If you're interested in any of the tools or equipment I use and you want to help support the channel then don't forget to check out some of the affiliate links in the video description. Thank you for the support!
i know right?? i was so confused when he ground them off. the hatchet probably would've held up a little better too since it would've had a bit extra material
Honestly (and Robison Foundry - think about this): I honestly think that not only would that hammered edge have made it look like it was made by someone who knows at least a little metallurgy (honestly I wouldn't have thought of it, it was a genius idea!) But I can't help but wonder if those ridges and divots wouldn't have made for a stronger edge in the same sense as steel girders are stronger than a solid sheet of steel. I am doing to go out on a limb here and suggest that leaving the hammer marks in the blade could have increased edge durability by as much as 25%. 50% if the edge profile had been just a wee smidge thicker.
Dont know if anyone has commented on this fact yet, but copper axes in history had very different edge profiles than modern steel axes. This is something that is easy to research online, but basically, the edge is much more reinforced (fatter), and so not as sharp. It will take more work to do the same job but the edge won't dull so fast, and all that is to be expected with inferior metallurgy. Man, this was a fun video though! Thank you so much for sharing.
Another mistake here, was grinding away the folded over edge. He should have just peened in back into shape, at least until and unless it work hardened enough that it broke off rather than rolling over. Watched a dude scythe a whole lawn of overgrown grass, (which requires a pretty fine edge if you don't wanna work yourself to death) never using anything to sharpen it other than a peening hammer and tiny anvil.
Beautiful axe! Remember to preserve the handle of any axe, hammer, etc with the rule of thumb for applying boiled linseed oil, it is to apply it once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, and then once a month for a year, and then once a year for the life of the handle. Farmstead On
I got one for building a fire I use when I teach people how to choose kindling size It goes: Thread, then a pencil lead, the pencil, a pinky, and a thumb.
@@Astraeus.. There is a reason, if you are trying to start a fire in damp conditions with just a fero rod this method works everytime. Do you need to follow that rule for every fire? No. But if you want to make sureit lights everytime with just a single match or a dead lighter or a fero rod it's best practice. There is nothing wrong with taking the extra time to do it this way. Or just dump a bunch of gas on it if you want. But with this method I can literally make a fire in a pile of snow with a single spark so hate if you want.
aluminum bronze can be quench hardened in water, depending on the ratio. There's alpha phase, multi phase and beta phase aluminum bronze. I'd advise a multi phase, with 10% Al, and some additives such as 5% Nickel and 4% iron. You will need to temper the bronze after the quench tho. If you need any advice on that, just tell me and i'll try to contact you by email to tell you. (Also aluminum bronze can be forged up to orange hot, wich is very convenient. It's nearly hard as steel under the hammer)
Yeah, there're easily as many bronzes as steels, and just like with steel very small changes make all the difference sometimes. Whatever this alloy is, it's kind of pretty but clearly doesn't quite... cut it :D
@@Ithirahad tbh his aluminium bronze is harder than what they had in antiquity, and that didn't prevent people from the ancient world from cutting down trees and stuff. His edge got damaged because he probably didnt use the best shape for bronze. Steel is hard enough to hold its shape and can be thinned down a lot. Bronze is weaker so a thicker edge would be better. Also you don't use bronze the same way you use steel. I've forged quite a few quench hardened bronze blades, and even tho they are vastly harder than traditional tin bronze (and will cut shavings from mild steel), it's still much much softer than good hardened steel. I've found that you really need to treat these blades with more respect, and be more careful. Also to keep a shaving sharp edge on a bronze blade, you need to frequently hone the edge. It takes like 10-20 seconds but it keeps the performance good. There are plenty of extremely hard bronze alloys, with the best being CuBe2 or CuCoBe, basically beryllium bronze. Looks like copper, but when quench hardened and tempered, that shit will reach 55HRC, wich is retardedly hard for copper. However beryllium dust is bad for the lungs, so there are alternatives that are nickel based, so basically nickel bronzes, but they look like silver, wich is pointless in terms of aesthetics.
@jeanladoire4141 I don't cast, but I had occasion to work with nickle tin bronze in my lathe and milling machine and it was very impressive. Easily as tough as mild steel.
I renovated some houses built with old growth pine, as in, the first trees white people cut down when they came to america. The shit was so dense you couldn't nail into it with anything but cut nails, and sometimes even then they would fucking bend. Modern wood is fucking garbage. I make random shit out of old growth sycamore now. Once it dries you can't really work it.
hey side fun fact (from history): it would take upwards of three stone axes to cut down a single tree in the stone age, while a bronze axe would generally survive at least a few cuttings - though not without significant damage, if the wood was hard enough!
@@theradioactiveplayer3461and bronze and copper tools would have had the edges reworked and straightened as they were used to keep them in better condition
I've been casting aluminium bronze for over 25 years and I know it can get really hard, depending of alloy and cooling process after the casting. It hardens when it's allowed to cool down slow, just the opposite what steel does, that's why I have to open my moulds immediately after casting and cool the castings quickly so that I'm able to machine them. If I let the castings to cool slowly, I'm not even able to drill holes in them with HSS tools. Aluminium bronze also workhardens, as you said in the video, but it gets brittle doing that. Commercial alloys include iron, cobolt and some other metals beside just copper and aluminium. Once I gave one of my castings that had accidentally been left to cool down slowly to a friend of mine, who was working in quality control and testing department of a big gear manufacturing company, and they tested the hardness of that casting. They were blown away how hard that thing was, I can't remember the exact value, but it was comparable to a hardened tool steel.
@@Nevir202Gravestone ornaments. I use aluminium bronze because of the patina on it is transparent, so it doesn't turn black over time like other copper alloys do.
@@Nevir202It has downsides for casting, quite bit of them. It shrinks when it solidifies, a lot, it's really hard to weld and solder because of the aluminium content, it's difficult to machine because of the workhardening and it's not easy to cast because doesn't run well. When you pour it the smelt is surrounded by a aluminiumoxide "pouch" that causes the pour to slow down and solidify before it fills the mould. For the industrial use it's a bit niche material, so it's not easily obtainable, it's mostly used for marine propellers, valves in process industry and for coins.
First of all, your process and organization of your tools and space is amazing. Secondly, the hatchet was/is beautiful. Not least of all, I absolutely love the sharing of information in the comments.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that can spend a week making something that doesn’t work and see it as a learning experience then start the next project. Life is good
jumping down to the comments to say the Chamfer is a thing of freaking beauty on this piece. Incredible job on it, especially leading into that spiked angle pointing towards the handle
One of the most relaxing and calming videos I've seen in a long time. I think the confidence shown in what is an ancient craft, albeit with some modern tools to help the process is really enjoyable. A bit like an Allen Millyard video.
Nice looking axe. If you can ever get ahold of a piece of ash, it would make a good handle. Good at absorbing shocks and vibrations. Baseball bats are usually ash.
It worked for thousands of years, it works now. Refining your mixture and quality of metals will help, as I just watched a video of a bronze axe cutting through a whole tree thicker than that and it had no damage at all. Perhaps a bronze machete or saw would be interesting to try.
Ah, not exactly. Bronze yes, aluminum bronze, no. Aluminum is very hard to make without complicated equipment. Napolean had a ring made of aluminum; it was worth more than pretty much anything else in the French treasury.
My initial thought would be "for a handle this small, vibration control is even more important," but I'm no woodologist. The hatchet is beautiful, and I love the chamfer you put around the edges.
the study of wood is called dendrology, the study of trees specifically. a botanist studies all plants, and the engineer studies building, construction, and physics. pretty sure one of those is the word you want.
Have you seen the Olfoundryman casting boxes? They're printable pieces that you cast, and you can make modular aluminum boxes that don't catch on fire and don't swell with moisture
Beautiful, and thank you for posting this. I’ve wanted to do this for some time, I have some bronze that is so doggone hard that hacksaw and bandsaw blades simply skitter over it and at best make a shiny mark.
His other build with the steel insert was the best idea Maybe on another iteration or V2.0 he can machine a vertical groove in the hatchet head and just slide in the cutting edge then peen it over, then sand it to shape Or maybe call it the quick build version
@@janami-dharmam No, there's commercial aluminium bronze alloys with 1-5% of iron in them. Those with iron are listed as higher hardness, but lower corrosion resistance. (Given that aluminium bronzes are often used in highly corrosive environments, e.g. partially in sea water, that's not necessarily a problem for this application). I do know that silicon bronzes are softer, but more ductile, than aluminium bronzes, so adding silicon is probably the wrong approach for an edge retention alloy. (That said, something things in 0.5 - 1% range have quite different effects to higher concentrations - alloys can get weird!). None of the common commercial aluminium bronzes have silicon in the mix, probably because of this reason (and silicon is more expensive than aluminium).
I'm really impressed with your progress. I remember some of the issues you had in early projects, which you've eliminated completely. Nearly flawless. Great work!
Aluminium alloy hatchets were used regulary in coal mining. It was done to prevent sparks which could ignite explosive gas or coal dust. So it maybe not suitable for hard wood but effective for coal mining and also for shaping logs in mines. i got one of these at my wall from my grandfather and it looks great :D
the rolled edge might be at least partly from edge geometry. You'd probably want to make the edge with a larger angle, so it's got more support behind it. Like 30 degrees instead of 15 degrees kind of thing. It looks pretty slender in the video. It'd take longer to do the same job but it would be more likely to actually survive, I think.
I've heard old copper-age blades (pre-bronze age) were "sharpened" by simply hammering the edge back into place, rather than using a whetstone or grinding method. This was practical and wasted little of the highly precious metal. Bronze tools could bend too, but I think the attitude was "who cares? just bend it back."
@@Jake-bt3fc typical for a chef's knife is 20 degrees. 15 degrees is way too much to ask of an axe made of a material softer than steel. dialing back the angle to something a little easier will absolutely result in a useful tool
The end result looks beautiful, even if it is less effective than a steel axe. I really liked your molding table, it seems like a really smart design to conceal a workspace for that specific task 👍
Nice work and nice video. I sometimes make blades from weak materials just for fun... it can teach us about modes of failure more easily than with strong materials.
The chamfer was a good choice. I'm glad you spared the edge further abuse from the oak. I love your craftsmanship. You make lovely stuff. Seeing how much work you put into finishing your castings, much of which is due to the quality of the 3d prints you use, makes me wonder if you ought to invest in a resin 3d printer. There are quite a few good quality resin 3d printers that have a large enough build volume to print patterns for what you've been doing on this channel. Yeah, resin printing is a whole thing. It's messy and has requirements for ventilation, but you could save so much time by printing higher quality patterns in resin. An alternative to that would be finishing your FDM prints to a higher surface quality before molding them. Perhaps you just like the physical process of transforming the relatively rough quality of your castings though, in which case that's cool. I'm just thinking of this all from a jewelers perspective. Anyway, great video as always.
Variations on this theme that I'd like to see are the use of arsenical bronze, if that's possible, and the potential durability of a bronze saw. Also, as I think others have mentioned, keep in mind that the shape of the modern axe is influenced by steel, which allowed for a thinner blade. Softer materials may need to look more like a stone axe.
Wow, I wish youtube showed me stuff like this more often. Totally randomly youtube has shown me two young guys with two amazing hobbies in a row. So amazing to see these things being done. The modern world and technology makes so many things possible now, but only a few in every generation will have the heart to truly take advantage of those opportunities. Well done, this was wonderful to watch. New subscriber.
This is typical for a tree in bad soil or with deeproot barrier just around the initial rootbal. Replanting a tree that size and have it survive rarly works wel and requirs a lot of watering the first 2-3 years. I would of cut of the rootball and chucked the tree through a chipper to prevent anybody from starting to suggest replanting. Planting it back in the same hole doesn't fix the problem, either beeing deeproot or bad soil. both requir a lot of work and the after care needed make so it's easier to just replant a smaller tree later and fix the problems with the planting spot in due time instead of hastly.
Aluminum pronze can be heat treated and tempered. You might look into that for better edge. Or let the edge get rolled a bit to work harden it then regrind to sharp, the reprofile will likely hold better.
Just found this channel, its awesome! I did some sand castinhg in highschool and even made a training video about it for a project in 1984 . I have been think about doing some sand casting for awhile and this is motivating me to give it a go. Thanks. Your casting table is fantastic, things have changed since 1984!
Another amazing piece of Art Mr. Robinson! All thought I need to say that I loved how the axe looked after hardening, this hammering gave an interesting texture
No offense but you can always tell when someone is new to hanging an axe head. It shouldnt just go straight onto the handle with no effort, you should have to carefully fit the head to the handle, it should be tight.
I've asked gpt what's the hardest aluminium bronze alloy, and it replied: Aluminum bronze C95400 typically contains approximately 83% copper, 10% aluminum, 5% iron, and 2% nickel. These percentages may vary slightly depending on the specific alloy composition and manufacturer.
Thing of beauty! Many years ago as an apprentice centre lathe turner I foolishly made a starter motor bush from aluminium bronze instead of phosphor bronze, it was totally wrong for the job and lots of loose play appeared quickly as the steel shaft wore more quickly than the al bronze bush. lesson learned, this stuff is tough.
Wow, I was about to mention the fact that the aluminum and bronze are both softer metals, then steel so generally wouldn't hold up and in ancient times they would generally have to re-sharpen it every time they used it throughout using it just think of the copper, chisels and bronze chisels usedto make everything from the tombs of the pharaohs to great castles throughout Europe any large stone monuments
I liked your dovetail axe a lot more to be honest. Though I doubt it would survive a lot longer than this one, - it's just more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
I found this extremely interesting for three reasons: 1. I have always been curious about this alloy. 2. The comments of many others show an amazing level of experience and expertise. And I will know for future reference they congregate around your channel. 3. Your level of craftsmanship, metal, and wood, is outstanding. BTW For handles I noticed Goosebay Sawmill & Lumber, Inc in New Hampshire has some small amounts of 4/4 Pignut Hickory. All the best.
As an anthropologist/historian, you have given me a truly magnificent insight into the life and times, indeed, the world, of the 'Bronze Age.' You breathed real like into a time of humans more than three millennia past! Thank you!
Awesome video! I've always wondered how modern bronze/brass alloys would hold up in this sort of experiment. I like that you did the bare bones aluminum brass, I make that sometimes in my little devil forge. It held up better than I would have thought.
What a great art. This is a craft i always wanted to try. Thanks for the videos. My only request would be that i think a curly maple handle would look great on one of those bronze ax you make.
I used a pair of aluminum bronze wedges as part of the bow irons on a medieval crossbow build - they jam fit between two steel blocks to clamp the bow to the stock. One thing I noticed is that when pounded into place with a steel hammer, the aluminum bronze wedges would deform very slightly and result in a fit that was much tighter than a pair of steel wedges. They made a very pretty contrast with the blued steel until they got scuffed and scratched to hell - an interesting material but frankly too soft for most applications I've tried it in.
In this informative video it appears you have a wonderful and well equipped shop. My hat is off to you sir! A job well done. Thanks for sharing!! The finished product is beautiful............. AND other than holding an edge it did a good job. THANKS!
Very nicely done, I've cast several alloys of bronze or brass over the years, but none for tool purpose, generally art. I thought it held up pretty well considering. It's been a primary metal for bearings in engines and transmissions, where I've been working with it mostly, special alloys. Thanks, very nice.
love your work, one thing you might try is after you oil the handle (exclude the top to begin with and no steel wedges) soak just the head in a bucket of water for a few days, it will cause the wood to swell and really lock the head on. My grand father showed me this when i was young, he never even used wedges unless the head came loose later. I had to replace a handle he fitted once and it took longer to get old handle out than to fit the new one it was locked in so tight. The different color wood does look great though
One thing to consider is that during the Bronze Age, and even the early Iron Age, little of the wood used was seasoned and dried first. Green wood is vastly easier to work than seasoned wood, so your axe's edge would likely have lasted longer. Also, you did not apparently sharpen the edge between cutting experiments. This treatment would be reasonable for a steel or iron axe, but an individual used to using bronze tools would likely have habitually maintained the edge to ease the work.
BEAUTIFUL WORK. We used magnesium bronze for high strength clamps. They didnt like stretching as they work hardened fast, but they were great to grip the steel pipes. WORST PART was drilling the bolt hole for the clamp through the cast unit. I learnt to sharpen drills by hand very well indeed. This was in the 80s onwards. Drills were not great to start with. ..
I have been researching bronze swords a bit, I'd really like to built one that is actually a sword. Much of the bronze strips one can buy is aluminium bronze, and it is said that aluminium bronze is not suitable for swords because it is much too brittle. The resultting edge damage seems to give this creedence, I have seen a bronze axe survive much more torture without failing like this. Swords and axes were 10-20% Tin Bronze, unfortunately I don't have the equipment to cast it myself. Really interesting to see, thanks!
@@Preyhawk81 Many surviving european swords were between 10-12%, google a bit. And some chinese ones up to 20%, but those are outliers in the world of bronze swords. I have never seen the 6-8% figure. Could be these are arsenic bronzes with less tin but more arsenic (edit: early swords were generally lower tin, but the tin also leeches out over time and might not really show what it originally was) , but the tin bronze is generally accepted to be 10-12% for best results. And bells to my knowledge are between 20-30% tin.
The table set up for casting looks really useful. Axe came out great, would have cold forged that folded edge back into line before moving on to the grinder though.
If you're interested in any of the tools or equipment I use and you want to help support the channel then don't forget to check out some of the affiliate links in the video description. Thank you for the support!
Well, maybe the edge doesn't hold but the result looks beautiful, it makes me wonder how many a ceremonial tool and weapon started like this.
Question: When you work hardened it...does it just surface harden or through-harden?
Can you throw in some nickle?
Please post a video soon of the work bench build, man that’s cool. My issue is space and that thing would definitely solve my problem. 🤘🤘🤘
Honestly, I think the hammer marks from work hardening the edge look really awesome.
Agreed
i know right?? i was so confused when he ground them off. the hatchet probably would've held up a little better too since it would've had a bit extra material
Honestly (and Robison Foundry - think about this): I honestly think that not only would that hammered edge have made it look like it was made by someone who knows at least a little metallurgy (honestly I wouldn't have thought of it, it was a genius idea!)
But I can't help but wonder if those ridges and divots wouldn't have made for a stronger edge in the same sense as steel girders are stronger than a solid sheet of steel. I am doing to go out on a limb here and suggest that leaving the hammer marks in the blade could have increased edge durability by as much as 25%. 50% if the edge profile had been just a wee smidge thicker.
Dont know if anyone has commented on this fact yet, but copper axes in history had very different edge profiles than modern steel axes. This is something that is easy to research online, but basically, the edge is much more reinforced (fatter), and so not as sharp. It will take more work to do the same job but the edge won't dull so fast, and all that is to be expected with inferior metallurgy. Man, this was a fun video though! Thank you so much for sharing.
It might also be useful to look at stone axes for another step less hard.
copper age lasted little and was followed by bronze age. For this copper that was found native was used
I agree. Stone and bronze blades all had that "fat" edge profile for edge retention in less than durable material. Good stuff.
Another mistake here, was grinding away the folded over edge. He should have just peened in back into shape, at least until and unless it work hardened enough that it broke off rather than rolling over.
Watched a dude scythe a whole lawn of overgrown grass, (which requires a pretty fine edge if you don't wanna work yourself to death) never using anything to sharpen it other than a peening hammer and tiny anvil.
Forgot to add arsenic.
Arsenical bronze is a different lump.
Beautiful axe!
Remember to preserve the handle of any axe, hammer, etc with the rule of thumb for applying boiled linseed oil, it is to apply it once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, and then once a month for a year, and then once a year for the life of the handle. Farmstead On
Might be the neatest "rule of thumb" I've ever seen...
I got one for building a fire I use when I teach people how to choose kindling size It goes: Thread, then a pencil lead, the pencil, a pinky, and a thumb.
@@Astraeus.. There is a reason, if you are trying to start a fire in damp conditions with just a fero rod this method works everytime. Do you need to follow that rule for every fire? No. But if you want to make sureit lights everytime with just a single match or a dead lighter or a fero rod it's best practice.
There is nothing wrong with taking the extra time to do it this way. Or just dump a bunch of gas on it if you want. But with this method I can literally make a fire in a pile of snow with a single spark so hate if you want.
aluminum bronze can be quench hardened in water, depending on the ratio. There's alpha phase, multi phase and beta phase aluminum bronze. I'd advise a multi phase, with 10% Al, and some additives such as 5% Nickel and 4% iron. You will need to temper the bronze after the quench tho. If you need any advice on that, just tell me and i'll try to contact you by email to tell you. (Also aluminum bronze can be forged up to orange hot, wich is very convenient. It's nearly hard as steel under the hammer)
Yeah, there're easily as many bronzes as steels, and just like with steel very small changes make all the difference sometimes. Whatever this alloy is, it's kind of pretty but clearly doesn't quite... cut it :D
@@Ithirahad tbh his aluminium bronze is harder than what they had in antiquity, and that didn't prevent people from the ancient world from cutting down trees and stuff. His edge got damaged because he probably didnt use the best shape for bronze. Steel is hard enough to hold its shape and can be thinned down a lot. Bronze is weaker so a thicker edge would be better. Also you don't use bronze the same way you use steel. I've forged quite a few quench hardened bronze blades, and even tho they are vastly harder than traditional tin bronze (and will cut shavings from mild steel), it's still much much softer than good hardened steel. I've found that you really need to treat these blades with more respect, and be more careful. Also to keep a shaving sharp edge on a bronze blade, you need to frequently hone the edge. It takes like 10-20 seconds but it keeps the performance good.
There are plenty of extremely hard bronze alloys, with the best being CuBe2 or CuCoBe, basically beryllium bronze. Looks like copper, but when quench hardened and tempered, that shit will reach 55HRC, wich is retardedly hard for copper. However beryllium dust is bad for the lungs, so there are alternatives that are nickel based, so basically nickel bronzes, but they look like silver, wich is pointless in terms of aesthetics.
@jeanladoire4141 what's the best working hardness?
@jeanladoire4141 I don't cast, but I had occasion to work with nickle tin bronze in my lathe and milling machine and it was very impressive. Easily as tough as mild steel.
Incorrect
I guess in Valheim when you hit an oak tree with a bronze axe and it says "Too hard!", I can't complain anymore.
WAS JUST THINKING THAT!
I renovated some houses built with old growth pine, as in, the first trees white people cut down when they came to america. The shit was so dense you couldn't nail into it with anything but cut nails, and sometimes even then they would fucking bend. Modern wood is fucking garbage. I make random shit out of old growth sycamore now. Once it dries you can't really work it.
I love that this game is so popular. I also thought about not cutting down harder types of wood, but the first tree available in Valheim isn't maple?
hey side fun fact (from history): it would take upwards of three stone axes to cut down a single tree in the stone age, while a bronze axe would generally survive at least a few cuttings - though not without significant damage, if the wood was hard enough!
@@theradioactiveplayer3461and bronze and copper tools would have had the edges reworked and straightened as they were used to keep them in better condition
Definitely yes on the chamfer. Georgeous axe.
Yes indeed!
Gives it a bit of a martial touch, aesthetically.
Chamfers are the only thing that separates from the animals.
I've been casting aluminium bronze for over 25 years and I know it can get really hard, depending of alloy and cooling process after the casting. It hardens when it's allowed to cool down slow, just the opposite what steel does, that's why I have to open my moulds immediately after casting and cool the castings quickly so that I'm able to machine them.
If I let the castings to cool slowly, I'm not even able to drill holes in them with HSS tools. Aluminium bronze also workhardens, as you said in the video, but it gets brittle doing that.
Commercial alloys include iron, cobolt and some other metals beside just copper and aluminium.
Once I gave one of my castings that had accidentally been left to cool down slowly to a friend of mine, who was working in quality control and testing department of a big gear manufacturing company, and they tested the hardness of that casting. They were blown away how hard that thing was, I can't remember the exact value, but it was comparable to a hardened tool steel.
If you don't mind my asking, what are you casting?
@@Nevir202Gravestone ornaments. I use aluminium bronze because of the patina on it is transparent, so it doesn't turn black over time like other copper alloys do.
@@filopat67 Wow, that's interesting. If that's the case, I'm surprised it isn't more popular.
@@Nevir202It has downsides for casting, quite bit of them. It shrinks when it solidifies, a lot, it's really hard to weld and solder because of the aluminium content, it's difficult to machine because of the workhardening and it's not easy to cast because doesn't run well. When you pour it the smelt is surrounded by a aluminiumoxide "pouch" that causes the pour to slow down and solidify before it fills the mould. For the industrial use it's a bit niche material, so it's not easily obtainable, it's mostly used for marine propellers, valves in process industry and for coins.
@@filopat67 Thanks for the info!
That grinding dust collection system is a game changer! I'm definitely stealing the idea haha. Love the video as always!
First of all, your process and organization of your tools and space is amazing. Secondly, the hatchet was/is beautiful. Not least of all, I absolutely love the sharing of information in the comments.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that can spend a week making something that doesn’t work and see it as a learning experience then start the next project. Life is good
It did work. The video, that is; the purpose of which is to generate views and income.
jumping down to the comments to say the Chamfer is a thing of freaking beauty on this piece. Incredible job on it, especially leading into that spiked angle pointing towards the handle
Agree 100%
My 17 month old sat and watched almost this whole video with me! Family friendly content ❤
Awesome!
That tree had some really beautiful insides tbh!
Its always a pleasure watching you work and seeing the process. Thank you. Cheers J
You are a hell of a craftsman . Your finished work looks flawless. Thanks for the video
One of the most relaxing and calming videos I've seen in a long time. I think the confidence shown in what is an ancient craft, albeit with some modern tools to help the process is really enjoyable.
A bit like an Allen Millyard video.
Nice looking axe. If you can ever get ahold of a piece of ash, it would make a good handle. Good at absorbing shocks and vibrations. Baseball bats are usually ash.
Hickory is the best material for handles.
You are correct about the Maple. That's why they use Maple for Guitar necks and tops and backs, because they transfer vibration so well.
It worked for thousands of years, it works now. Refining your mixture and quality of metals will help, as I just watched a video of a bronze axe cutting through a whole tree thicker than that and it had no damage at all. Perhaps a bronze machete or saw would be interesting to try.
Ah, not exactly. Bronze yes, aluminum bronze, no. Aluminum is very hard to make without complicated equipment.
Napolean had a ring made of aluminum; it was worth more than pretty much anything else in the French treasury.
@@josephd.5524 Thank you for respectfully correcting me, that is hard to come by. Was it tin they mixed with copper?
@@ATruckCampbell Yes. Ancients Egyptians used approx. 9-10% tin in a tool grade bronze, rest was copper.
@@josephd.5524 There was an era where aluminium cutlery was a symbol of wealth.
@@josephd.5524Of course Al is a modern metal; most of the Al today comes from electrolysis
My initial thought would be "for a handle this small, vibration control is even more important," but I'm no woodologist. The hatchet is beautiful, and I love the chamfer you put around the edges.
the study of wood is called dendrology, the study of trees specifically. a botanist studies all plants, and the engineer studies building, construction, and physics. pretty sure one of those is the word you want.
The bigger you make a gong or a bell the longer and louder it vibrates.
Have you seen the Olfoundryman casting boxes? They're printable pieces that you cast, and you can make modular aluminum boxes that don't catch on fire and don't swell with moisture
I’ll check them out!
OOH Nice!!!!
ua-cam.com/video/cX2u6S5qV3Q/v-deo.html
OH YEA!! CHAMFER EVERYTHING!!!!! That looks AWESOME BRO!!!
You are an encyclopedia of knowledge,you should be teaching some new generations how to work on things.👍
Beautiful, and thank you for posting this.
I’ve wanted to do this for some time, I have some bronze that is so doggone hard that hacksaw and bandsaw blades simply skitter over it and at best make a shiny mark.
Adding Cast Iron to the mix could make it into a type of industrial strength bronze and hold an edge for longer.
If you're going to add iron you might as well just throw your hands up and make a steel alloy instead.
lots o' luck with that one. iron's melting point is higher than the burning point of aluminum, copper, and tin.
I think Iron does not dissolve in Al or Cu; it is the silicon present in the cast iron that gets mixed with Al.
His other build with the steel insert was the best idea
Maybe on another iteration or V2.0 he can machine a vertical groove in the hatchet head and just slide in the cutting edge then peen it over, then sand it to shape
Or maybe call it the quick build version
@@janami-dharmam No, there's commercial aluminium bronze alloys with 1-5% of iron in them. Those with iron are listed as higher hardness, but lower corrosion resistance. (Given that aluminium bronzes are often used in highly corrosive environments, e.g. partially in sea water, that's not necessarily a problem for this application). I do know that silicon bronzes are softer, but more ductile, than aluminium bronzes, so adding silicon is probably the wrong approach for an edge retention alloy. (That said, something things in 0.5 - 1% range have quite different effects to higher concentrations - alloys can get weird!). None of the common commercial aluminium bronzes have silicon in the mix, probably because of this reason (and silicon is more expensive than aluminium).
I'm really impressed with your progress. I remember some of the issues you had in early projects, which you've eliminated completely. Nearly flawless. Great work!
Aluminium alloy hatchets were used regulary in coal mining. It was done to prevent sparks which could ignite explosive gas or coal dust.
So it maybe not suitable for hard wood but effective for coal mining and also for shaping logs in mines.
i got one of these at my wall from my grandfather and it looks great :D
Nice project. Good workmanship and excellent editing.
the rolled edge might be at least partly from edge geometry. You'd probably want to make the edge with a larger angle, so it's got more support behind it. Like 30 degrees instead of 15 degrees kind of thing. It looks pretty slender in the video. It'd take longer to do the same job but it would be more likely to actually survive, I think.
Agreed. Also, given the apparent softness, he should have just peened the rolled over edge back into place.
15 degrees would be an incredibly acute angle even for a kitchen knife, let alone an axe.
@@yamiyomizuki Not really. 17 degrees is very common for a kitchen knife. 15 really isn't that extreme. There's plenty of 15 degree kitchen knives.
I've heard old copper-age blades (pre-bronze age) were "sharpened" by simply hammering the edge back into place, rather than using a whetstone or grinding method. This was practical and wasted little of the highly precious metal. Bronze tools could bend too, but I think the attitude was "who cares? just bend it back."
@@Jake-bt3fc typical for a chef's knife is 20 degrees. 15 degrees is way too much to ask of an axe made of a material softer than steel. dialing back the angle to something a little easier will absolutely result in a useful tool
What a thing of beauty you have made, both in function and aesthetics. It's a pleasure to watch you work and learn from your commentary. Thank you.
To keep from having to file open the eye, you could just make the sand core for the eye conical shaped.
Absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing. I thoroughly enjoyed watching your craftsmanship.
The end result looks beautiful, even if it is less effective than a steel axe.
I really liked your molding table, it seems like a really smart design to conceal a workspace for that specific task 👍
Nice work and nice video. I sometimes make blades from weak materials just for fun... it can teach us about modes of failure more easily than with strong materials.
You should do a Roman straight razor in bronze and shave with it!
What a beautiful piece my friend. It needs to be a piece of wall art or it would be in my home.
The chamfer was a good choice. I'm glad you spared the edge further abuse from the oak. I love your craftsmanship. You make lovely stuff. Seeing how much work you put into finishing your castings, much of which is due to the quality of the 3d prints you use, makes me wonder if you ought to invest in a resin 3d printer. There are quite a few good quality resin 3d printers that have a large enough build volume to print patterns for what you've been doing on this channel. Yeah, resin printing is a whole thing. It's messy and has requirements for ventilation, but you could save so much time by printing higher quality patterns in resin. An alternative to that would be finishing your FDM prints to a higher surface quality before molding them. Perhaps you just like the physical process of transforming the relatively rough quality of your castings though, in which case that's cool. I'm just thinking of this all from a jewelers perspective. Anyway, great video as always.
I think he has done a couple of projects using resin prints
This is a work of art and a joy to watch
Variations on this theme that I'd like to see are the use of arsenical bronze, if that's possible, and the potential durability of a bronze saw.
Also, as I think others have mentioned, keep in mind that the shape of the modern axe is influenced by steel, which allowed for a thinner blade. Softer materials may need to look more like a stone axe.
Wow, I wish youtube showed me stuff like this more often. Totally randomly youtube has shown me two young guys with two amazing hobbies in a row. So amazing to see these things being done. The modern world and technology makes so many things possible now, but only a few in every generation will have the heart to truly take advantage of those opportunities. Well done, this was wonderful to watch. New subscriber.
That tree was savable. Looks like when planted the root ball wasn't spread out.
It was in a bad spot. The wind did us a favor.
I disagree. If you'll notice, there is a large wedge missing from the trunk. This makes it impossible for a tree to survive.
"Was" being the key word.. go plant another tree..
You’re a little late, AZ John.
This is typical for a tree in bad soil or with deeproot barrier just around the initial rootbal. Replanting a tree that size and have it survive rarly works wel and requirs a lot of watering the first 2-3 years. I would of cut of the rootball and chucked the tree through a chipper to prevent anybody from starting to suggest replanting. Planting it back in the same hole doesn't fix the problem, either beeing deeproot or bad soil. both requir a lot of work and the after care needed make so it's easier to just replant a smaller tree later and fix the problems with the planting spot in due time instead of hastly.
Perfect. I was wondering the same thing about the aluminum bronze. One of my favorite alloys just based on color.
Aluminum pronze can be heat treated and tempered. You might look into that for better edge. Or let the edge get rolled a bit to work harden it then regrind to sharp, the reprofile will likely hold better.
Love ur casting bench! Great design.
Those chamfers are very beautyful
Just found this channel, its awesome! I did some sand castinhg in highschool and even made a training video about it for a project in 1984 . I have been think about doing some sand casting for awhile and this is motivating me to give it a go. Thanks. Your casting table is fantastic, things have changed since 1984!
Another amazing piece of Art Mr. Robinson! All thought I need to say that I loved how the axe looked after hardening, this hammering gave an interesting texture
Truly enjoyable build to watch, with a great mix of technique and aesthetics. AND I loved your secret casting table!
Piglin (seeing axe): [ _confused piglin noises_ ]
You've rekindled my creativity with this one. Thanks mate
THAT would survive a quiet life of luxury on my wall by the door patiently waiting for an intruders skull…Nice NICE work
This channel is awesome! Lots of hard work!
im curious about your locating pim 'mistake' - if its a symmetrical design, why did it matter?
The sprue was printed with that half of the pattern, so it had to be the top piece. Visible about 30 seconds in.
Not sure why I'm here, but I love the insight and craftmanship
No offense but you can always tell when someone is new to hanging an axe head. It shouldnt just go straight onto the handle with no effort, you should have to carefully fit the head to the handle, it should be tight.
Congratulations on the beautiful work! What he accomplished is a true work of art. I say "hi" directly from Brazil.
I've asked gpt what's the hardest aluminium bronze alloy, and it replied:
Aluminum bronze C95400 typically contains approximately 83% copper, 10% aluminum, 5% iron, and 2% nickel. These percentages may vary slightly depending on the specific alloy composition and manufacturer.
Next video idea “chat gpt designed my axe”
💙🇺🇲 Loved watching you work to create a beautiful hatchet! More please...😂 👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The little kid in me lit up when you showed the hidden sandbox in your workbench. Really awesome build too!
Thing of beauty! Many years ago as an apprentice centre lathe turner I foolishly made a starter motor bush from aluminium bronze instead of phosphor bronze, it was totally wrong for the job and lots of loose play appeared quickly as the steel shaft wore more quickly than the al bronze bush. lesson learned, this stuff is tough.
I am amazed at the intricacy of this sand casting. Even the people i considered professionals dont do it this well.
Wow, I was about to mention the fact that the aluminum and bronze are both softer metals, then steel so generally wouldn't hold up and in ancient times they would generally have to re-sharpen it every time they used it throughout using it just think of the copper, chisels and bronze chisels usedto make everything from the tombs of the pharaohs to great castles throughout Europe any large stone monuments
Beautiful work and yes I agree that the chamfered edges are more attractive as well as easier on the hand.👍🏻👏🏻 🎉
I have never watched a video about axes, blacksmithing, or even tools, but this was still quite fascinating.
I love the hammered effect when you hardenned the edge
Build 42 looking fire 🔥 🗣️
This really is an amazing channel! You really can teach an old man new tricks! Hi from Australia.
I liked your dovetail axe a lot more to be honest. Though I doubt it would survive a lot longer than this one, - it's just more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
I found this extremely interesting for three reasons:
1. I have always been curious about this alloy.
2. The comments of many others show an amazing level of experience and expertise. And I will know for future reference they congregate around your channel.
3. Your level of craftsmanship, metal, and wood, is outstanding.
BTW For handles I noticed Goosebay Sawmill & Lumber, Inc in New Hampshire has some small amounts of 4/4 Pignut Hickory.
All the best.
That is one heck of a masterpiece. Beautiful craft.
As an anthropologist/historian, you have given me a truly magnificent insight into the life and times, indeed, the world, of the 'Bronze Age.' You breathed real like into a time of humans more than three millennia past! Thank you!
Awesome video! I've always wondered how modern bronze/brass alloys would hold up in this sort of experiment. I like that you did the bare bones aluminum brass, I make that sometimes in my little devil forge. It held up better than I would have thought.
How beautiful that is. Thank you for sharing the process.
That maple was a lovely choice for the Handle, some cross hatching like on the stock of a shot gun would have looked beautiful on there
What a great art. This is a craft i always wanted to try. Thanks for the videos.
My only request would be that i think a curly maple handle would look great on one of those bronze ax you make.
@5:44 You should find someone that works with metal casting & have them make you a cool belt buckle.
I was fairly surprised it held up as good as it did. Brilliant well done mate.
What a cool experiment. Great, easy to follow presentation of the process!
I used a pair of aluminum bronze wedges as part of the bow irons on a medieval crossbow build - they jam fit between two steel blocks to clamp the bow to the stock. One thing I noticed is that when pounded into place with a steel hammer, the aluminum bronze wedges would deform very slightly and result in a fit that was much tighter than a pair of steel wedges. They made a very pretty contrast with the blued steel until they got scuffed and scratched to hell - an interesting material but frankly too soft for most applications I've tried it in.
Nice observation re the work-hardening and the change in the response of the hammer
In this informative video it appears you have a wonderful and well equipped shop. My hat is off to you sir! A job well done. Thanks for sharing!! The finished product is beautiful............. AND other than holding an edge it did a good job. THANKS!
Nice workshop and workmanship
Yes, the chamfer is a very good choice.
Amazing pal. It's a joy to watch a craftsman at work 👊20.35
Beautiful work mate.
It will make a beautiful wall-hanging. Nice job
Very nicely done, I've cast several alloys of bronze or brass over the years, but none for tool purpose, generally art. I thought it held up pretty well considering. It's been a primary metal for bearings in engines and transmissions, where I've been working with it mostly, special alloys. Thanks, very nice.
love your work, one thing you might try is after you oil the handle (exclude the top to begin with and no steel wedges) soak just the head in a bucket of water for a few days, it will cause the wood to swell and really lock the head on. My grand father showed me this when i was young, he never even used wedges unless the head came loose later. I had to replace a handle he fitted once and it took longer to get old handle out than to fit the new one it was locked in so tight. The different color wood does look great though
Amazing artistry. You for sure were a Bronze Age master craftsman in a previous life!
One thing to consider is that during the Bronze Age, and even the early Iron Age, little of the wood used was seasoned and dried first. Green wood is vastly easier to work than seasoned wood, so your axe's edge would likely have lasted longer. Also, you did not apparently sharpen the edge between cutting experiments. This treatment would be reasonable for a steel or iron axe, but an individual used to using bronze tools would likely have habitually maintained the edge to ease the work.
BEAUTIFUL WORK. We used magnesium bronze for high strength clamps. They didnt like stretching as they work hardened fast, but they were great to grip the steel pipes. WORST PART was drilling the bolt hole for the clamp through the cast unit. I learnt to sharpen drills by hand very well indeed. This was in the 80s onwards. Drills were not great to start with. ..
That really came out well!
Now I'm going to try to make something.
Thank you for this!
great camera work and editing too
I have wondered for years how aluminum bronze axe or sword blades would fare. I am thrilled to see someone try it out.
You my friend are a TRUE CRAFTSMAN. 👏👏👏
I have been researching bronze swords a bit, I'd really like to built one that is actually a sword. Much of the bronze strips one can buy is aluminium bronze, and it is said that aluminium bronze is not suitable for swords because it is much too brittle. The resultting edge damage seems to give this creedence, I have seen a bronze axe survive much more torture without failing like this. Swords and axes were 10-20% Tin Bronze, unfortunately I don't have the equipment to cast it myself. Really interesting to see, thanks!
nope its brittle one you have over 12% Tin 12% tin 88%copper was guns ,swords where 8 % or 6% tin. high amount tin is for church bells
@@Preyhawk81 Many surviving european swords were between 10-12%, google a bit. And some chinese ones up to 20%, but those are outliers in the world of bronze swords. I have never seen the 6-8% figure. Could be these are arsenic bronzes with less tin but more arsenic (edit: early swords were generally lower tin, but the tin also leeches out over time and might not really show what it originally was) , but the tin bronze is generally accepted to be 10-12% for best results.
And bells to my knowledge are between 20-30% tin.
The table set up for casting looks really useful. Axe came out great, would have cold forged that folded edge back into line before moving on to the grinder though.
Try hammering the edge in on itself, then working it back to a taper before grinding to a broad round edge.
1:14 - that moment like "Sauron has the ring, but I have a solution here under my table desk." 😀