Christopher Price Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Scott Mack let me invade his shop yesterday, eat his steak, spend the night at his place, and burn up his gas. Many thanks, Scott, you're a true gentleman. So while I was there, I made this little thing: Wrought iron body, 1084 bit, and curly maple handle. And it eats wood for breakfast. I've wedged the head on, but I still need to fill some gaps with resin and wax the handle... maybe decorate it a little more. I love fun, one-day projects! The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil gagnon Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Very cool Chris, I really need to try one of these some day. Won't be as nice as yours though. "One who is samurai must before all things" Keep constantly in mind, by day and by night. the fact that he has to die... -Dai Doji Yuzon- 16th Century http://sites.google.com/site/canadianliveblade/home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymond Richard Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Chris, It looks real good! Is the head 75c long? How long is the haft? Raymond Richard www.hawknknives.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklionforge Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 nice looking lil choppa!!! would be perfect kindling axe or butcher axe.... i always have an issue getting my seams welded all the way back to the handle.....how did you deal with that ???/ really like the file/grinder work on the back end of the axe as well....looks like it would be a fun thrower as well....sa-lute All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart,and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Price Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 The handle is about a foot long, maybe a couple inches more. As for the welding, I hammered pretty close to the eye (closer than I meant to, actually, I was wanting a slightly bigger hole), and then I used a rounded off rectangular drift to sort the shape back out to where I wanted it... then went to cleaning up the outer faces. I've seen some of the belt axes Alan makes, and his studies of originals suggest that this size is not out of the question for historical little choppers. When you're carrying everything you need through the backcountry, smaller and lighter is better, and if it's too big for your little ax, you just don't chop it. I'd say you could, with minimal effort, get through at least 2 inch trees, maybe 3 inch, without too much trouble or risk to the tool. Mountainmen have nothing but time, anyway, so the time/tool tradeoff works. I used more of a hawk shape for the head, but I love the tiny package. The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbearforge Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I like it. They're fun to make aren't they? Jamie Jamie Boley Polar Bear Forge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charred Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I really like that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky Yeager Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 :lurk I like it Chris. Straightforward and workmanlike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Stephens Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Neat project. Yeah, one day projects are cool. --Dave -----------------------------------------------"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly." -- Theodore Roosevelthttp://stephensforge.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Cute! And a nice job on the forging, too. With something that small it can be hard to get the weld to take since it loses heat so fast. Here's a pic of three ca 1820s-1840s originals. Use the rifle stock above for scale. As you can see, Chris isn't too far from historical truth! And here's some that are even smaller. The handle (on the one that has one) is about 9 inches overall, with an eye that measured about 3/8 inch by 3/4 inch. The little double bit at left had an eye that was about 1/4 x 3/4" ! Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread. I just wanted to show folks how tiny some of the old axes really were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim P Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 There was an article in muzzleloader magazine, I think the title was "petite skull basher". It was a very small axe, I put it on my someday list, I would have to cheat and punch the eye though. I haven't seen very many, looks good. Alan, thanks for sharing your pictures. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Price Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 (edited) Alan, thanks for putting those pictures up. I've tried to explain the smallness of some of the historical work, but it's hard to believe until you see it yourself. I'm kinda on a "thin is in" kick, trying to scale down to historical standards instead of the overbuilt modern American knife. I really like that one in the first picture, far right, with the little hammer poll on the end... was that a seperate piece, or integral to the head? Edited June 29, 2009 by Christopher Price The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Integral to the head. I would have sworn it was a cast head, but see for yourself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Price Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hmm. If I were to attack that shape, I'd seriously think about doing a tennon from the hammer through a hole in the ax, and welding it before lapping over the head parts. That one looks like the whole head is drifted, with the poll in place already before slitting/drifting... unless it's welded over and I just can't see it in the pictures. The Tidewater Forge Christopher Price, Bladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbearforge Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Here's a pic of three ca 1820s-1840s originals. Use the rifle stock above for scale. As you can see, Chris isn't too far from historical truth! Alan, could you provide a few more dimensions on these? Jamie Jamie Boley Polar Bear Forge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Chris, I think that one was wrapped and welded. You can sort of see the seam at the front of the eye. My best guess on construction is that they left a blob in the middle of the bar, then made a couple of fullered-out grooves for the eye, then folded and welded over a drift. On most of these you can't see the weld seam after they've got some age on them. The hammer poll looks to have been mostly filed out. It's an odd one, and I'm still not sure how old it really is. One must be ever vigilant for fakes at shows like this one. Case in point: Looks okay at first glance, except the pewter and handle are obviously new replacements. Now look at the head and bowl: The bowl is a brass gaslight fitting! Hmmm.... The head itself is cast iron. Hmmmmm..... They did make cast iron pipe hawk heads for the Indian trade from the 1830s into the 1890s, could it have been one of those somehow modified? Nope. Total fake. I was looking at it very closely, trying to figure out how to tell the owner that his $2500 hawk was probably worth maybe $100, when the guy who made it wandered up and said "Hey, I haven't seen that in years! I made that back in about 1994 or 1995! " The head was a cheapo replica that didn't come with a bowl, so the guy added one he'd made from junk in his garage. The current owner of the thing was looking sicker by the minute as we talked. He wouldn't say who sold it to him or how much he'd paid, and I didn't feel like making him feel worse, but he obviously had thought it was an old one. Anyway, that hammer poll one might be real, and it might not be. The filework is extremely suspicious to me, as I've never seen that on any other period axes. But I'm open to it being old. Jamie, sorry, I didn't take exact measurements. These guys get a little suspicious if you start taking too much of an interest in their goodies without buying them, fearing that next year they'll see a repro that will lessen the value of their own collection. They're not that concerned with the rifles, but the other stuff they worry about for some reason. There are some VERY talented makers out there who can do a patina that can fool the experts. Thinking in relative terms, the rifle stock above the trio was about 4.5" at the buttplate, and the patchbox lid without the side plates was a little over an inch wide. On the other heads, that wooden-handled knife next to the one with the handle had a grip about 4 inches long. The heaviest axe of the six (far left in the first picture) was around 20 ounces. The lightest (the little double-bit in the second pic) was maybe 6 ounces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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