Forging an AXE from a Rail Road Spike
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- Forging a small axe or tomahawk from a railroad spike is a fun project. Although Rail Road spikes aren't particularly high carbon, so they won't have great edge holding ability.
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00:00 - Intro
00:18 - Upsetting
01:58 - Laying out the eye
03:27 - Slitting the eye
05:07 - Drifting
06:44 - Forging the blade
09:03 - Rough Grinding
10:17 - Can you harden a rail road spike?
14:26 - Finishing
16:24 - Putting it to the test
Anvil provided by; Fontanini Anvil and Tool
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Mailing address:
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Below you will find useful links that will help you in your journey as a blacksmith.
To find more information in blacksmithing in the US or to search for your local ABANA affiliate group visit.
www.abana.org/
Blacksmithing tools and supplies
Self contained air hammers - www.saymakhammers.com/
General blacksmithing supplies - www.oleoacresfarriersupply.com/
General blacksmithing supplies - www.piehtoolco.com/
General blacksmithing supplies - www.centaurforge.com/
General blacksmithing supplies - www.blacksmithsdepot.com/
General blacksmithing supplies - www.blacksmithsupply.com/
Square head bolts and lags - www.blacksmithbolt.com/
New anvils - www.oldworldanvils.com/
New anvils - www.nimbaanvils.com/
New anvils -
Industrial supplier - www.mcmaster.com
Tong blanks and tools - kensironstore.com/
Fire brick and refractory - refwest.com
Blacksmithing and related activities can be hazardous. These videos are not a substitute for competent professional instruction. Your safety is your sole responsibility. Always use appropriate safety equipment including eye and ear protection when working in the shop. Follow manufactures safety guidelines for the use of all equipment. In the event something shown in one of these videos seems unsafe, it is up to you to make the appropriate changes to protect yourself.t yourself.
I have been a blacksmith/ fabricator/ machinist for 50 + years and i never tire of watching other craftsmen share their knowledge. And i still learn stuff!
Hi friend I just figured I'd ask you but im getting into blacksmithing and I've mainly been using a friends forge but I was wondering if you know where I'd go about getting my own.
@@BigVince80bce i just saw this two months later. Try Pie tool company. Its a blacksmiths tool seller online. You’ll also find forges and what not on ebay.
@@beshkodiak thanks mate, I'll give the websites a look
U know Right!!🖒
What kind of charcoal you used sir?
I love the montage at the end; where the throws start good, and quickly go badly. Very funny.
Yeah same here!! That *woosh* cracked me up!! 😂
This comment had me dying and I had to watch it!!!
Anyway I love this fella, as a beginning bladesmith I love this channel. Very informative and love how you show all the work and explain things. Will be an avid watcher of your videos as long as you make content sir.
Yeah, especially that in CZcams videos, they usually cut the bad ones so that it looks like a perfect hit first time.
@@J1I9M7M4Y I died at the pause and then the whoosh as well!
Me and my wife just took a blacksmithing class a few days ago and I also made RR spike tomahawk. The gentleman that instructed us made it a very enjoyable experience, never took over, only pointed out where and why we running into any problems and told us how to correct it. When I expressed my long time interest in the craft he gave me a sizeable piece of railway track to use as a beginner anvil, and I just ordered my propane forge last night. I look forward to being able to use this video as a refresher when I finally get all of the equipment set up.
How's your journey going two years later?:)
I like how you included the misses at the end.
Blacksmithing has always fascinated me. Love watching these and glad you talk through what you're doing.
Thanks for showing us that last throw! Gave me a good laugh and shows how genuine you are-no one is going to throw perfectly every time :P
My pleasure!!
Very nice video John. Your instructional videos are always worth watching. This rendition of a tomahawk from RR spike is pretty sweet.
Glad you enjoyed it
I have been watching craftsman like you for several years now. It has been educational of course but also therapeutic in some ways. I cant remember the last time I gave any attention to television. Thankyou.
Agree John, using a rail spike it needs to look like it was once a spike otherwise it was just scrap!
You are exactly right how to measure the length of a hawk handle
I'm making this for sure! Plus it's a good excuse to add a new drift to the collection 😉
great video! that cartoon sounding whoosh at 16:59 had me dying
Reminds me of a RR spike knife video a few years ago, sliced rope, chopped wood, cut paper, but had debatable acceptance, depending on the intended usage.
Absolutely fantastic video
Glad you enjoyed it
you make it look so easy, especially making blade
Your little t;rowing demo at the end was welcome it got a smile out of me.🙏
Good video, those spikes have so many uses, very cool. Thanks, Clinton
Been told by 2 good BlackSmith to quench mild steel in water and still not tool steel but improve the hardness.
I'm surprised that RR spike has enough steel Seems you drew it out well.
Thanks Mr Switzer for the teaching Sir
Great video John! And thank you for the test. I also see lots of people arguing over rr spikes. I think it is an awesome place to learn how to forge a shape into a different shape. Are they great steel? No. But I would not be scared to say that hawk is better than some that are commercially available and will serve it's purpose well.
Great information and instruction as always. I also appreciate the inclusion of the missed throws - we're all human and imperfect.
Thank you for doing the hardness test. I’m not the guy who picks a fight over that, but I am the guy who always asks about it! I’ve heard several times that those are mild steel, but I’ve watched plenty of guys make knives out of them. Yes, I understand they are novelty items, but they always imply that they are hardenable.
I just clicked on the notification but i already know i love it!!!
Nice job best one I have seen yet
thank you Sir, I particularly like the miss hits at the end, adds to the realism of the video, and as always thank you for the wonderful lesson. take care and Happy Holidays!
I had a good laugh at the montage from the end. Nicely done John.
That got harder than what I thought it would. Another great video. Thank you!
Loved the 'wiff' near the end.
Fun. Thanks!
Hello John! My favorite thing is when you make tools! Cool! I wish you a Merry Christmas from Poland.
Great vid! My next project. Thank you!!
Nicely done. One day I will start forging. Love the channel
I was thinking the same thing! It's been of interest to me for a long time. I'm a flint knapper and make flint knives and I wanna get into steel blades as well. Maybe this is the year we'll both start our journey into forging. Best of luck to ya and some day maybe we'll get to the level we wish to achieve. Y'all stay safe and God bless
@@BM205 God bless
Shore looks nice
Going to have to make a set of those spike tongs. The moment that convinced me was when you used them like flat jaw tongs to pick up the spike by the upset end. Way more versatile than the other spike tongs.
I had the same thought process.
Turned out great. Think I'll give this a shot. Looks like those new spike tongs are working great.
Love the miss at the end. Thanks for all your hard work this year. Great vid
Thanks John! Great video. Definitely fills in the gaps where a couple others left a few details out. Guess what I’m about to go do? Make one of these little guys.
A friend of mine whipped up one of these things. It's been surprisingly handy. Think of it as a cutting wedge with a handle. Root cutter, welding hammer, and a fair felling wedge
Great editing choices on the missed throws!
Glad you enjoyed it
Wow! Turned out nice! Looks like it throws good too!
Well, the last two years I've been secretly learning about forging and Smelting.
I wish I knew your channel existed.
I've recently turned to CZcams for a few educational purposes. With the right research one can learn quite a bit from people just like you.
Thank you.
Thank you for being.
After watching this video I had to subscribe. This was a great tutorial!
A nice and simple hawk. Pretty useful I'm sure. 👍
I'm trying this tomorrow. Amazing work btw
Bit of gold right at the end.... finish on a good laugh.
Hello John
Niche little tomehawk good for bushcraft and when needed for defence .
Thank you for the idea and the sharing of your skills
Take care
Yours Frank Galetzka
Loved watching you make this. You do an excellent job teaching the process. The bonus was the final scene with you throwing it along with the failed hits and total misses. That cracked me up.
I've always wanted to try black smithing. Used to do copper foundry work previously
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Tomahawk came out cool.I like spikes and horse shoe projects. Some fun and cool stuff can be made from them. Make something from horse shoe also.👍🔥🔥💥
Very interesting, thank you for sharing.
Can't watch till later,John but I just got it recently
Thanks
Hope you had a Merry Christmas John.
GOOD LORD, I love the TRUE outtakes at the end!! HAHAHAHA
I definitely want one of those axes. Super cool.
Laughed out loud when that one throw completely missed
Woweewow! Super project. I definitly want one of these. Thanks for sharing.
Here in France there is no rail spike, there are lag bolts ( translate???).
A few weeks ago I made a video where I forged a tomahawk in an SNCF lag screw (SNCF, French train network). Which is not very easy
I'm a wood guy but I have always admired black smithing 😊
Newbie here, I really appreciate you explaining the steps is basic terms ! Bless you for sharing your knowledge! Can’t wait to make my own someday
Glad it was helpful!
One of the best videos I’ve seen in a while, John. Thanks for the gut rolling laugh you caused at the end. Love it!
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Nice closing shot there!
a sense of humor is a good thing!
Great video John. Loved that you used your recent gifts and also the end was quite fun. I also agree with the direction of the spike point/blade. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Nice work John, your perception of things to make from railroad spikes is quite amazing.
LOL when it completely missed the target was hilarious. Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
very nice , lots of great pointers !!!
Liked the keeping real with showing the miss throws.
Made me lol.
Great video, again, Switzer. I have a huge bucket of spikes in my shop that I never touch. Maybe its about time I start making things out of them. I particularly like the hook spike ideas, but the Hawk is really cool too.
Love this man’s shop and his work!
It looks like you may have made your own Christmas present.
Thanks for the explanation about the letters on the back of the spike and what it means. I had heard that they weren't good for much more than paperweights after they had been used.
Thank you .I I enjoy your work Iam starting smithing your videos have helped me understand things better
Glad to help
Really nice hawk. Great video. Thanks for sharing.
I was splitting some kindling wood other night with a hatchet .. the handle is too smooth ,,, plus I had gloves on ,, well 5 stiches in my leg above me knee .. watching you split that board I was getting flash backs ,, works nice , only problem if you were splitting with it all the time would be the spike head catching on the firewood ,, thumbs up on the video
I think your videos are great I've learned some much about blacksmithing I'm almost 16 now and I watch your videos because I want to have some what of a side business as a blacksmith when I hit my goal to be a farmer I've always wanted to have a farm and make my own tools and sell some to the community I hope you have a good day and thank you for making these videos
love loggin onto youtube and seeing that you uploaded, great videos. always helps me relax
I love watching your videos, I find you very easy to listen to and I always enjoy seeing what you come up with. The axe throwing montage was very funny, I thank you for all your effort, skill and time you take to make these.
Fascinating to watch you work, truly art.
Great learning videos! I like what you teach us in your videos. I am a beginner in forging and I watch with a lot of interest to what you present in your videos.
amazing gifts!! i love to forge them, you're the grandfather/father i always wish i had.
Nice slim axe and svelte handle, John. I've made a list of your tutorials and this one is a dead cert to make next! Many thanks, lovely video. ~Wendi UK 🌻
thanks for sharing always learning something new this is a better way blessings to you and your family 🙏
I love your great work and fun projects! I hope to do this myself soon!
Great work John, that's a nice tomahawk!
Turned out great John...i do at some point need to make more of these.
Merry Christmas! Love the video
This was a joy to watch. Beautiful work
John Merry Christmas here's to a Happy New year's ahead of you. I can't wait to see what you Forge up in the year to come. Very nice job turned out very cool. Big fan of the design of it. Hopefully you get great use out of it for many years. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work John. Forge On. Keep Making. God Bless.
Its a nice clamp...using just a weighted chain is great too for holding stock
Looks great, I like how you spread the cutting edge out, thanks for posting 👍
Splendid work 👍
Thanks John, very nice once again. Joe from Wisconsin
I would have never thought that there was enough material on a spike to make a tomahawk. It looks awesome. And Merry Christmas and a great new year. 😁👍
That does look like a fun project. You could make a bunch for friends then meet up and play with them. That amount of temper seems a good compromise as you would not want them too hard anyway for when they hit the ground or rocks or whatever. If you really wanted I'm assuming one could forge weld in a hard piece for the edge. I hope you had a relaxing Christmas and took a break from all your video production.
A very well done video. Your ending was perfect.
I don't know how CZcams has never suggested one of your videos to me before, but Facebook did some time ago, and I finally made my way here. Great stuff! Subbed!
Welcome aboard!
Very good and informative video. Thank you!
That miss sound at the end 😅, Keep up the great work!
It's been a while since I've made one of these. I think I'll try another. I'm going to try using a short, wide handled chisel under the inline treadle hammer to open the eye this time. Last ones I made, I used too narrow and small of a chisel and ended up stretching the sides of the eye a bit too much. Nice video, Merry Christmas John, thanks for all the content!
That's really cool. I'd be interested in buying one of those
Thats super awesome! 😁👍
I want one
I really appreciate this video. It contains valuable information and knowledge. Thank you kindly black bear forge.
This is actually a great idea, thank you for the inspiration
When throwing the hawk, my favorite part was the misses. That's how I throw.