes a knife one of a kind too. I am going to get a cold chisel today to punch through the spike to make a hole for the handle of the tomahawk...

I am having a major internal battle on what to do this weekend...Do more on my painting,do more on the tomahawk, make a new snake enclosure,go for a dirtbike ride out the back of home and scout for new hunting areas or stay home and do housework Decisions! Decisions!!!

 

[guzzo]

Lol, i think i'm gonna spend most of my weekend writing a proposal for the school council to pay me money and give me a car to go look for reptiles every evening. I might try and fit some kjnife designing in there somewhere too.

Sounds great...good luck with that BTW....

An update...just got to do some finishing,then quench then temper then handle.....