Forging a Tomahawk or Hatchet- Eye Drift

[@PeggyEaton-z2f]

Excellent!

[@richardhazell2601]

Looking good. Can't wait to see you using it.

[@rockingeforge]

Thanks for watching!

[@matttaimuty5397]

Nice work. A couple of suggestions. Put a magnet on the side of your anvil. That will quiet the ring quite a bit and save your hearing. Second suggestion. Tie/bolt your anvil down. It bounces and robs you of a substantial amount of force in your hammer blows, which means you have to work that much harder to get something forged.

[@rockingeforge]

I have a magnet on the side of my anvil already. But, yes. The bouncing is definitely robbing me of some efficiency. I just haven't built or found the right stand to make it more permanent.

[@RobertEaton-x1w]

Great!! Glad it didn’t hit your toes.

[@coreygardner-q2w]

Lost me with, "the cold won't stop you from playing with flame and red hot metal"... I don't know about everyone else, but when I'm cold. Fire good😂😂😂😂

[@rockingeforge]

I mean, that's kind of the idea. Haha

[@nicktaylor9291]

Good looking drift! Only thing I'd change is the handle length. Going to have some toasty hands in the future. Took me about 3 drifts to remember to make it about 2x as long as you think.

[@rockingeforge]

Yeah, I cut it and drew it out and realized my mistake pretty quick. 😅 It'll be okay, I have thick gloves.

[@cammiller1006]

good stuff man love that you don't edit out all the mistakes. also why not bolt your anvil down ?

[@rockingeforge]

The anvil was only temporarily on the stump for better body mechanics for that particular project. If I kept it on the stump all the time, I would absolutely do that.

[@DaveDoesMetals]

Anvil falling down caught me off guard, any reason why you dont have it cinched down? Also, good looking drift!

[@rockingeforge]

It did me too! Haha. I really briefly mentioned it early on that I moved it to that stump to get it lower so I could put more umph into each strike. Since it was temporary, I didn't bother making it solid and it just bounced that far to the edge after many heats.

[@nisamvise1724]

im planning on forging myself a slip fit axe eye, any tips?

[@rockingeforge]

I take it you mean so you can remove the handle easily like for a tomahawk? Drift from what will be the top of the head and, you'll want a much wider drift so you can fit the whole thing down through the eye. The portion of the handle that fits in the eye will have to be the largest part.

[@dennisw7350]

Looking good. I'm thinking of buying a benchtop belt sander, and seen yours. do you like the 1" sander?

[@rockingeforge]

I have gotten a lot done with that little 1x30. So, I definitely recommend getting one. It definitely has its limits and I'd much prefer a 2x72, but the price is prohibitive for a lot of people. You can do a lot with the 1x30s! They take a decent bit to get good with them because they're so thin. It's easy to seesaw a piece across the belt and end up with gouges or scratches in places you didn't want them.

[@dennisw7350]

@@rockingeforge Thanks for the quick reply. Princess Auto has them on sale right now for $100.00. I'll probably buy one tonight.

[@rockingeforge]

@@dennisw7350 best of luck! I hope it works well for you!

[@JIJforgeNfishing]

I know that the harbor freight or central machinery one is good

[@JIJforgeNfishing]

And it’s $60

[@JIJforgeNfishing]

Is this the same technique for a hammer drift ??

[@rockingeforge]

Similar concept, but you don't forge on the edges this way. The teardrop shape is not desired for a hammer eye, so you keep it rectangular.

[@JIJforgeNfishing]

@ thanks

[@titouanmartin545]

Il vas falloir que tu fixe ton enclume 😅. Et la remonter un peu peut-être. Elle bouge trop et ça t'empêche de bien travailler.

[@rockingeforge]

That was a temporary movement to that stump. And, yeah. I hope the anvil doesn't develop any cracks, thanks to that drop!