As kids in the 1970’s we used to go down to the disused railway line and dive off of the old railway bridge and swim in the river. On the river bed were hundreds of old spikes like this, we used to pick them up and throw them back in as a game to dive, swim and find them again. Never once did we take any of them home, if they haven’t rusted away probably still on the river bed to this day. [watching Videos like this only now do I realise how useful and sort after things like this are.]
Chambered 11 I'll have some cool stuff coming out, just got myself a forge recently. Even though it's not going to be as great at Miller Knives' forge.
Miller Knives if I was to send you a few spikes would it be possible for you to make me a tomahawk that I could give my old man as a gift??? just curious
absolutely beautiful work, blacksmith work is beautiful to begin with but when you take something old, ugly, and used like an old rail road spike and turn it into something like this bad ass axe it shows your true talent, I hope that one day I will be able to do the same thing, maybe not as beautiful or as well known
i am by no means an expert but, I have made a spike hawk before and one thing i would change if i could on the one i made would be to make the cheeks of the eye socket a lot wider, it gives the handle a lot more surface area to hold onto and should stay tighter. Awesome video, it was really fun to watch.
This is the second time I've seen this it sounds solid and strong. It's amazing If I look back far enough this is probably how my people started making tomahawk out of metal before that it was bone an stone very well made but still. No wonder they were so greatly prized few had metal. I'll have to check Y.T. to see if native american had the knowledge of smelting iron. Thank You Loader.
Great looking piece. This gives me an idea for something I can used with my splitter set-up, to pick up pieces with a spike, a bit different design. I recommend you make handles a bit more oval shape. It makes edge alignment easier and I find it more comfortable.
Great video, I enjoyed it! Question: even after you heat and quench to harden it, is that type of steel hard enough to form a practical blade? I would assume railroad spikes are fairly soft alloy compared to other steels.
Look man, we used to make axes and knives out of bronze. All these modern steels are nice, and im definitely not saying they arent better than railroad spikes, but a blade is gonna cut if you make it right. People dont give cheap steel enough credit imo, its still steel. I know this is 4 years late lol, sorry
2 things for you to think about......... 1. Take a little more time with forging- that way you wouldn't have to use the angle grinder as much. 2. Think about making a wood lathe it will cut down on the sandpaper usage.
Nice, i'm going to start learning how to do blacksmithing and though I only got a beginning forge I do have some old railroad spikes and squares of metal i've saved that I found in the old header that used to be in the house I bought that got replaced and was just sitting at the back of the shed. Might try making a couple axes with them one day!
very beautiful work my friend. I love the style of the blade end. I personally think the hook and might be a bit to curved. But then again that's more of my style calling out. Outside of personal preference for the hook area it is amazing looking
I think you could benefit from a draw knife. It would make shaping that handle a smidge easier. Cool vid! I’m too lazy to check if someone as posted this already.
Excellent work. Next time try for a handle that tapers out towards the top. Traditional hawks are made this way to more easily replace handles by just sliding it through the top and the taper wedges it in place
Looks good for decoration but impractical as it just loosen all the time ,the more it rests with taller head the less it'll loosen ,also try cutting your splice last ,works wonders
I've made one run at this so far. Everything went well except the metal got a lil thin and cracked around the hole where the handle goes. Can't seem to get it mended. Gonna start over!
