A few months ago I made a reproduction English trade knife and I had it in the back of my mind to make an axe to go with it. WeldrDave 's thread got me thinking it was about time. The first one I started Sunday, the metal was thicker than I liked and I abandoned it. I picked up some 1/4" mild steel bar stock and tried it. I also forged out a tool steel bit that would be let into the head to take an edge. The ends were peened out to a flare on each end. I located the middle of the head and bent it over a bick and carefully lined them up. After bending, the head was heated and coal mounded up for the forge weld. I could not get the tool steel to stick, so I went with just a regular forge weld. It took a few tries to get the pieces stuck. It was a matter of easing up on the air to get to a lemon yellow color of the steel. Once I had the right air flow, she stuck pretty good after that. Not too bad, a small seam line. A little clean up and getting the eye back in shape, it took a coat of paste wax. I made a haft out of sugar maple and stained it up. I was looking for an 18" long piece of straight walnut to match the knife handle, but all I had were short pieces. I used the kindling cracker to get the maple down to size. I will end up replacing the handle at some point, but I am real happy with the shape and weight. I think a slightly longer handle in walnut will be the ticket. This would have been just like what was used in our area in the late 1600's.
Thank you for the offer Luke. I picked over my stock and found a section of milled walnut crotch for the new handle. The grain is all over the place, and is not straight by any means. It will be a wall hanger. This handle is not as stocky and has nicer lines. 3 coats of Danish oil. It totally changes the look of it.
You know how I feel about this piece without me even saying a word......this is right up in my wheelhouse!
