Made a hatchet

JeFF D · Dec 14, 2003

Well after reading all about blacksmithing and getting instructions off the internet for heat treating and all that, me and my dad made a hatchet out of a leaf spring. Dont laugh..I know its kinda rough but its our first attempt.

It's roughly modeled after this one from Busse Combat http://www.zvis.com/knives/knimgtmpl.shtml?/images/knives/fix/bck/busseph1.jpg

Theres no finish on it right now, what would you guys recommend using for a durable finish. I was thinking maybe gun blue but I dont know if that will hold up. Or maybe I will just leave it bare and keep it well oiled.
Suggestions appreciated

-jeff

JeFF D · Dec 14, 2003

other side

JShirley · Dec 14, 2003

Hey, that looks great for a first attempt. Had chance to see how it performs yet?

John

JeFF D · Dec 14, 2003

No sir, have not had a chance to see how it performs yet, well I did do some light chopping on a pallet and the edge didnt roll over or dull. I plan on trying it out tomorrow.
-jeff

JShirley · Dec 15, 2003

Please keep us advised! What type of heat treat did you do?

Cold blue is on two knives I've bought. It's better than bare steel, certainly. I've been thinking lately about GunKote, but I'm not sure if it's cost effective.

John

Gray_Fallen · Dec 15, 2003

Looks a lot better than my first forging attempts

Leaf springs make good blades and hawks/hatchets - I have forged a couple tomahawks from leaf springs, and they would just about keep on cutting after yer arm got plump tired and fell off.

I suggest K&G Inc. product called GunKote to coat it with - its a littl emore robust than gun blue - although any high impact use will wear off any finish, it'd help protect a good portion of the hatchet, and can be reapplied at home when it starts to wear. You can also play with colours, black, grey, tan, OD green, or a tiger stripe mix of several.

JeFF D · Dec 15, 2003

Jshirley,
I used the heat treat instructions from this site http://user.netonecom.net/~swordman/SwordMaking/HeatTreating.htm

5ptdeerhunter · Dec 15, 2003

That is some good work Jeff. So when do I get to try itÂ¿

JeFF D · Dec 15, 2003

Mike,
You can try it out anytime you come over.

Jshirley,
I tried it out today after school and im really happy with its overall performance. What I used to test it on was a 2x2 which I easily chopped through in about 10 seconds, and a very hard 2x4 off of a pallet... oak I think. That 2x4 was much more difficult since it was completely dried out, had a few knots in it and probably frozen too since theres snow and ice outside. Chopping through the 2x4 took probably 10-15 minutes it sounded like I was going through concrete I really thought I was gonna destroy the edge. I checked the edge periodically for damage there was none and there was no damage when I was done, all it took was a few passes on a stone and it was like before I started, except for one nick where I hit the vice on accident...oops.
Only bad thing were the vibrations in the handle but it was bearable.

I would be able to compare it to my Gransfors bruks wildlife hatchet I just got in the mail a few days ago but my moms making me wait until christmas..

I took some pictures...

In the background you can see our fireplace we used to heat the steel.

JeFF D · Dec 15, 2003

Ridiculous yet functional homemade anvil, made out of an old air compressor motor filled with cement....it works.

JeFF D · Dec 15, 2003

and one of the wood and hatchet.

JShirley · Dec 15, 2003

Hey, if it works, it works.

(Or, as one of Murphy's laws says, if it's stupid, but it works, it's not stupid.)

John

Gray_Fallen · Dec 15, 2003

Nice anvil.

Seriously.
One of the first things the blacksmith needs to learn is the ability to dumpster dive and forage - it seems to me that smithing is a hobby/passtime/profession that is very condusive to recycling, dumpter diving and foraging for scraps that can be used. Its a good quality to have anyway.

El Tejon · Dec 15, 2003

Nice work, Jeff. Looks great if it works!

Keep at it and keep us advised.

Greg L · Dec 16, 2003

me and my dad made a hatchet out of a leaf spring. Dont laugh..I know its kinda rough but its our first attempt.

Frankly, you've done more that probably 95%+ of the population in the country, that is make a functional tool. Even if you never make another one (which would be a shame because it seems like this one works rather well) the knowledge is there along with the practical experience.

Good job, now you can work on the refinements (while I work on getting the practical experience

).

Greg

cookhj · Dec 16, 2003

i've always wanted to make knife blades out of old files, but i've never had the time to do it. i need to look around to find more info on doing it. some of the nicest handmade knives i've seen have been made from old file blades. they're good looking and keep and edge pretty well if done right.

JeFF D · Dec 21, 2003

Thanks for all the kind words guys.

Who knows maybe this could turn out to be a career for me.
Today I started making a Becker Combat Utility 7 copy

-jeff

Don Gwinn · Dec 22, 2003

That's a great start. Your anvil in particular is innovative. I haven't seen one built that way before, but it looks, if anything, more functional than mine (railroad track w/no horn.) Is it stable? Loud?

The hatchet is surprising for a first piece, it looks very good. Be sure to show us the knife when it's done!

Jim March · Dec 23, 2003

It looks great! (The hatchet, that is...)

One suggestion: you need some small holes at the pommel so you can tie off the cord-wrap grip without need for tape. A good carbide bit should do it even post-heat-treat.

Also: do NOT underestimate leaf spring steel (5160). It *rocks* for big knives, axes and swords. Borrow a page from the HI playbook and score Mercedes Benz springs...there's something better about them

. Or Volvo when you can't score those. The HI smiths (Kamis) are using *truck* Mercedes and Volvo springs; I would assume the metallurgy on the same brand cars should be the same but that's not guaranteed...if it IS the same, then BMW springs oughta be good too (none of these high-end cars are available in Northern Indian junkyards very often).

Don Gwinn · Dec 23, 2003

Only problem when scrounging 5160 is that you have to go to older cars to get it from American cars and trucks. The upside is that one leaf is a lot of knives (maybe not if you make big honkin' hatchets like that one!) But the leaf springs on, for example, my '86 Chevy truck are probably not 5160.

American makers by and large stopped using 5160 for leaf springs in the early 1960's. I'm sure there are lots and lots of exceptions, but I'm not the guy to ask what they are.

More modern springs are often good blade steel, too, but they're unknown quantities. To use them you want to make a crude test piece from a given piece and test it with different heat treats to figure out exactly what it does (if not what it is.) With enough patience you can end up with a good stock of steel with varying strengths and weaknesses this way, and experimentation of this type makes you a better smith.

Made a hatchet

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