The Axe, Hatchet, & Tomahawk Thread

[ElvenSoul]

I found this in an alley in Venice about six years ago. It will take a pretty good edge. I haven't used it much. Does anyone know what it is? A throwing hatchet or just some sort of all purpose hatchet?

Foraging Axe

Roman design

[BLACK LION]

Just picked up an Eastwing double bit axe and its pretty beasty...

[jonnyt16]

Revived this thread since we totally threadjacked the "Hardcore Hatchet" one.

Anyway, my Velvicut Hudson Bay showed up today and I gotta say I am thoroughly impressed with the fit and finish. What I am most thrilled about though is the haft. It feels so good. Council Tool did an excellent job making it thin and narrow like the American axes of old. I can honestly say it feels even better than my Swedish ones. Excellent grain on this one too. Going to treat the handle sometime this weekend, probably do my usual boiled linseed oil with a little bit of stain mixed in.




Here is the Velvicut Hudson Bay between my Wetterlings Scandinavian Forest Axe (sadly no longer being produced) and my Gransfors Bruk Wildlife Hatchet. I bought this axe to fill the gap between those two Swedes (I recently sold my Bushman axe) since the Scandinavian Forest axe is slightly too long and heavy to bring along for backpacking in my opinion, it is 26" and the Hudson Bay is just over 22".

[readysetgo]

Aw yeah, been meaning to put this one up for awhile.

Album with a couple more pics and larger: http://imgur.com/a/xIj1P

[jonnyt16]

Aw yeah, been meaning to put this one up for awhile.

Album with a couple more pics and larger: [url]http://imgur.com/a/xIj1P[/url

Interesting. Can't say I've seen those before. Where are they made?

[readysetgo]

Interesting. Can't say I've seen those before. Where are they made?

Got it off BF from Idaho. He is in Poland. I will dig up the specs etc, BRB.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1360128-Grafknvies-V-01C-tactical-tomahawk

4340 steel
15 inches
Some line x coating on the handles.

[Subotai]

Modified Cold Steel Rifleman's Hawk

I cut down this axe to make it lighter for carry. I cut off the hammer poll, removed the extra weight on top of the blade, then curved out under the blade some more. I also stripped off the paint and blued it.

Before and after pics.

[jonnyt16]

So I finally got around to treating the handle of my Hudson Bay. Sanded her down nice and smooth first then took a torch to it ever so slightly just for a little bit of the burnt grain look. Next came a boiled linseed oil and stain mix. Some love with 0000 steel wool after that and she was done. I'm planning a trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains next month for a few nights out in the wild so that should give me a good chance to see how this axe performs.

Here it is when I first got her:




And after:

[marksmandowntown]

Cold Steel Spike Hawk



I stripped the paint off the head with sandpaper, then heated it up in the oven when my wife wasn't home and applied a cold blue cream.



Then I stripped the finish off the handle, stained it dark and sealed it with poly.



I got the artificial sinew, leather strips and crude brass tacks at Tandy Leather Company.

EDIT: I picked up a black leather holster/sling on Ebay for $10, and I sharpened it just right. After playing around with this thing, I finally get what the big deal is.
They are very fast and they hit very hard for such a simple weapon. I'd much rather have this than a big Bowie knife or a machete.

[jonnyt16]

Okay so its been a little over a year since I restored my Dad's big True Temper axe and now I've decided to work on a hatchet that I also found in his shed. A lot of axe buffs over on Bladeforums told me this hatchet is WWII era because of the U.S. stamp and because of the length and shape of the handle. Here it is as I found it in my father's shed last year:




Reluctantly, I took the head off the original handle and will be going with a curved one from House Handles (still undecided on 16" or 18"). The "after" photos below I just took tonight after pulling it from a three day vinegar bath. I am considering painting the head Olive Drab because I think it would look cool and also because there are still some small specs of green paint leftover on the underside of the head so I believe it was originally painted green for the military way back when. Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. Will keep you guys updated.

After removing the head from handle and before the vinegar bath:






After vinegar bath:

[jonnyt16]

Okay so here's the final product on the US hatchet. I kinda got carried away once I started working on it and forgot to take photos during the process. Anyway, I painted the head Olive Drab and gave it a good sharpening using a file and then the Rooster method (if you don't know the Rooster method of sharpening an axe, go on Youtube and search "Rooster Method". It is genius.) I think it turned out great. I went with an 18" handle from House and had to sand it down a lot since it felt so thick. Some boiled linseed oil and a little bit of stain and she was all done.
Here's before/after:

[marksmandowntown]

Looks great Jonny, thanks for sharing.

[WMG]

Oh neat thread. So years back I was in the woods and came across this home made tomEhawk stuck in the tree. Took the pic just like I found it.
It was obvious someone took the head and attached it to a shaft ........ now later I'm showing my buddy my find and you probably can't tell in the pic but I mentioned how someone took the time to carve lines and stuff in the handle , mentioned jokingly that maybe it belonged to a real indian .................... my buddy looks up and says ................. hey idiot ...... it's a handle from a pool cue............................................... ................. so I had not noticed that , but I like it anyhow. Throws awesome.

[Oceanbob]

Jonny.......very nice......you're an outstanding Craftsmen.

Be well
Bob

[readysetgo]

Diggin' this Christmas present! Love the handle design, weight and balance. Would make a good fighter, I think.

Tops Knives F.A.X. FAST AXE 2

Overall Length 18.50"
Blade Length 5.19"
Blade Thickness 0.190"
Blade Steel 1095 RC 56-58