New pipe tomahawk while I'm at it...

[Alan L]

Since I posted the pipe tools, I realized I'm also selling this. It is technically a pipe, and you can even use one of my damascus pipe tool with it, but don't expect to do much driving while smoking it.



Fancy pipe tomahawk with hand-forged head, wrapped construction of mild steel with a high carbon steel bit insert, engraved and fileworked, lightly antiqued. Curly maple handle has poured pewter accents and sterling silver dogwood blossom inlays with brass tack decoration. Pewter mouthpiece is lined with brass, and the walnut cleanout plug has a sterling silver cap. Entirely hand made by me. Overall length is about 19 inches.

Asking SOLD, Price includes shipping via USPS priority mail within the continental US.

[Nick]

WOW!

[blacksmithtim]

Curious, as I have been wanting to forge one myself.

Did you work this up from a single billet as a "butterfly" and add the bit, or is the bowl welded on?

I've been trying to figure the best way to hammer one up.

My thinking is forging the bowl and leaving it solid, then splitting the billet.

I don't think that is how they would have done it back when.

Thoughts?

[Alan L]

There's a few different ways to do it, but I do it with the butteryfly-and-bit method. The bowl is threaded on and brazed solid.

If I had to do one out of one piece, I'd probably slit and drift the eye, isolate the (still solid) bowl, flare the bit tend, and the insert the steel. The supposedly correct way to do it from wrought iron in one piece is to either weld a button onto a flat strap, which you then punch and do the butterfly on, or to draw down a chunk of 1" square bar from the center out to both ends leaving a lump in the center to become the bowl.

I've looked at as many originals as I could get my hands on and I'd say most of the fancy ones are threaded and/or brazed on. The later (post-1820 or so) pipe hawks made for the Indian trade that I've seen have all been cast iron, no forging involved.

[blacksmithtim]

Thanks on that.

Some days my blindspots amaze me: screw and thread is so obvious.

Hmmm ... I do have about 15 lbs. of near to wrought ....

[blacksmithtim]

Very nice work by the way.