Making an Axe From a Circular Saw Blade
Today in the shop I am attempting to make a full tang hatchet. I say attempt, because the first one turns out to be a failure, but we persevere, and finish with a really nice little hatchet that looks gorgeous. I’ll show you how you can make a pretty useful little tool with very little overhead cost. If you have the time, and the desire to put your best craftsman foot forward, then you have the ability to make this super cool little hatchet.
If you are interested in seeing how to restore an old axe head, or make an axe handle from scratch, check out these two videos.
• Making an Axe Handle f...
• Restoring a Vintage Co...
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Very nice piece! I'm glad you showed the metal failure in your first blank, too. Lots of people would have been tempted to edit it out and move right to the new blank, and the viewers would have been clueless. By leaving that failure in, you've shown all aspiring craftspeople that unexpected setbacks will happen and that they don't need to be discouraging. Great job and great video!
Awesome project and captivating video!
Thank you Jane!
Excellent production and great music. Thank you.
I'm addicted to your channel now .trying to catch up on all your vids 👍👍👍👍👍
Good luck! There is alot haha thanks for watching.
Im incredibly in love with the. Was just saying how we should have more full tang hand axes. Its beautiful!
Good craftsmanship pretty nice
I think that would make a perfect hunting/field dressing hatchet. Thin blade to carve and skin but can chop through bone. Very nice 👍🏼
John Deer green!!! Super nice
That was a great video. I just went back to it as I'm trying a saw blade project myself. I appreciate tour way of showing how you do things. I believe I watched this the first time when it first came out. Like others, I appreciate how you show failure in this and the finishes axe is gorgeous. Having watched this again, I believe the wood used in the handle is beach. It often has a reddish hue. If it is, it's a great handle material, often used in Europe. Thank you for the video. Your videos have planted a lot of ideas in my head and now I'm making my first knife, so I'm grateful.
Awesome job!!! I can't hardly wait till I finish getting my shop back in order to give it a try and make meself one. It should be fun to make... Thanks for sharing this video.... Be blessed in Jesus name... BBE..
@Jorn Navarre If that's what they believe more power to them.... I sorry for you if the name of Jesus offends you...
First time watching your channel, you are truly an artist in your craftsmanship. Thank you for sharing your passion with all of us. I’m a wounded veteran, 100% disabled, watching videos like yours gives me impression to get up, quit feeling sorry for myself and accomplish something. I look forward to getting notifications on your next videos.
Found by accident but loved the video was looking at rocket stoves and clicking on video after video and ended here.
Thanks rocket stoves!
You could also consider welding some plates on either side of the hammer pole, so that it can actually function as one. Loved the video, thanks.
What a great little Hatchet and out of a old Bench blade, Nice to see people like your self taking time not just rushing a project, Big Wave to you.
Bill Hollis so true and well said!!
So the crack in the blade did occur during the heat treating process. The original blade probably had the propensity to "crack" before you started. The heat treating process just accelerated that. Very nice job once done. Beautiful workmanship.
Thanks Murray. That’s the idea that I got as well.
The differential quenching caused the fracture. The metal cooled causing different eutectoid structures crystalization. As always, you build a beautiful product.
Thanks Jeffrey!
That was great. The first fractured has now become the template. No loss.
As a builder of custom homes, I respect your talent 👍🇺🇸
I always enjoy the calm way you progress thru your projects, teaching along the way. Easy to understand. I have 3 belt grinders also, std 1x30, old craftsman 4x36 with cast body, and home built 2x72. And more gear I pick up at garage sales along the way. If my garage had any heat I would be out there. In the cold I can do 2 to 4 hrs, then out! Keep up the great videos ! Thanks!
Really Enjoyed this. Thank You Brother
Awesome work as always Sir
I was dubious about how thin the head was, But wow that thing is sharp. Well done.
I agree. Only time will really tell if it holds up.
@@TheArtofCraftsmanship did it? And what can you use it for? Doesn't it work well for those uses? Sure would cut some pack weight if it were useful in the backcountry.
One of the details I love most about your channel is your use of actual music and not some electronic soul crushing nonsense. It's your brother right? Nice looking build too, well done for showing your mistake. It's good for us all to see.
Thank you Zoso! Yes, it's my brother and a friend playing. It's the style of music we like and the right price if we just make it ourselves haha thanks for the kind words!
Love that little axe👍👍👍
Dude your videos are amazing I just started knife making and I have learned more from you then the “professionals” never hide mistakes it just shows the learning process, thank you!
Thank you for the kind words Patrick. Good luck on your projects my friend.
I met an old man who worked at a roadside gas station not far from Fredericksburg Texas many years ago. He told me he had an axe that he used a lot for over 50 years! The head had to be replaced 3 times, and the handle 5 times, but yep, he had that axe for over 50 years!
ah the fabled axe of Theseus.
That is a beautiful axe! I was wondering how well a thin saw blade would work for an axe but that was great! Thanks for showing the cracked one as well! That was a teaching moment for everyone watching this video.
I’ve been enjoying watching your detailed project every time, from material to be used and identifying the tools you’re using. Keep it up!!!❤❤❤
That "Coleman" Green just made it so freaking amazing. That is spectacular work! Thank you for sharing!
You are a good teacher, with the honesty to show how mistakes are made and how you overcame them. Valuable lessons of their own. There should be a radius between the head and tang to eliminate a stress point. I like how your axes are displayed on the wall... very attractive with minimal space. Edit: Seeing this ax perform convinces me that this is the one perfect tool to take on Naked and Afraid. But, at 5 ft. 9 in., 280 lbs. and 64 years old, I haven't received a callback from the producers. If they do, will you make me a hatchet?
Definitely! Thanks.
Absolutely awesome, so glad you came right with the second one, it’s beautiful. Thanks so much. Take care as always from South Africa
FUN watching!
Great video. I love how you embrace ‘failure’ as an opportunity to learn and generate discussion. Happy to hear other opinions on this: I suggest that the solution to the cracking would be to first quench only the cutting edge briefly, then plunge more of the head into the oil, out to near where it becomes the handle. This should then create a more gradual transition between the very hard edge and the softer ‘poll’/ handle.
If failure is a learning experience then I am a genius.
When I was making my first knife I droped it on the floor between heat treat and temper. Broke into 3 pieces. Things don't always go perfect but you just learn and try again. Very nice hatchet. Thanks for sharing.
The worst! Thank you for watching.
I love the idea. It looks amazing!
Thanks J!
Love that you showed the flaw on the first, made it real, as any craftsman knows, errors are all part of the process. Also let me know who is throwing out Cherry pallets...Ill come help them unload those babies...lol.
Thanks. That's real life. Half the battle is knowing how to push through your mistakes, and learning opportunities, and move on as a better maker. Yeah, that Cherry is awesome.
I taught myself how to build crossbows and I kept notes on the how to for reference purposes. Who knows, your kids my want to make their own some day. It's nice how to make some things that others may want in dire circumstances. Better to know something's then not.
It's hard to know exactly what happened but it always seems to help mitigate cracks if the normalizing cycles include the entire piece of steel. I always do a slow annealing process before starting work then I do 2 or 3 normalising cycles before quenching. The full annealing should always be the first step to forging it goes a long way to destress the steel esp if it was abused before. I realize that this was a demonstration of matter reduction rather than forging but abrasives only add stress to the work. Also differentially hardening steel is less stressful on the steel if there is a "softer" less defined line between the hard and soft parts. Some alloys handle this better than others and saw blades don't always have consistency in thier manufacturing.
I love this I’m a camper salesman and this is amazing
Beautiful "axe" that eill be great for shaping spindles etc. I had a blacksmith friend "deceased" that made an axe head using three (3) circular saw blades that he forge welded to add strength. The handle turned out similar to an Eastwing hammer. The triple thick forge welding made a truly excellent "small forest style axe." I tried to buy it from me but he said he made so his son would have a life time momento to remember his Dad.
My theory with the crack in the first blade is that when you quench hardened the blade it made the metal dissimilar enough that it caused it to stress crack. because the crystalline micro structure and carbon content was different it caused different rates of shrinkage along or close to the quench line or it could have had a pre existing microscopic crack from work hardening of the blade when it was in use on the saw.
cody you went really in depth for a crack😂😂
It’s been a while since I’ve taken metallurgy classes but I try to remember what I can
Exactly what I thought; I noticed he tried to create a thin gradient when quenching by keeping the bulk of the face in the oil and slowly submerging more of the head, then withdrawing, and repeating. I suspect though the quench line still may not have had a gentle enough transition. I wonder what effect an aggressive tempering would have had if it had survived 🤔
I think you're bang on with the structure thing, but I'm not sure about a differential in carbon content. Usually decarb happens due to heat and loss from scale, so I don't think it would have been from different carbon content. You can get a different enough structure to cause a crack like that just with differential heat treatment, no alloy difference needed.
Tyler Rodriguez I was thinking more along the lines of carburization because it can have similar effect to decarburization and or under heating causing incomplete martensite/austenite transformation. Its hard to say without inspecting the material or knowing the base material hardness and carbon content. Something as simple as too much grinding or sanding or not enough normalization could play a factor In embrittlement.
I have carried a little full tang hatchet same thickness since ce I was a kid for backpacking. A folding saw and this is all I have ever taken backpacking. You can even baton kindling with them I know that sounds weird but it is useful. Love the handle much nicer than mine it should last you a life time as well.
Barbarian Leather and Blades s
Great video! Very inspirational 👍👍
love the brushed metal look its kinda like a Delorean.
Read this before I saw the end result and thought "that's a weird way to describe it", but now I see what you mean haha
7:03 Someone is watching you! I just spotted a little head, whering ear defenders, in the background lol Re keeping your designs in your book, I just use my scanner/printer/photocopier to make a copy and cut that up instead of my original. Super quick and easy 😁👍
This build was Amazing! I Can't believe the handle work on this, it's "BEAUTIFUL"!! Thanks so much for Sharing!
Awesome job nicely done good job
Great Job! SNAFUs Like This From A KNOW IT ALL Is Perfections. Keep it Up And Make More Mistakes For People To Watch !!CHEERS!.!
Great job :-) and I guess an upside to the crack is that now you have a metal pattern, love the fit n finish.
7;03 I notice your daughter sitting against the wall watching, with ear protection, good job
I always learned a LOT just from looking when my father worked in the toolshop or boathouse.
Lovely that bud🎉
Wow, it does a great job! I didn’t think it would work that well with a thin axe head! Works great! Thanks, gee that was hard work with the first one cracking!
Great build now you need a nice leather sheath for it great job
The lines are beautiful. You have a good eye for shape. Very nice little tool.
Thanks for taking us into your shop. Loved the look of that handle
Simply Beautiful!!! I Love the Green! Incredible job.
Great job !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the vids, great build! There was likely a micro stress crack in the saw blade before you started. Larger mill blades and band style blades take a lot less stress than smaller blades do.
That was interesting and good to watch. A nice and Sharp hatchet.
Thank you
Awesome awesome awesome, so many things for this hatchet. I bought a throwing hatchet that was thin like this and next thing you know it was my go to hatchet. That turned out beautiful. Also everybody , this make fantastic decorative piece that can be used in a pinch. Love it.
Don't feel bad about the crack. You did a great job in spite of it. I love the green filler. It looks and works great. You can never tell using a metal already been manufactured into a product. You could fill a book with reasons for the crack. You were a lot more meticulous with the heat treatment than I would have been. I wouldn't try to guess what was the cause. I'm an 84 year old retired tool maker . I also made folding knives and hunting knives from flies and raw tool steel. I've seen this happen with a real heat treating oven with temperature control and under more professional equipment. You still did a great job. Keep on plugging. Liked the music also.
PS Sorry about the typo, Knives from "FILES"
Love your vids, you make some really neat things, this hatchet being one of my favorites. You should take a dremel with a chainsaw sharpening bit and grind a radius into the base of the bit, where the handle meets, those right angles are potential fracture points, by grinding a curve into them you reduce the amount of stress on any one single small point
You can do it that way, or you can drill holes at all of the places where your cuts will stop and get the same effect.
A work of art, I love it.
Well done man, you take a great pride in your work and it shows. Very nice.
cherry looks great on it
Beautiful work, and calming video to watch!!
Can see you love what you do. And very nice job!!
Awesome craftmanship! Turned out beautifully!
I liked the video. However this ax looks more like a butcher's tool than something you should consider using outdoors or for camping. It looks pretty Nice.
I agree. This wouldn't be a good candidate to be used for camping purposes. Regardless, you are never afraid to try anything and I like that. Also you are not like these other craftsman that have $50k in tools. Like you, my son and I don't have all the latest and greatest tools so this channel is nice for us because we can follow along. Just imagine if you did have that much in tools, you would be unstoppable!
@@dirk480 I Do not like the term Craftman is a life long skill . I think hobbyist fits the bill something you do in your spare time. To become a craftsman takes year of mentoring and experience.Seasons Greetings Adam
Thanks for thinking outside the box and sharing , it looks great! Looking forward to more vids "Rock on young man"!
awesome axe brother!! I chuckled when the dog got barely hit with the branch you hadjust cut. You didnt know he had came up behind you. He or she was like what in the world, lol. Great editing as well!!
She is tough. A surprise to us all haha.
Finally some one who understands heat treating
This was a really cool idea. I've never seen a full tang hatchet. Then I questioned why that was. With a full tang, a few issues arise: you get weight without the advantage of the heavy head, you get a super thin head/bit, and you risk having geometry differentials from the head to the handle. First, the usefulness of a hatchet is in its head being heavy. Gravity helps pull the weight of the head into your wood. With a full tang won't the balance be more central, if not more toward the handle because of the added material? That mitigates all the advantage of the heaviness of the head. Second, with that super thin bit, there isn't much "meat" behind the cutting edge to keep it strong, even with a convex grind. The support is missing. Also, with such thin material and the nature of hatchet usage, you'll be sharpening more frequently. A meat cleaver uses this design but the blade is much longer and heavier. Historically, folks haven't used cleavers as hatchets. Because it's not the right tool for the job. Third, since the handle and bit are married, you are locked into adjusting them together. You can't adjust balance or angle with the hang of the hatchet. It's a beautiful thing you made. I am struggling to see it's usefulness or utility. P.S. Differential cooling on such thin stock is most likely the reason you cracked the first blank. Not 100%, but as near as makes no difference.
I'm a saw filer in a saw mill. Saw blades have tension rolled in them. This is to keep the cutting edge tight. I mostly work large bandsaws. 40 to 48 ft. If a saw gets too much tension it causes metal fatigue. I have welded bands and had them break that way.
Exceptional ! Very nice 👍
Awesome build
Glad you are back making videos!!
Very Cool Hatchet that was made out of a Old rusty Circular Saw Blade !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wasn't so sure at first thought, but excellent work. Thinking about it, you really just made a long handled butcher knife, so it really makes sense.
A real fine job,, I love the green in the handle, also...!!!
Good job Dusty, congratulations!
beautiful job!
I've seen this happen before with a "partial quench". Partial quench will "tend" to (not always), crack at the quench line. If you want a differential temper, quench the entire blade, then draw out the temper with an open flame and watch the color change. Apply the flame to the back (un-tempered) area watch as the edge of color change goes from blue to straw color. Stop before the straw color gets all the way to the cutting edge, because the heat will continue after you remove the flame.
Sounds like your the Man for advice all the best .Adam
Very Nice! Love your videos! Dialogue is informative and we get to know you. The music is pleasant and appropriate. The editing shows us the detail we need without becoming ponderous. Excellent job, sir.
Very handy tool for the camp. Cal from Northwestern Canada. Keep it up
Excellent. Thanks for the great idea and excellent video. I like the way this hatchet can be used like a machete and with good control. I think I will make one. Cheers
Very good congratulations
Just yesterday I was thinking it’s been a long while since you posted any videos. I’m glad to see you’re still making content.
Thanks Smalls, we will always return. These videos take a long time to produce. We are shooting and editing all the time. Stay tuned.
Works similar to a tobacco knife I used in the fields as a kid. A truly beautiful piece of work! I think I’m gonna try to make one of these when I get some time.
Real nice brother.
~~~EXCELLENT~~~ Always a Pleasure to watch and learn from. Love the background music as well, and commentary of course is Pleasant, Informative and never sparse or droning.
Sure wish I had one for Christmas, love it
Really beautiful axe. Awesome video!
Sir! absolutely awesome axe! i love it!
Turned out great.
Amazing. Thank you for your time.
You are a genius with the grinders. Adding a Sand O Flex contour sander to your sanders would be a way to get other nice curves etc, plus with a 60 grit grit you can get a wonderful finish on a blade. I use one on my knives and I have learned how to make my own refills (of many grits) from emery cloth. Saves TONS of money on refills.
I find that if you sand to a minimum of 240 finish before quench helps. Also make sure you sand with the length of each surface, not across, paying special attention to the corners/edges removing any flaws to prevent a starting point for a crack, like a chip in a windshield!
A few random ideas, you may have let it get too cool in the oil quench, then the heat that remained in the handle traveled toward the cooler edge, causing a shock to the hard edge. (Like adding boiling water to a very cold coffee mug.) Also you are working with an unknown metal, could have been a water quench oil, etc. A lot of newer ones are mild steel with hardened teeth welded on, as well. I made something with similar dimensions out of 1/4 inch O1, it's heavy, going to plan another thats smaller overall.
Crack could have happened because the steel was already hardened due to being a saw blade maybe try to enial the blade before you work it the re harden at the end as normal