I would like to address the common theme in the comments. My workspace is outside and subject to direct and indirect sunlight depending on weather and time of day. The sunlight makes the incandesce of the steel at different temperatures appear less than indoors. In direct sunlight orange heat looks cherry red, I am forging the steel at an orange heat well above critical temperature even though it sometimes doesn't appear so. The cheap 50$ point and shoot camera I use can compound this issue as I cannot control the exposure at all. Thank you to all the commenters for your imput and enjoy the video!
I'd recommend forging at a yellow heat. Timothy Dyck on UA-cam has a video where he makes an axe out of rr spikes. He forges down the head and upsets the tip to make them into consistent square stock. Then he forge welds a couple of billets out of the square stock, and does a really unusual forge weld to merge the two billets into it's final form.
Don'tont worry of the whiners,great video man! I have only one question: Why not use oil of any kind for your quenching?( As a non blacksmith the old country boys I grew up around that shod horses or made their own tools, they stressed oil quenching to not over strengthen the steel so as not to shatter it later supposedly)
@@johnelwoodsinejr.9377 railroad spikes dont have enough carbon to harden in oil. They barely harden in water. They harden enough to be usable as a tomahawk but they don't have great edge retention. They sure look cool and are very light though.
Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Just started forging myself. I'm starting old school with a coke forge and my great-great grandfather's anvil. Even have a picture of him and the anvil from 1910! Keep up the good work and look forward to things to come.
As a 15 year blacksmith I will suggest a few things that'll help but you did do a good job with what you did. But make you a shop that's dark so you can tell what temps you're getting your steel to. And get you a pair of tongs that fit your spike better and last I would suggest splitting the edge of the tomahawk and forge welding a piece of high carbon steel into it as the cutting bit. It'll hold up much better in the long run. That spike was just case hardened and it won't take much use before its wore out or dulled. But other than that it looked good.
Im not sure about international shipping to your home land but i kniw a man that may can fix you up. James Duncan Sprinkled Doughnut Forge, Moscow Texas. He has a channel here on youtube. He makes all things Spike wise lol. Another option in your neck of the woods could possibly be Torbjourn Ahman, on youtube also, he is a wonderfull smith in norway or sweeden i cant recall. Matter of fact he may be a good option for your longhouse project viking village. 😁 I dont have the tooling yet or id make it myself just for you. It would be an honour. Hope that helps at least some brother Blessings 2 u sirSir, Crawford out
Well I was going to try to make one but afraid I would never get the eye right. Looked like more work than I want or can do. But I appreciate your video, just hearing the hammering was very pleasant and mesmerizing, without music or the constant banter of explaining. Your video was easy and pleasing to watch. Good job on the hatchet.....I might give it a try. Thanks young fella.
Nice job for a fiddley piece to work with and learned a different technique to try for drawing out the blade. May I suggest to heat the work to a higher temperature while upsetting it? It looked a bit too cool by the colour in the video, although it is hard to tell the colour for sure. The metal will be hottter for longer and more "plastic" (malleable) for the upsetting process. I learned this the hard way and had more favourable results when closer to welding temperature. I look forward to see what else you have up your sleeve.
If the *Ting* of the anvil starts to nag at your head until you get a migraine, I wrap a length of chain around the base of mine to deaden it. Badass project BTW Edit: I just saw the pinned comment about the forge temp color. I thought you did a great job not overheating the steel being outside.
I don't know if it is the sunlight, but it looks like you're forging much too cold. Like at a red heat, where it would be significantly easier forging it at a nice orange yellow heat.
@@robertlangley258 and as somebody who forges 3+ times a week, ive got a fairly good grasp on how it works. I was making a valid comment, you were not.
Just saw this video. Nice work despite the difficulty you had with misfitting tongs. You might enjoy forging some spike holding tongs to make your work much easier. I like the way you used a hammer head as a anvil block and a bolster. If you’re interested check Big Dog Forge on UA-cam. He has a video of forging spike holding tongs.
Phil getcha a pair of used horse nippers. Slot the top jaw to go over the spike body and hold the head inside the jaws. Thework really good for rail spikes. Good job by the way nice build. Blessed days 2 u sirSir, Crawford out
I get a better quench with RR spikes by using a little salt and dish washing liquid in the water...I too think it needs to be much hotter when working, and when you quench.
This is to help prevent a steam jacket from forming around the piece. The instantly boiling layer of water can insulate the steel from quenching as rapidly as possible. Moving it around prevents this.
They do make pliers just for holding railroad spikes tou can fint them on ebay cheap cheap. Project turned out cool my son and I got some spikes we are planning to make into knives and hatchets so been watching a few vids on it.
Whatever temper your punches/drifts WERE, aren't any more. Get in the habit of having a bucket of water near your anvil so you can cool off punches and the like so they don't lose their temper as quickly!!! Are you using spikes marked HC on the head? The HC means high carbon and they WILL harden quite nicely! Especially if you edge quench with a VERY light brine. Nice video with a well done spike axe!!
The spikes are marked HC. The home made drift I'm using is S7 steel and air hardens, no need to quench in water. The commercial drift I use to finalize is ductile iron and isn't hardened or tempered. The punch I do cool off as it gets hot.
You do not see a lot of black smiths use the anvil the way it was intended to be used . I've seen very few still use it. the way you just did good job man loved the vid
Jackie Pierce years ago a blacksmith just finished up with a horseshoe and tossed it in a bed of sand to cool off. It had lost its red glow but was still very hot. In walks this farmer just killin time. He shoots the breeze with the smith for a time and as he wanders by the sand bed he notices the horseshoe. Curious, he reaches down and picks it up... only to drop it immediately. The blacksmith chuckles and says, “kinda hot?” “Nope” said the farmer. “Just don’t take me long to look at a horseshoe.”
I've done that, I let a hot knife cool down in a frying pan and like 10 minutes later I forgot cause I'm retarded, and I picked it up and before I knew what happened my own reaction just threw the metal down lol, the human body is fascinating
Railroad spikes don't have a very high carbon content, even the "higher carbon" ones have less than most medium carbon steels. They don't get super hard even in water and won't harden at all in oil. This tomohawk will hold an edge well enough for light chopping tasks that it's sized for, and it's very easy to sharpen in the feild due to the softer nature of the steel.
The first one I use I made from S7 tool steel. The second one I use is a commercially made drift that is made from ductile iron, it can't take as much abuse as the tool steel one so I only use it to finish shape the eye. I purchased it from blacksmiths depot online. The handle is also from them and matches the drift.
I have to make 3 this week they dug up the road on Main Street in town and found the old train tracks so I got some spikes to make for the town museum.
I machine a slot in mine to drift the eye this might be considered cheating but it sure makes thing easier, I also use the horn on my anvil to drift the hole it makes a perfect tapered eye
Because the top of the tomohawk is strait but the bottom has the beard and the head of the spike in the way. So you need to support the material around the eye without distorting the parts the are below it
it appears that your anvil is set at your knees and you are bending over to work the steel raise that anvil up to where if you hold your hammer straight out while putting yours arms down along your body or nearly up to waist level
The anvil is at fist height with my arms hanging, about crotch height. If I hold material or the tongs between my legs to use both hands I have to get up on my toes slightly.
I would like to address the common theme in the comments. My workspace is outside and subject to direct and indirect sunlight depending on weather and time of day. The sunlight makes the incandesce of the steel at different temperatures appear less than indoors. In direct sunlight orange heat looks cherry red, I am forging the steel at an orange heat well above critical temperature even though it sometimes doesn't appear so. The cheap 50$ point and shoot camera I use can compound this issue as I cannot control the exposure at all. Thank you to all the commenters for your imput and enjoy the video!
I'd recommend forging at a yellow heat. Timothy Dyck on UA-cam has a video where he makes an axe out of rr spikes. He forges down the head and upsets the tip to make them into consistent square stock. Then he forge welds a couple of billets out of the square stock, and does a really unusual forge weld to merge the two billets into it's final form.
You have absolutely nothing to apologize for sir, one of the best forging videos on UA-cam in my book.
Don'tont worry of the whiners,great video man! I have only one question: Why not use oil of any kind for your quenching?( As a non blacksmith the old country boys I grew up around that shod horses or made their own tools, they stressed oil quenching to not over strengthen the steel so as not to shatter it later supposedly)
@@johnelwoodsinejr.9377 railroad spikes dont have enough carbon to harden in oil. They barely harden in water. They harden enough to be usable as a tomahawk but they don't have great edge retention. They sure look cool and are very light though.
@@phillmartin9540 so in reflection it's very low carbon in that steel,closer to iron than steel. Correct?
Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Just started forging myself. I'm starting old school with a coke forge and my great-great grandfather's anvil. Even have a picture of him and the anvil from 1910!
Keep up the good work and look forward to things to come.
Ahh the familiar struggle of constant stuff falling off the anvil haha, good times.
Just got my first anvil and forge, I definitely want to try this after some practice. Very cool, thank you for sharing
Pretty fkn A Phill. You're making me think I can set this sht up in my backyard and start knocking these out lol. Thanks for the education.
As a 15 year blacksmith I will suggest a few things that'll help but you did do a good job with what you did. But make you a shop that's dark so you can tell what temps you're getting your steel to. And get you a pair of tongs that fit your spike better and last I would suggest splitting the edge of the tomahawk and forge welding a piece of high carbon steel into it as the cutting bit. It'll hold up much better in the long run. That spike was just case hardened and it won't take much use before its wore out or dulled. But other than that it looked good.
I have not made one yet, came away with a lot more knowledge. Thank you.
Very fascinating, I want one of those! Shared!
Im not sure about international shipping to your home land but i kniw a man that may can fix you up.
James Duncan Sprinkled Doughnut Forge, Moscow Texas. He has a channel here on youtube. He makes all things Spike wise lol.
Another option in your neck of the woods could possibly be Torbjourn Ahman, on youtube also, he is a wonderfull smith in norway or sweeden i cant recall. Matter of fact he may be a good option for your longhouse project viking village. 😁
I dont have the tooling yet or id make it myself just for you. It would be an honour.
Hope that helps at least some brother
Blessings 2 u sirSir,
Crawford out
Keep an eye on your PO box...
Phill Martin I got it! Thank you very much! I’ll send you an email.
Very nice!! Upsetting mass for the blade rather than forgewelding in a bit seems the way to go! Awesome results sir 👍
All that work and we don't get to see you test it out!? Bro! Lol that is amazing work though!
Nice piece of work there!
Well I was going to try to make one but afraid I would never get the eye right. Looked like more work than I want or can do. But I appreciate your video, just hearing the hammering was very pleasant and mesmerizing, without music or the constant banter of explaining. Your video was easy and pleasing to watch. Good job on the hatchet.....I might give it a try. Thanks young fella.
Nice job for a fiddley piece to work with and learned a different technique to try for drawing out the blade. May I suggest to heat the work to a higher temperature while upsetting it? It looked a bit too cool by the colour in the video, although it is hard to tell the colour for sure. The metal will be hottter for longer and more "plastic" (malleable) for the upsetting process. I learned this the hard way and had more favourable results when closer to welding temperature. I look forward to see what else you have up your sleeve.
Good looking work. I want one now lol
Awesome brother! I like it.
Wow that came out awesome!
Very hard work that is
This was a good example project. Something newcomers could try.
Nice work.
Good job man 👍👍
If the *Ting* of the anvil starts to nag at your head until you get a migraine, I wrap a length of chain around the base of mine to deaden it. Badass project BTW
Edit: I just saw the pinned comment about the forge temp color. I thought you did a great job not overheating the steel being outside.
One hell of a watch !
Muy bien!!! Hice uno similar!!! Saludos
Nice job
Awesome thanks for the idea 👍🏽😷🇺🇸💪🏾
Nice job 👍👍👍
I don't know if it is the sunlight, but it looks like you're forging much too cold. Like at a red heat, where it would be significantly easier forging it at a nice orange yellow heat.
not only that but insufficient heat causes stress fractures something you do not want in an axe or whatnot
.....experts huh? Know-it-all dumbasses is more like it.
@@robertlangley258 well they are not wrong, forging it to cold will cause cracks in the metal.
@@robertlangley258 what did you say dumbass?
@@robertlangley258 and as somebody who forges 3+ times a week, ive got a fairly good grasp on how it works. I was making a valid comment, you were not.
Just saw this video. Nice work despite the difficulty you had with misfitting tongs. You might enjoy forging some spike holding tongs to make your work much easier. I like the way you used a hammer head as a anvil block and a bolster. If you’re interested check Big Dog Forge on UA-cam. He has a video of forging spike holding tongs.
Thank you for making the video.
You're shaking pretty good my man you need a beer
keep up the good work, love the vids
Great job! Love tge video!
New to the channel thinking about getting into forging
You really should! I very much enjoy it
Did u start forging mate?
Not yet still need an anvil
Phil getcha a pair of used horse nippers. Slot the top jaw to go over the spike body and hold the head inside the jaws. Thework really good for rail spikes.
Good job by the way nice build.
Blessed days 2 u sirSir,
Crawford out
That's a good idea. Never considered that
Do they really? I have an old pair I bought a while ago and haven't found a use for them, i will try this!
It would be fun to see you do another, having improved
Have you tried using a scap piece of coil spring. Flatted in a sanmi for the blade edge
Nice work with such an akward piece at the start!
I get a better quench with RR spikes by using a little salt and dish washing liquid in the water...I too think it needs to be much hotter when working, and when you quench.
I mainly use oil when quenching, but I have heard of making a solution of water and salt works as well, I might try it
Nice work I plan to make my first one soon (:
Awesome work .
Man!!! You must have just started forging smh it seem like it was a struggle… keep practicing tho 👍
Try a longer handle , like a walking stick . With a leather sheeth . I like it .
Gorgeous!!!
Add some old steel nails to it, to help add strength to the edge. Chisel in a grove, hammer closed, heat weld, and beat to shape.
Just wondering, why do you pull the piece in and out of the water a bunch of times when you quench it?
This is to help prevent a steam jacket from forming around the piece. The instantly boiling layer of water can insulate the steel from quenching as rapidly as possible. Moving it around prevents this.
Don't forget to cool your punch every once in a while
They do make pliers just for holding railroad spikes tou can fint them on ebay cheap cheap. Project turned out cool my son and I got some spikes we are planning to make into knives and hatchets so been watching a few vids on it.
EYE like it
We did this in my high school shop class
Whatever temper your punches/drifts WERE, aren't any more. Get in the habit of having a bucket of water near your anvil so you can cool off punches and the like so they don't lose their temper as quickly!!!
Are you using spikes marked HC on the head? The HC means high carbon and they WILL harden quite nicely! Especially if you edge quench with a VERY light brine.
Nice video with a well done spike axe!!
The spikes are marked HC. The home made drift I'm using is S7 steel and air hardens, no need to quench in water. The commercial drift I use to finalize is ductile iron and isn't hardened or tempered. The punch I do cool off as it gets hot.
HC actually means "highway crossing". Yes, they are higher carbon than the regular spikes.
Nice!
I have the exact same blue hammer
You do not see a lot of black smiths use the anvil the way it was intended to be used . I've seen very few still use it. the way you just did good job man loved the vid
What do you mean exactly? About people not using them properly
This I like very very much silence is golden. BLACK WOLF.
weld a little rail on your vise to keep the spike from moviing around
Nice job man, id be proud to hang it on my belt!
How does blade temper and hardness come out
Let me guess, in the heat of the moment, it only took once forgetting it's hot,lol
Jackie Pierce years ago a blacksmith just finished up with a horseshoe and tossed it in a bed of sand to cool off. It had lost its red glow but was still very hot.
In walks this farmer just killin time. He shoots the breeze with the smith for a time and as he wanders by the sand bed he notices the horseshoe. Curious, he reaches down and picks it up... only to drop it immediately.
The blacksmith chuckles and says, “kinda hot?”
“Nope” said the farmer. “Just don’t take me long to look at a horseshoe.”
I've done that, I let a hot knife cool down in a frying pan and like 10 minutes later I forgot cause I'm retarded, and I picked it up and before I knew what happened my own reaction just threw the metal down lol, the human body is fascinating
It happens surprisingly often.
What are you using to put the whole in it
Hi Phil.
I have been seeing some spikes with HC on them. Are those type higher in carbon than the one you used?
The ones with HC is what you want to use
Now you see why it called upsetting. You can get upset while upsetting a piece.
There's two ways a blacksmith can lose money, that's hitting cold iron, and hitting cold iron.
brent chalmers ....just goes to show you don’t know what your talking about hot rod.
@@robertlangley258 I was repeating an quote I heard from on old timey Smith, Slim Skafeld. Slim passed about 1968. Just appreciate the quote Robert.
How much do those cost
Im going to do this exact process, except im going to give it a bit made of 1090 carbon steel and heat treat accordingly.
nice amd thanks.
I must ask why did you quench it in water
Railroad spikes don't have a very high carbon content, even the "higher carbon" ones have less than most medium carbon steels. They don't get super hard even in water and won't harden at all in oil. This tomohawk will hold an edge well enough for light chopping tasks that it's sized for, and it's very easy to sharpen in the feild due to the softer nature of the steel.
where do you get one of those "eye" drifts? Do you have to make it?
The first one I use I made from S7 tool steel. The second one I use is a commercially made drift that is made from ductile iron, it can't take as much abuse as the tool steel one so I only use it to finish shape the eye. I purchased it from blacksmiths depot online. The handle is also from them and matches the drift.
I have to make 3 this week they dug up the road on Main Street in town and found the old train tracks so I got some spikes to make for the town museum.
I machine a slot in mine to drift the eye this might be considered cheating but it sure makes thing easier, I also use the horn on my anvil to drift the hole it makes a perfect tapered eye
Do you sell them
Why do you use elevation when switching sides for drifting.? Honest question. Not being an ass
Because the top of the tomohawk is strait but the bottom has the beard and the head of the spike in the way. So you need to support the material around the eye without distorting the parts the are below it
Hello, love your work, how can i buy a tomahawk from you? I have a few railroad spikes i can send you. Let me know
Can you contact me on my etsy?
Etsy.com/shop/hammerscrollforge
Or via my buisness email
Hammerscrollforge@gmail.com
Совет, грейте заготовку сильнее.
How long did it take to make?
Maybe 3 hours for this one, it was my first time making one, now I can make them under 2 hours I think
This is tricky upsetting it wants to twist and bend when it gets more mass on the end you're upsetting
If you would like too, try maybe quenching it in used motor oil, the carbon in the oil will adhere to the metal and harden it a bit.
Первый раз железо в руках...
it appears that your anvil is set at your knees and you are bending over to work the steel raise that anvil up to where if you hold your hammer straight out while putting yours arms down along your body or nearly up to waist level
The anvil is at fist height with my arms hanging, about crotch height. If I hold material or the tongs between my legs to use both hands I have to get up on my toes slightly.
not enough heat
To lo heat.
Good job but you work to much with cold steel
treat it with some gun blue then tell everybody u thought of it..
Do you have a website where I can purchase one of these tomahawks?
I sell some of my work on my etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/hammerscrollforge but I am not currently selling the tomahawks.
Can i have it ☺
yeah, no
Heat it more....your too cold
I think it's just the Sunlight
@@cody3362 nah hes right its too cold
どんくさい
Bad film quality
Bruh really
Santina Murphy lol we gotta tough guy over here