hatchet/ hawk

[TSA]

i have my coal forge, anvil and a bunch of tools, been messing around over the years making all, and sundry things, really keen to make something useful, really would like to make a tomahawk.
been researching the axes made from ball peen hammers, seems like a fun way to go initially, but then i hear that the hammers are only a med carbon, so the edge holding wont be the best.

so before someone says, just weld in a high carbon bit, i have not had much success with forge welding, (so any advice in this department would be greatly appreciated).

would another option be to use a billet of good steel, suitable for an edge, and make the entire hatchet out of it, i know this may seem sacrilegious to some, but this may be the best option  for me.
 any ideas or advice!!
TIA

[YosemiteBen]

Farriers rasps work well.

[Pat B]

...so does a railroad spike.   

[dylanholderman]

yeah hammer heads are probably 1045, 4140 or something of the like. i think it would still be worth doing if only for the practice shaping the head, and if you figured out a good heat treat it would still be a serviceable tool.

the hawk i made was from 1" square 1080 and i went that rout because it was easier    if you end up going that way try finding stock that is a little bit bigger if you can, i had to work pretty hard to spread out the width i wanted.

[Pat B]

Is that the hawk you made for me, Dylan?

[dylanholderman]

Is that the hawk you made for me, Dylan?

Yep    how is it holding up?

[Pat B]

Good as new. I haven't used it much.

[TSA]

wow... thats a beaut!!!

[KHalverson]

Good as new. I haven't used it much.

wow!
that's a great looking hawk.

[Pat B]

That's Dylan's work. All I did was add the lipstick.   

[Pat B]

Wayne, here is a pic of the railroad spike hawk that Bobby Keller, a friend made for me...

[TSA]

that is awesome Pat, i love the poll, it makes it so much more practical in and around the camp!
i love the overall shape!
being low carbon, how did you find it holds an edge .
when i get my forge welding figured- might be awesome to weld in a good cutting edge.
 i really like that!!!

[TSA]

Dylan, what would your recommendation be for size of the 1080 stock that would work a bit better if the 1" by 1" was a wee bit too small, as much as 1.5"??

[dylanholderman]

I would think 1.25 or 1.5 should be a good size. You don’t want to go to big or it’ll be a bear getting it forged out

[dylanholderman]

Also just wanted to add that I recommended 1080 because it’s heat treat is simple and it will get glass hard really easy