Improved Railroad Spike Axe

foreign a year or so ago I made a little Tomahawk out of a railroad spike and I commented at the time but I thought that was more of a novelty item and not something I'd make for a serious ax there were a lot of comments in that video about the possibility of Forge welding in a higher carbon cutting bit to make it a better ax and I'll talk a little bit at the end of the video on why that's not something I typically do but let's go ahead and take a look at what that process might look like as well as doing a few other things that might make this a nicer ax overall so I'm going to make the best acts I can starting with a railroad spike as my primary material and to do that the first thing I want to do is fold the spike over Forge weld it back to itself to make a bigger piece of material and get a much larger more substantial eye out of it then we'll worry about the blade end I'm going to see if we can do most of this in the induction Forge just to get more experience Forge welding in the induction Forge although I think when the eye starts to swell I may have to figure something else out foreign [Music] [Music] just a bit Overkill plus it's real tight on the top and bottom so I'm going to switch to a round coil and I think that'll make for better heat while we Forge weld this [Music] [Music] I let this cool after welding so I can lay it out nice and evenly then I'm going to go ahead and drill a couple of holes at either end of where I'm going to punch the eye this really helps guide the punch provides a path of least resistance and helps guarantee more accurate results foreign thank you foreign [Music] [Music] foreign it's getting colder in the shop it looks like it might snow so I'm going to switch from the induction Forge back over to the propane Forge just for a little bit of heat [Music] [Music] my Cutting Edge is going to be a little bit bigger than what my split is so I want the Leading Edge of the split to be nice and thinned out so I can blend it in otherwise it's going to leave a line that you can never get rid of foreign [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] black bear Forge is sponsored by combat abrasives use the link in the video description in the coupon code black bear 10 for discount on your order [Music] foreign sixty I used for The Cutting Edge is an oil hardening steel so we're going to bring this up to temperature and Harden it in oil let us into the little toaster oven for tempering [Music] foreign well that does prove the point that you can take a railroad spike and improve it by forged welding in some high carbon steel we've got a little bit nicer eye than I had on the plain railroad spike ax we did that by doubling it over and Forge welding it back on itself but honestly I have to wonder why would you take the time to do this to me a railroad spike knife or a railroad spike ax is simply a novelty item people buy those and they like those because it's made strictly from a railroad spike and I really think as soon as you start adding more material to it it's no longer really a railroad spike the novelty kind of wears off but the work increases dramatically now typical railroad spike acts when I've made those for sale I was selling them for about fifty dollars I don't actually make them for sale anymore but this ax probably has closer to 250 dollars worth of work into it fair market value is probably more like a hundred dollars maybe a hundred and a quarter so there's no way that I would get my time back out of working on an ax like this so for me I don't really see it as worth it and if I want a nice ax why not just start with the materials that make a nice ax without so much work this ax here has just as much work in it I will get 250 dollars for it and it's going to be a way better ax when I get it done so you probably won't see me making any more of these but there is no doubt this would be a much more functional ax it's going to hold an edge longer it's slightly heavier than just a straight railroad spike ax I really like the way the shape came out I think it looks good I think it's an interesting project but as far as something I would ever go into production making it's not for me now if you like the idea you're welcome to do anything you want with it take it run with it modify it change it and if you want to do it just for the fun of it that's great too but one way or another I hope you have time in your day to get out to your shop make something stay safe wear your safety glasses we'll see you for the next video [Music]

Channel: Black Bear Forge

Views: 107,222

Keywords: Blacksmith, blacksmithing for beginners, black bear forge, Blacksmithing, Blacksmithing project, how to blacksmith, blacksmith shop, blacksmith forge, learn blacksmithing, anvil, blacksmith anvil, forged in fire, forging, hand forged, railroad spike axe, rail road spike axe, forging a railroad spike, axe from a railroad spike, improved railroad spike axe, spike axe, forging a railroad spike axe, making an axe from a railroad spike, forge welding steel edge in a railroad spike

Id: qkmirpVZLkQ

Length: 15min 3sec (903 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 09 2023