Thread: Weekend Tomahawk Build

So I should have taken some "during" photos but hey hind sight is a bitch.

I came across a downed tree crossing a track in Rangataua forest a few months back and lopped off a few branches for a rainy day project. I love wood especially native so any chance to magpie some for later use, I take it. Any way I have had a couple of Swedish tomahawk heads sitting in a box for to many years and decided to give them a new lease of life.

First I needed to tackle the years of rust build up with an overnight vinegar bath, followed by a wire brush on the end of a power drill. Man did that all make them come out looking shinny and finally rust free. I got out the old Vivid and started to draw the new head design, partly to reduce some weight and to make it a tad easier to are with. I took my time with a cutting disk on the angel grinder so as to not heat the head up to much, then got the file out and slowly made good progress to which I finished it all off with a orbital sander. Then worked the edge with the file and belt sander till I got a good edge and then finished it on a stone.

So now I had a very shinny and "rust prone" piece of equipment. I decided to have a go at applying a patterned patina to an ok result, then finished it of with a few wipes of vinegar to patina the entire surface of the head.

Now it needed a handle.

With a rasp and chisel in hand I slowly worked the piece of timber (trying to follow the natural curves and bends) down to an acceptable shape that resembled a "off the shelf" handle. Out came the orbital sander again to even out the surface left with the rasp. With the wedge in I then cut off the excess at the head and left just enough sticking out (more of a personal preference) finished off with a metal wedge on an angle.

4 coats of Linseed oil and she was looking rather sleek and ready for action. I have messed up a few of my store bought axe handles in the past by over reaching on the downward action causing damage to the shaft, so decided to put a few turns of para-cord to assist in preventing this in the future. All finished off with a small lanyard to assist with retention in the cold.

So happy enough with the result and coming in at just over 900g. Now to get the other one finished.

Man that is a real nice bit of kit! Awesome job!

Cheers mate. I must go back to that downed tree so that I can actually identify what it was, seems bloody solid.

Very nice. Any spare heads?


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Sorry mate, only got one other that I am planning on customizing for my eldest boy.

Check out trade me, you can get an old beat up head for around $10-15 and then the options are endles with a cutting disk and file. There is one on there at the moment AXE HEAD 160MM LONG | Trade Me not sure what metal it is but a bargin at that price...

Originally Posted by Shooter

Cheers mate. I must go back to that downed tree so that I can actually identify what it was, seems bloody solid.

Yeah I'd be interested in knowing what the wood was - I'm still mid project trying to get hold of a handle.
Where did you get the metal wedge from? Oh, and how long did you dry out the wood for before cutting to shape?
Nice job btw!!!

I have a few smaller branches left over so will take a photo with bark on and see if someone here knows what it is.

I normally just use a bit of metal that I cut off the axe head but recently found a 2 pack of metal wedges at Mitre10 Mega that are made for the purpose ($4.50 from memory)

The timber has been drying slowly in the carport for the past 3 months. I have herd that you can shape them when they are wet and seal the ends to prevent splitting but have not tried it myself.

Sleek!

Was just being cheeky... Well done


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Nice man.

Yes. Very nice indeed.

Originally Posted by Shooter

I normally just use a bit of metal that I cut off the axe head but recently found a 2 pack of metal wedges at Mitre10 Mega that are made for the purpose ($4.50 from memory)

Cheers - will go grab some.
Ha that axe head that you had a link for earlier closed for just under $5 - looks like I have another project

Good shit mate, that thing will clean up well and the pitting will give it a ton of character! Look forward to the pics.

Give us a bell if you get stuck on any part.

Originally Posted by Shooter

Good shit mate, that thing will clean up well and the pitting will give it a ton of character! Look forward to the pics.
Give us a bell if you get stuck on any part.

Yeah, looking forward to it, will just wack it with the wirebrush on the drill get it all back to shiny, but leave the pitting. Will do the old lemon juice/vinegar patina trick after ensuring its all rust cleared.
Probably will grind back the poll to smooth.
Will go on the lookout for some wood this weekend, now got 2 heads that need handles!

@

I find with a pited head like the one you just purchaced that a night in a layer of white vinigar will make easy work of removing all rust elements when using the wire brush.

Better to have spare heads then none at all