Thread: A truck axe

Having a go at making a truck axe. Something to keep in the truck tool kit in case of hunting needs on the track or on the road

https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/ind...obs-truck-axe/

lovely job.....I have confession....seeing a couple of threads on here shaping wood has rekindled a dormant passion in me, I bought a cheap set of wood rasps. rehandled an old splitting axe with blue gum handle I had roughed out years back for log splitter.
today I rehandled two sledgehammers in about 20 minutes....
looking at tools you use for stockmaking ...hmm my youthful use of horse rasp wasnt so heathen after all.
seeing how you were going with axe,I had thought you making half axe....something not seen a lot any more but were very handy....pretty much like meatcleaver with handle along the back...THINK they were a flat piece of plate with tabs folded over to form handle ??? hole???slot.... pretty much looked like what yours did in last photo of it red hot.

The horseshoe rasp is a great tool and a fraction of the price of the hand stitched french wood rasp althouth the french rasp has offset teeth so there are no grives cut into the wood and leave it with a very smooth finish and I also have a set of Japanese planing files which are also very good but better suited to soft wood so not so handy for stock work. With the horseshoe rasp you just have to stop well before finish size as the teeth will leave marking quite a bit below the surface so fine files and going through the sandpaper grades is necessary.
My axe is really a longer handled hatchet which is easy to use one handed but gives a good swing with two hands when more cutting force is needed.The bearded blade simply gives more cutting length without the extra steel and weight

Interesting. I had never considered Rimu as a possibility for high stress handles, being a softwood podocarp.

you have skills, nice

Originally Posted by Woody

Interesting. I had never considered Rimu as a possibility for high stress handles, being a softwood podocarp.

Not the most ideal of wood for this but sufficient with accuracy (not missing and hitting on the handle behind the head

Originally Posted by Mauser308

Fire welding is something I've been meaning to have another crack at. One day!

Being able to hold the forge at 1180C/2150F is all that is needed for heat and clean steel. I didn't use any flux and it welded just fine.

Originally Posted by Mauser308

Ahhhhh. Yeah, I can see how having flash harry gear like that would make it easier... The rest of us relying on gas axes and guess work find it a bit trickier!

Reasonably important for making knives that have to stand up to a quality my customers expect (and my guarantee demands).

Gas forge with temp guage and play with air feed (venturi system) and gas pressure to keep temps in the region required

Thanks for posting, I enjoy watching YouTube black smiths and appreciate the effort that goes into something like that.
I’ve also thought long and hard about what Nz native timber would make good handles and rifle stocks. I have a pile of Pohutukawa do you think it would work for handles?
Cheers James

lovely work.

Originally Posted by 2post

Thanks for posting, I enjoy watching YouTube black smiths and appreciate the effort that goes into something like that.
I’ve also thought long and hard about what Nz native timber would make good handles and rifle stocks. I have a pile of Pohutukawa do you think it would work for handles?
Cheers James

I have a piece f Pohutakawa in my handle block rack. Fine grained but not a lot of contrast although it would make avery good handle

Originally Posted by 2post

Thanks for posting, I enjoy watching YouTube black smiths and appreciate the effort that goes into something like that.
I’ve also thought long and hard about what Nz native timber would make good handles and rifle stocks. I have a pile of Pohutukawa do you think it would work for handles?
Cheers James

I am just finishing a re-edit of a video I did last year on a 13th century Templar Knights Dagger I forged from a leaf spring I can post it tomorrow when it finishes uploading. Have a couple of others of knives that are not the normal hunting knives if there is interest.

Originally Posted by 2post

Thanks for posting, I enjoy watching YouTube black smiths and appreciate the effort that goes into something like that.
I’ve also thought long and hard about what Nz native timber would make good handles and rifle stocks. I have a pile of Pohutukawa do you think it would work for handles?
Cheers James

If you're interested, I ran across a reference the other day that apparently Kowhai timber was the ideal axe handle material. No first hand experience though. I also note that it's a poisonous timber, so you'd have to be careful with the saw dust etc.