Have you been curious about how to forge a frontier style tomahawk? The answer to this is just few steps away.
There are different ways of which you can forge your frontier tomahawk. Here, we are going to talk about how you can forge your frontier style tomahawk.
The frontier-style tomahawk is a type of tomahawk ax that is popular for cutting and other menial jobs. It is slightly different from a regular tomahawk. Just like the tomahawk, the frontier-style tomahawk is useful in doing specific tasks like chopping woods, skinning, gaming, etc. It is also valuable for recreational activities and games.
There are several steps you should take when forging a frontier-style tomahawk. To achieve a perfect forging result, you should take the following steps;
Essentials
To form your frontier style tomahawk, you should make use of specific tools. Making use of the appropriate tools will enable you to accomplish your task easily, faster, and correctly. Means that you can use to forge a frontier-style tomahawk include:
Wheel cutter
Instructions on How to Forge A Frontier Style Tomahawk
Step 1: Getting Your Materials
This step is the first thing you have to do when you are forging a frontier-style tomahawk. You can use any metal to form the frontier tomahawk. The metal you use depends on your preference for the metal.
However, the best metal you can use is steel. The steel is a perfect metal for the forging process, so you can make use of it to forge your frontier style tomahawk. It would be best if you got a flat slab of steel to forge your tomahawk.
You can also get a steel rod that will act as the pointed port of the tomahawk’s blade. You will also need a steel pipe that will serve as the place the handle of the tomahawk will fit. It is best to get a wood that will serve as the handle.
Step 2: Cutting Your Steel
Cutting your steel doesn’t entail just cutting the steel with any machine. It involves cutting the shape of your tomahawk’s blade from the steel slab. The steel you cut will act as the blade of the frontier tomahawk you are forging, so you should carry out an excellent cut.
Step 3: Heating And Quenching
The steel parts should get some measure of heat.
Quick Steps
- You should place the steel parts, including the blade, hollow pipe, and the rod into the forge until they become red hot.
- After heating the steel parts, you should quench them in oil or water to increase their toughness.
- Quenching is significant in forging because it increases the strength of the metals.
Step 4: Grinding And Sharpening
You can grind the steel with an angle grinder to smoothen the blade. The blade of every ax, especially a frontier-style tomahawk, should be sharp. Once an ax can’t cut through a block of wood, it isn’t fit to be referred to as an ax but a blunt ax. You can sharpen the blade using an angle grinder. The edge of the frontier tomahawk should be sharp and also smooth.
Step 5: Welding The PartsĀ
Welding is a critical stage when forging a frontier-style tomahawk. You should fuse the steel parts, and the hollow pipe steel should be in the middle with the blade and rod at the ends. The three steel parts should be welded together in the proper way to meet your design.
Step 6: Polishing And Finishing
The frontier-style tomahawk you forged should be polished. You should also add some finishing touches to your forged frontier tomahawk.
For the finishing bit, you should check the overall view of the ax’s blade to check for any error in the structure. If there is, you should make some changes to the edge.
Step 7: Joining The Handle
You can now fuse the handle to the blade to complete your forging.
Quick Steps
- You should add the wooden handle you have in store for the grip to the project.
- You should insert the wooden handle into the hole provided for the handle, and you can hook the wood to the hollow pipe using a nail so as not to remove, especially during work.
- After adding your grip to the blade, you are then good to go with your forged frontier-style tomahawk.
FAQs
Question
Can you forge a frontier-style tomahawk from scrap metals?
Forging a frontier-style tomahawk from scrap metals depends on how scrappy the metal is or how sophisticated you want your ax to appear. The hatchet can be formed from metals as long as they can beat the metal into the shape of the shaft you want.
Yes, the tomahawk can be formed from scrap metals, but you wouldn’t expect the quality to be the same as the tomahawk from high-quality metal.
Question
What is the difference between a frontier-style tomahawk and a regular tomahawk?
The frontier-style tomahawk and the regular tomahawk do not have much difference. They have similar structures only that the frontier-style tomahawk has a pointed rod opposite the blade, but the regular tomahawk does not have. It would be best if you had in mind that both are tomahawks and so they have similar characteristics.
Question
Can you forge a frontier-style tomahawk without using a forge or an open hearth?
The purpose of heating metal is to either make the metal more malleable or to strengthen the metal. You can go ahead forging your tomahawk without the forge if you do not require these two factors. So yes, you can form a frontier-style tomahawk without a forge.
Video on How to Forge A Frontier Style Tomahawk
Warnings
Listed below are the precautions to take when forging a frontier-style tomahawk.
- Following safety rules is very important, so you should always follow safety instructions.
- You should always avoid using damaged tools and equipment.
- Always put on protective clothing and footwear.
- It would be best if you were careful when handling the tools and machines to avoid injuring yourself.
- Ensure that you have both a traditional and classic fire extinguisher in case of a fire outbreak.
References
1. https://chriscrawfordknives.com/dvds/how-to-forge-a-frontier-style-tomahawk/
2. https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Tomahawk-Without-a-Forge
3. https://healthyhandyman.com/tomahawk-vs-hatchet/
4. https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/hatchet-vs-tomahawk.689676/
5. https://thetacticalexperts.com/best-tactical-tomahawks/history-of-the-tomahawk/