Camp axe forged from repurposed ball peen hammer

One of the viewers has asked me to make a small camp axe with a hammer pole utilizing a 24 ounce ball peen hammer that had belonged to his father. lets take a look at the process of forging the axe.
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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.

[@JoshyHendoMan]

"don't obliterate your touch marks, be gentle" Me (without even a garage let alone forge): "good, I'll note that"

[@mumurioste790]

Yes sir thank you very much it’s exactly what I wanted I love it !

[@BlackBearForge]

Great, I'm glad I could do it for you

[@wallcarpentry2006]

Hope your getting good use out of it .

[@timidb]

@@wallcarpentry2006 i made something similar as the first thing I ever forged and honestly it was pretty great i still find use out of it on occasion

[@da_horne_gaming]

I know this is an old video, but I have been bouncing around your channel using you as a way to refresh my memory on how to do this again. You are a wizard with steel.

[@karmakshantivyapini4734]

The transformation of an elegant little hammer into an equally elegant little axe was pure magic.

[@BlackBearForge]

Thanks

[@kensmapleleafretirement]

I am up to a dozen views of this video and I have made 3 of these now. I have finally learnt the secret to these. I need to stop beating on it at some point and call it done. The more I beat on them the rougher it gets. Thanks for making this video, I am getting a lot of use out of it.

[@BlackBearForge]

Knowing when to quit is an important skill

[@strongsadventures]

Great video John. Really cool that you were able to save the Stanley logo.

[@Vikingwerk]

I’ve been either blessed or cursed with an abundance of ball-peen hammer heads, and have been considering making some into top tools, this video has convinced me that this is not an entirely foolish idea. First step is to make an appropriate drift.

[@BlackBearForge]

They can be a good starting place for many simple punches, chisels and stamping tools. Just be sure to leave the struck end a little softer to prevent chipping

[@emtfireman813]

I cannot stop watching your videos. I've become an addict! Yup, gonna have to build a shop myself. Watching you swing those hammers is a good reminder to never make you mad lol

[@BlackBearForge]

Glad you like them!

[@ssnoc]

You’re a great teacher - 👍

[@OuroborosArmory]

This is handy to watch, as it helps all see how to convert a ball peen to all manner of tools.

[@BlackBearForge]

I'll need to find a few more to make some top tool from

[@leperejoe1536]

You sure know how to forge these little chopping devices. Really nice, thanks for showing us the process.

[@steelpennyforge5152]

I have a 24 oz ball peen hammer head I picked up in a bucket of old tools for a buck. Guess I know what I should do with it now) Great video!

[@joecoastie99]

I actually did this yesterday with a 32oz hammer. It was the first thing I ever forged. Sure wish I had a press or power hammer. I am sore but smithing is fun!

[@Hogbellylife]

It is fun & I know what you are talking about wishing I had a power hammer lol

[@jamesfalvey77]

for what it's worth, I really enjoy watching you work

[@wayneshirey6999]

You got your power hammer back! :) Enjoyed the forging of the hatchet.

[@BlackBearForge]

I am using the 25 pound Little Giant in this video. Its the Bull 90 that is still down for repairs.

[@Anothermachine]

The spike on the back is used as a picaroon for picking up the next chunk of wood to split.

[@RetromagneticDesigns]

Oh, I like those colors at 2:26, they may not be accurate but the hammer is noch brighter than the sun, so I can see exactly whats happening! Good job.^^

[@BlackBearForge]

The color the camera records is rarely accurate, but it can be dramatic at times.

[@capman911]

I like that forge. Small slit for an opening, hardly any wasted heat. Nice hammer/camp axe.

[@bigpapaskinner2854]

Awesome video keep them coming I am learning so much

[@jasonmatranga7058]

Beautiful repurposing of something old into something new

[@jamesbarisitz4794]

Great demo of how to do this right. The sound, lighting, and editing were superb. Excellent work again . Can't get enough of your informative channel

[@BlackBearForge]

Thank you. I am glad the effort to improve the quality is showing

[@theguywitheyebrows]

i'm only a few steps away from having my own forge in my backyard, and this is going to be the first thing i make after tongs. thanks a million for the instruction!!

[@3870TheDad]

Good job on the ball-peen hammer axe head!! And, I really liked your ending shot of panning from forge to anvil with hammer on it. That was great.

[@BlackBearForge]

Thanks

[@adampablodayc]

I really like hatchets and small axe's ,he should like it.Nice job.

[@shweppesmojito4353]

I admire your work Sir, and wish you all the best!

[@brettsayers7768]

Really enjoyed the video, very informative about how to make an axe out of a hammer.

[@BB_46]

Nice job on the axe. It would be cool to make one with a hammer on one side and a curved pick on the other that would assist you when removing your tent stakes. Great job!👍

[@caleblandry1780]

Just came across a hammer with the nail puller on the back that I had tucked away cause I didn’t like the hard plastic handle and the epoxy filling to hold it in was chipped so I just chiseled it all out and tomorrow I’m gonna take it to the forge and try and make my first axe as I’m still waiting on welding flux in the mail and not confident to weld a axe with borax at the moment this video gives me a way to still practice axe making without the welds yet (I’m also not a huge fan of the spikes on the back of a axe but I’ll probably just make a real small one for grabbing logs cause I have a nail puller not ballpeen)

[@stationaryenginesworldwide]

Thank you John another awesome video

[@BlackBearForge]

Thanks

[@752brickie]

That is really amazing how you did that. You are an amazing smith !!!

[@luketownsend4527]

LIKE IT?? I loved this one! Might try and make it myself! Love your show!

[@brettmasters5379]

great job

[@PPALoft]

Amazing video. This gave me a great idea for a forging project. Thanks and keep up the great videos!

[@Dominic.Minischetti]

Great job! I love the new camera angles, really shows where you are directing your blows.

[@BlackBearForge]

Thanks. I'm glad it makes a difference. Still need to smooth out some editing issues, but its getting better.

[@minnesotapetecampbell6920]

Happy I found your channel! Most informative teaching on KZbin! Thank u sir

[@tomcarlson3244]

Minnesota Pete Campbell I agree completely. John is a very good instructor.

[@GeorgiaWoodsmen]

Another great video thank you.

[@gregwise5324]

Another Great Video John! I Could Watch That Little Giant Run All Day. I Would Love To Have A Little Giant, But I Can't Even Afford Tongs, I Have To Make Mine Out Of Re-bar. And , So Goes The Life Of A Starving Artist...

[@Rick_Bagnall]

Nice Job!. I am also liking the new camera shots and angles! Adds a nice level of interest.

[@BlackBearForge]

Thanks, there is still much to learn

[@TheOldaz1]

Nice job and a very handy tool for camping, thanks John.

[@danielblanchard6487]

Thank you

[@liamculbertson9323]

Another excellent video. The quality of your videos is getting much better- I especially enjoy the panoramic shots of your workshop intermittently and the multiple angles at the anvil/power hammer. This is a great project that a lot of beginners (myself included) probably consider before forging an axe or adze from a solid bar, and your instructions are so clear and easy to follow! Thanks for the great videos and please keep them coming

[@BlackBearForge]

Thank you. I am glad the improvement are actually showing as improvements.

[@jan-reiniervoute6701]

Nice project uncle John, within range of an amateur with minimal tooling while still getting a proper tool.

[@jeffbarkett366]

Hiya John!! Sure wish this video was out about a week ago. Just finished a tomahawk out of a 24 ounce ball peen. A couple of the things you did would have made making the tomahawk a lot easier!! Thanks for the pointers John!!!

[@20mcarroll02]

Nice little hatchet. Ive got a few larger ball peins i picked up at garage sales. Thinking about making a cross pein out of one.

[@BlackBearForge]

I have seen that done as well.

[@superdave54811]

Thanks for this wonderful video! I loved watching you work. Been subscribed for the past year. Always a good time watching and learning. A friend of mine has invited me up to a farm he bought. It has a blacksmith shop on the grounds. From a few of the photos I have seen, it looks like they did a bit of farrier work on the farm along with making a few items needed there also. I'll be assessing the forge and familiarizing my friend with what he has purchased. Should be great fun.

[@highlyprofitablefuctktard4304]

Excellent instruction

[@richardbryant7972]

Very nice project

[@topinstructordrivingschool4447]

Thank you so much sir, this video has some good camera shots, and views.

[@BlackBearForge]

Glad you liked it

[@kensmapleleafretirement]

Great Project. Thank you for sharing it with us...

[@thomascampbell4000]

Nice work I'm going to have to give this a try

[@Sheepdog1314]

I use self-adhesive medical bandages for my handles. They also call it vet-wrap (for horses)

[@paultavres9830]

In reference to touch marks I started putting a serial number on things i make so now i have some sort of a reference as to when i made it a simple #001 has worked well and is kind of fun when you see something youve made specially as time and life flies by

[@BlackBearForge]

Its a good idea. But I’m afraid it would slip my mind.

[@coyotebird]

love to watch a Craftsman at work

[@paulorchard7960]

Your customer was right John, unless you need an ice pick or are hunting zombies a hammer is far more useful than a spike!

[@Hogbellylife]

I figured out quickly that all the different tongs are a necessity, all I have is a pair of simple flat raw I made out of rebar and I'm always wishing I had some different styles

[@francovillarroel9490]

Muy buen video , todos los procesos paso a paso muy bien explicados , felicitaciones maestro Black Bear , una pequeña hacha será mi próximo proyecto , saludos desde Chile 💪

[@shortfuse43]

John, I wish I had been able to view your video before I made one like this a while back....I didn't think to use a drift and the original hammer eye collapsed into a smaller, round one. Not something I liked. Now, I'll make another, this time with a drift!! Your video will keep others from making the same mistake. BTW, I like the multiple camera angles VERY much! Really helps seeing what you are doing.

[@BlackBearForge]

Sorry it didn't come out sooner. But I hope it helps the next one.

[@craigljardine]

Good job John

[@hosiercraft9675]

I think the spikes were for mining. The Norse commonly used tools as weapons. And the small pick axe was easy to carry use as a weapon, dig, chop wood ECT.

[@sonofbr]

Watch Gary Houston's video on making a farriers hatchet from a small ball peen. WWW 1 times or before when horses were common in the military the military farrier used. The spike to dispatch a gravely wounded horse and the hatchet was used to recover a shoe or foot with shoe to record or account for the horse.

[@christophermurray9777]

Excellent work

[@kennethomeara9848]

Ah! As i said, just curious. Thank you so much for your time.

[@JJ-yk6il]

This guys the coolest

[@WinDancerX]

Way cool, John! Dave

[@miketheman6638]

Great video amn. Personality when u made one I try not to hammer out the edge too much to make sure i don’t accidentally warp it and so the blade is thicker and is harder to chip but still great video!

[@mattymcsplatty5440]

yr a good bloke John

[@forMacguyver]

That came out really nice. I see you got the multiple cameras thing worked out as well.

[@BlackBearForge]

It is still a big headache in editing due to some sync issues, but like anything else, it well get better with practice

[@jeremiahclapp5287]

I'm so making one of these

[@lonestarhomestead5415]

Great job looks awesome can’t wait to try this myself. I’m not sure it will look half as good but we will see. Ha.

[@rickisi]

I want to take this idea and make a sheet metal cutting tool. Thanks

[@brucemcnally3924]

Interesting indeed, as always, thanks!

[@Res375]

Great video. Thank you.

[@danielcrawford7315]

The new mic set up really seems to be the best so far. Great video sirSir. Blessed day, Crawford out

[@BlackBearForge]

It has good promise to be just the thing. Although I did manage to go with a dead battery for part of this video, so when the audio gets weird it because I had to use sound from the second cameras onboard mic.

[@barbarasimmons5882]

Could you forge weld a harder edge into the cutting edge?

[@BlackBearForge]

You could, but most hammers can be hardened well enough for a small axe like this.

[@davidb3445]

I must have missed it in previous videos...what is the pot you dipped the blade in?

[@BlackBearForge]

That will be this evenings tool of the day, stay tuned

[@mjanzer1]

How does one find your Store where I can purchase items. Thank you

[@BlackBearForge]

There are links in the video description for my web site and Etsy shop. I have been so busy filling paid orders that I have not had time to list much over on the etsy shop.

[@mjanzer1]

Thank you I found it, do you have any Anvil Hold Fasts for Sale ?

[@gebhardt244]

You are always drawing things out but can you recompact it without foding or welding?

[@BlackBearForge]

Yes, that is called upsetting

[@gebhardt244]

@@BlackBearForge how to do this with limited tools?

[@veerthesurvivaltowner7_12]

Good

[@Marine-72]

Love your shop. Is your anvil a Peter Wright? Kind of looks like a Wright base. Very good video. Thanks again.

[@BlackBearForge]

I think its a Hay Budden

[@Marine-72]

@@BlackBearForge Budden is a good one as well, good ring!

[@theranger2185]

What did he say at 5:50 that would end up on the edge needing to be ground off?

[@BlackBearForge]

cold shut. A place where there is a small fold or overlap

[@bunyanforgings7849]

That little giant seems to move material really well. I assume the pneumatic hammer is still the main choice (when it's working). I'm guessing it moves material even faster? So how do you choose which one to use? Not having used either one before, it would seem they have similar capabilities. I assume it's something like me having a variety of power saws with various capabilities some of which overlap.

[@BlackBearForge]

In a given weight range power hammers can do similar work. The air hammer is 4 times the weight. The other difference is that I keep drawing dies in the Little Giant and Flat dies in the air hammer.

[@taylorcrain4740]

I watched this video already on our new smart T.V. how smart it really is, is fairly questionable, but enjoy the vid anyway. So it got me thinking a thang I do to much of sometimes, yet still and all I have an early framing hammer about 28oz. in size and it's going to be my first hatchet project after making the most basic of tools needed to do the job. However I also found an axe also that is a single sided axe a well built axe as you can tell by it tapers toward the cutting edge it is roughly 1/2 inch thick and flat on the back side I was wonder if you wanted it for an I deal of forge wielding some other kind of tool to the flat back side of the axe like maybe a two pound or heaver hammer for driving stakes into ground when a hatchet want do. ? thanks later Taylor Crain P.S. I think it would make a good vid and a great tool cutting a 2x4 or a tree branch stake with the axe, then driving it with the hammer, when power tools are not an option.

[@jjfusber3694]

I am looking for 12" of 2" square bar 4140 what is your favorite company to get it from. I have been able to find 1 1/2 but not 2". Thanks for your help. I have enjoyed the tool of the day thanks for all the help full information.

[@BlackBearForge]

I generally buy from McMaster Carr www.mcmaster.com/#standard-steel-sheets/=1ebwm66

[@jjfusber3694]

@@BlackBearForge thank you sir I appreciate your help.

[@kennethomeara9848]

Hello John, great video. Just curious, how long would it take to do this?

[@BlackBearForge]

Including grinding and heat treat its about 2 hours

[@picklesnoutpenobscott3165]

Howdy, thanks for this video. I thought it was very interesting to get a look inside your forge, How often do you have to replace the hard firebrick?

[@BlackBearForge]

I haven't had to replace it yet

[@peteharder6325]

How did you eliminate all the ring from your anvil?

[@BlackBearForge]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGSWZ2ise62Lntk

[@shifty3453]

Wow SOO many comments on this one! Well done john. Just wondering what the small white box was on a tripod at the start of the video. Also just want to add how clean this video looks mint job mate! Getting all fancy round here with your editing and filming.

[@BlackBearForge]

The little white thing is part of capturing better video angles. It is a Sony FDR X3000 action cam. I'll do a little review of it in the near future.

[@gsrestorations1438]

What do you line the bottom of your forge with to resist flux? Love your channel!

[@BlackBearForge]

my current forge uses hard fire brick and it is holding up very well

[@gsrestorations1438]

@@BlackBearForge thank you so much for taking time to answer. I'm learning so much from your channel!

[@ericlavignasse4311]

bonjour quelle est cette pierre que vous vous serviez a 20.20 mn es que cet une pierre ponce ?

[@BlackBearForge]

That was wax to prevent rust

[@JS-xi5nk]

How often do you dress the drift your using? Do you think #9 rebar would make a decent eye drift?

[@BlackBearForge]

I dress most of the drifts about every dozen or so uses. The rebar would probably be fine steel, but getting it smooth enough to be a good drift sounds like it wouldn't be worth the time. Way easier to start with new 4140 or S7

[@alexfullmer4707]

So did you aneal the head before you started reshaping it?

[@BlackBearForge]

No, the first heat effectively anneals the head before you start forging

[@bunyanforgings7849]

That slow belt grinder has a fabricated look to it. Did you make it?

[@BlackBearForge]

It is a shop made grinder. Most of the critical parts come from Beaumont Metal Works beaumontmetalworks.com/

[@danlawson6782]

what is the bees wax for?

[@BlackBearForge]

It prevents rust and gives a much better finished than fresh off the anvil

[@danlawson6782]

@@BlackBearForge Fantastic! Thank you

[@Joe_for_real]

"Be gentle" means something totally different to a blacksmith than everyone else (other than maybe a heavy equipment operator). It struck me that Johnis wielding three pounds of steel to shape 1 pound of steel sitting on top of 350 pounds of steel by hammering it. Nothing about that is gentle outside of the blacksmith's shop.

[@michaeldouglas3950]

I've been looking for a small camping/backpacking axe. Is the test piece for sale?

[@michaeldouglas3950]

Just got my answer. Should have waited till the end of the video.

[@BlackBearForge]

I will be trying to get it listed this evening

[@michaeldouglas3950]

@@BlackBearForge ok thanks. I sent a message through etsy as well.

[@BlackBearForge]

I have the listing up now

[@adeniltonmota]

Show 👍👏👏👏👏

[@Scraps5209]

Do you use electrical tape as your handle wrap?

[@BlackBearForge]

In this case i was just covering a splinter that was raiding up, so I just grabbed what was handy and that was electrical tape. Generally I don't wrap my hammer handles with anything.

[@workwithnature]

Do I get an imaginary ice-cream for being first?

[@BlackBearForge]

Sure, what flavor?

[@JohnLopez-jt1cj]

I have a ball peen hammer, how can I have one made?

[@Marine-72]

Save your arm and back! Use that power hammer.

[@outdoors_review]

What does tampering do with the axe and knifes?

[@BlackBearForge]

Tempering is one of the basic phases of heat treating. Annealing softens the steel and removes stress. Normalizing removes stress, but doesn't leave the steel as soft as if it was annealed. Hardening is when the steel is brought up to temperature and quenched, cooling it very quickly. That leaves steel too hard and brittle. Tempering is a controlled lower heat that removes some of the excess hardness and makes the tool tougher and less brittle.

[@danielcrawford7315]

Black Bear Forge , excellant explanation of the process. Thanks for you time and willingness to help. Love the video as teaching tools