Making a tomahawk out of old saw blade

[Nicholas McLaughlin]

Most people here know that you can make anything from knives to arrow heads with old saw blades, but what about a tomahawk head? The blade I want to make mine out of is a large circular saw blade but I don't know if the steel its made out of can withstand the impact a tomahawk blade goes through. Does anybody out there know anything on this matter?

 

[Pipeman]

These are all made from 5/32nd circular sawmill blade about 100 yeas old. Some say it L6 other say it usually isn't. The stuff is touch as hell.

Regards

Robin

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[Casehardn]

I haven't tried a saw blade yet.
I usually forge them from old ball-pein hammers and they turn out nice. Fit right in you back jeans pocket.

 

[foxx]

How did you plan on using the steel? As a bit, in a forge weld hawk head? Or, like Pipeman's hawk? If it's thin like Pipeman's, then I just can't imagine there's enough weight to cause lots of impact. And, used as the bit, it should also be fine, when surrounded by a tougher steel. I'm no expert, but Kentucky uses L6 for bits on lots of hawks.

 

[COAL CREEK FORGE]

Nicholas one main factor to take into consideration is your own taste and use of what you want it for.Saw blade's make good hawk's but have a flex factor to contend with depending on how long the handle would be if your going the integral route.Useing longer slab's of handle material will stiffen the handle but then you run the risk of breaking and cracking the slab's if your an abusive user.not trying to scare you away from the saw blade hawk,they do work and they work good.Just take all thing's into consideration.

 

[Nicholas McLaughlin]

I just wanted to make my own hawk that can actually be used as a tool without me worrying if I will break it. The design I want is the axe blade on one side and a pick opposite of it. There is only enough steel on the saw blade to cut out just the head or have the steel continue down half the handle. I don't have a forge or access to one, just an old saw blade and basic tools. I suppose there is only one way to find out if this will work and that is to go for it, I will post pics when Im done. Thanks for the current info guys.

 

[Chris Pierce]

How do you plan on heat treating the blade after it is shaped?

 

[Nicholas McLaughlin]

I was hoping that it would be strong enough as is, but If I did heat treat it I would stick it in the coals of my back yard fire place or use a propane torch. Then I would cool it in oil or water, I just don't know how many times I should do it.

 

[screened porch]

I was hoping that it would be strong enough as is, but If I did heat treat it I would stick it in the coals of my back yard fire place or use a propane torch. Then I would cool it in oil or water, I just don't know how many times I should do it.

I'm wondering how you're going to cut it out. If you could keep it cool you might be ok without heat treatment. I don't know enough about the steel to speculate about HT.

 

[Pipeman]

Hi Nick, Is it a big old sawmill blade like the one in this picture, or is it a modern blade, small or large?

Regards

Robin

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[Nicholas McLaughlin]

It is a 12in modern circular saw blade that I found in my basement when I moved in, I plan on cutting it out with a cut off wheel on a grinder.

 

[Pipeman]

Hi Nick, Modern blades like table saw blades and skill saw blades are usually pretty bad steel, only the teeth are good stuff. Even the big modern sawmill blades are made with good steel in the teeth for the most part. If you're just going to throw it it should be fine though. A local scrap yard or maybe yard sales may turn up something better. I thin leaf spring works great for a through the haft type hawk.

Regards

Robin

 

[Nicholas McLaughlin]

Well I wanted it to actually use it as a tool, you know, chopping and what not. Would the steel still suck if I head treated it? Like if I heated it up to the point of glowing then rapidly cool it?

 

[Pipeman]

Well I wanted it to actually use it as a tool, you know, chopping and what not. Would the steel still suck if I head treated it? Like if I heated it up to the point of glowing then rapidly cool it?

You could give it a try but it would be good to know what steel it's made of. My best advice would be to buy a cold steel hawk for $25.00 that will do the chores you want. If you decide to try a heat treat then take the blade to non magnetic in the fire and then quench it in oil, old car oil will do. Buying a Cold steel hawk will give you the tool you're looking for then you can mess around with the saw blade for a throwing hawk.

Regards

Robin

 

[Nicholas McLaughlin]

I already have a SOG fast hawk and its an awesome tool, I just wanted something more personal. I like knowing I can use things that I actually make. The only info I have on the blade is that it says 'oldham smooth cutting 10in' on it but nothing about what its made out of. I will try to make it work with the heat treatment then test it out to see if it works for what I want it for. If it doesn't work I will just get some better steel and try try again. (it took me five tries to make a usable bow, I hope it doesn't take that many again for a hawk.)

 

[foxx]

Nicholas, one thing to consider there is the thickness of your saw blade. I own a small hunter's hatchet, from Western. It's a flat 3.16" thick, and around 11" over all length. It's small, and very light compared to a hatchet, or even other traditional hawks(with an eye through the head). I wanted it for backpacking, thought I could use it to make kindling etc. But, it sucked at actually chopping, due to it's lightweight.
I would like to make a integral hawk from a thin stock, but not for chopping or chores. I'm thinking more for a self defense weapon, lightweight, very sharp, and very fast in hand. It would lack the mass to have much momentum, but it may slice well, IDK. I'd like to try out Pipeman's little Winkler -Sayoc style hawk to get an idea of it's feel, or just make my own. I'm thinking concealed carry would be perfect for this type of hawk.

 

[Nicholas McLaughlin]

Ah ha! I just looked up what kind of steel my saw blade is made out of and although it didn't say exactly what kind of steel it is it did say that all table saw blade plates are hardened to prevent wobbling since it spins so fast. So mabie it will work after all. (unless it ends up being brittle) If it ends up not being heavy enough to be used as a tool I can always ad more of the same steel onto it and bolt it onto the head, what I mean is, cut out smaller bars of the saw blade steel and sandwich them on both sides of the tomahawk head to ad weight and also ad stability to the chopping head and pick end.

 

[Pipeman]

Nicholas, one thing to consider there is the thickness of your saw blade. I own a small hunter's hatchet, from Western. It's a flat 3.16" thick, and around 11" over all length. It's small, and very light compared to a hatchet, or even other traditional hawks(with an eye through the head). I wanted it for backpacking, thought I could use it to make kindling etc. But, it sucked at actually chopping, due to it's lightweight.
I would like to make a integral hawk from a thin stock, but not for chopping or chores. I'm thinking more for a self defense weapon, lightweight, very sharp, and very fast in hand. It would lack the mass to have much momentum, but it may slice well, IDK. I'd like to try out Pipeman's little Winkler -Sayoc style hawk to get an idea of it's feel, or just make my own. I'm thinking concealed carry would be perfect for this type of hawk.

Hi there Foxx
Re: the lack of mass and momentum. I had the same concerns when using the 5/32nd steel but found two things about momentum making both the Dan Winkler shape (more or less))) and also a 22 inch hickory haft with a through the haft head of the same steel.
The short Winkler gets its momentum from angle of attack and the curve of the handle especially when swinging it spike forward. It pierced a 50 gallon drum and also the hood of an old riding lawn mower without a lot of effort much to my surprise. I have to admit that more weight would add to momentum and piercing ability but the shape of the handle seems to help a great deal even using light steel. The light weight also makes it feel very fast. It certainly wouldn't stand up to the kind of abuse that a Winkler would but for hand to hand combat it would certainly hold it's own IMO.
The through the haft hawk with a fairly long handle easily cut down a couple of 8 inch poplars without much effort. I make the hawks primarily for throwing but they can be used for camp chores and be pretty effective. The one issue is striking the haft when splitting which can be overcome by splitting through the side rather than striking the end of the grain.
You should make up a Winkler style, I think you will find the light steel and the feel of the hawk quite effective.

Best regards

Robin

 

[Pipeman]

Hey Nick, if the company is still in business you may be able to find out the type of steel used in the blade. I got info from a logging bandsaw company about their steel. Good luck with your project. Hope you post some pics when you get it finished.
If I can help in any way just send me a message.

Regards

Robin

 

[foxx]

Hi there Foxx
Re: the lack of mass and momentum. I had the same concerns when using the 5/32nd steel but found two things about momentum making both the Dan Winkler shape (more or less))) and also a 22 inch hickory haft with a through the haft head of the same steel.
The short Winkler gets its momentum from angle of attack and the curve of the handle especially when swinging it spike forward. It pierced a 50 gallon drum and also the hood of an old riding lawn mower without a lot of effort much to my surprise. I have to admit that more weight would add to momentum and piercing ability but the shape of the handle seems to help a great deal even using light steel. The light weight also makes it feel very fast. It certainly wouldn't stand up to the kind of abuse that a Winkler would but for hand to hand combat it would certainly hold it's own IMO.
The through the haft hawk with a fairly long handle easily cut down a couple of 8 inch poplars without much effort. I make the hawks primarily for throwing but they can be used for camp chores and be pretty effective. The one issue is striking the haft when splitting which can be overcome by splitting through the side rather than striking the end of the grain.
You should make up a Winkler style, I think you will find the light steel and the feel of the hawk quite effective.

Best regards

Robin

Robin, thanks for the info/insight. I need to find the right piece of steel(price=free), then get busy cutting it out. 5/32" seems like the thickness I want, and I know I can make some handle scales, but maybe micarta or G-10 would be too heavy? Maybe I need to do a cord wrap like yours, to keep it light, and not add too much weight to the handle area?
I just made up a pine version of the Winkler-Sayoc training hawk. I wanted to get some practice on making handles, test out some 80 grit emory tape that I just got, and my 13 year old cousin wanted to "borrow" mine. I thought "I'll make him one that can't hurt anyone, and won't cost anything but my time.
It's off topic, but here's a pic...