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Axes and tomahawks in a working knife shop

ForgeBrain

Axes & Tomahawks

Axes and tomahawks from anatomy to edge: the classic American patterns, bit steels and heat treat, hanging a handle right, restoring flea-market finds, and keeping a working edge.

12 guides in this section · free to read

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Start where the work is

Every guide on this shelf, with the question closest to your bench first.

  • Forging and bladesmithing in a working knife shop
    Axes & Tomahawks

    Axe Anatomy & Types: The Field Guide

    The axe is the knife’s working-class cousin: same steel, same edge physics, ten times the leverage and none of the pretension. It is also the deepest…

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  • Knife steel heat treatment in a working knife shop
    Axes & Tomahawks

    Axe Bit Steels & Heat Treat

    Axe metallurgy is knife metallurgy with the volume turned down and the toughness turned all the way up: lower carbon, lower hardness, and a design…

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  • Beginner knifemaking in a working knife shop
    Axes & Tomahawks

    Axe Sharpening & Care: The Working Edge

    An axe asks less maintenance than any knife you own and rewards it more visibly: the difference between a working edge and a neglected one is the…

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  • Knife blade design in a working knife shop
    Axes & Tomahawks

    Carving & Bushcraft Axes: The Precision End

    At the opposite pole from the felling swing lives the axe as a knife with momentum: the carving axe shaping spoons and bowls a controlled inch at a time…

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Same bench

Put the reference to work

I machine the parts, hand-assemble, track and test Torus grinders in Sterling, Illinois. Most orders ship in seven to ten business days from time of order.

  • Classic aluminum 2x72 grinder, side view with flat-platen tool arm and yellow Safety Rules label, on black with a purple glow

    Torus 2×72 Classic Aluminum Belt Grinder

    Prior-design aluminum chassis, 90-degree tilt and 1.5-inch tooling arms.

    Starts at$995View

One-man shop

Ask about a missing topic

I answer my own email. Tell me what you are building and what the steel is doing, and I will tell you what I would try.