How to make a Railroad Spike Knife

Making a railroad spike knife is fairly simple. And it allows you to practice several different blacksmithing skills at the same time. So let's get started!

Step 1:
Fire up your forge and start hammering it flat, continually drawing it out and making it knife-blade shape. Take advantage of the tapered end of the spike to forge the blade shape.

Step 2:
After forging the basic blade shape, start forging the bevel of the knife. Let the knife cool.

Step 3:
Take the "knife blank" and grind a rough edge on it. File it to finish the rough edge.

After the rough grinding and filing.

Step 4:
Heat it to yellow hot and quench the blade in oil or water. Let cool.

Step 5:
Use a file, wetstone and a leather strop to finish the knife.

The finished railroad spike knife and wood forge.

Thanks for reading! Please comment below!

New Blacksmithing Mini Series

Hi guys, here's what I've been busy with lately...

...Blacksmithing!

Blacksmithing Part I:

I think it's a good idea to have some knowledge of blacksmithing because self-reliance tools like knives, axes, and saws are made of metal.

First, we're going to talk about some basic supplies that you will need if you want to start blacksmithing.

Supplies you'll need:

• anvil
• hammer
• tongs
• bellows
• gloves (optional)
• eye protection 
• quenching bucket
• sand or borax
• oil or water for quenching
• steel files
• forge and fuel
• grinder or grinding stone

My forge and tools used for blacksmithing.

Here's an overview of each tool:

Anvil

An anvil is a hard, flat steel or iron surface. Anvils should have at least one hardy hole in them for tool attachment points and punching holes in steel. Pritchel holes are not necessary as you can just use the hardy hole for punching holes. (It takes up more surface area than you could be using to pound your metal on.) I also use my hardy hole to stick pieces in when hot and use as it as a way to bend the metal. Anvils should generally be as heavy as practical. Steel anvils also have better rebound than cast-iron. It's common to mount anvils to a stump like mine shown below. 

My 55-pound anvil. I put it on top of a palm tree stump.

Here's a view of the face:

You can also see the hardy hole. 

One last view:

The anvil face is about waist height on me. 

And finally, another project!

Piece of I-beam that I plan making into an anvil.

Hammer

A cross pein hammer and a heavy ball pein hammer are good choices. Also maybe a light ball pein hammer with a smooth face for finishing is helpful. 

Cross pein hammer

Tongs

Blacksmithing tongs should be heavy and durable. 16" long is a good length. I am making my own out of rebar. 

Bellows

Bellows are a tool to use to make your forge hotter. I used a hair dryer at first but now am using a shop vac. The best thing to use if you are off-grid or want to be prepared for power outage is hand fireplace bellows or hand crank bellows. 

Gloves

I use leather gloves for safety. Gloves are, however, not necessary. They will keep your hands from getting too hot. 

Eye Protection 

I consider eye protection a necessity because I don't want to lose my eyesight! And you can't be self-reliant if you can't see!

Quenching Bucket

I use a stainless steel bucket but if you have a #10 can it works too. I keep vegetable oil in the stainless bucket and water in the #10 can. You'll need these for quenching to harden steel. 

Quenching buckets 

Sand or Borax

You will want sand or borax for a flux. Flux is what you use when you are forge welding (which I will explain in another post). You will also want sand or maybe some cool ashes for annealing. 

Steel Files

Steel files are useful for sharpening tool edges and points. Once they get worn out, you can also use them to make new knives. The steel in files is pretty high quality. 

2 mill files I use

Forge

You need a forge to get the metal hot enough to work with a hammer. I built mine with leftover cobblestone bricks had lying around as you can see below. (More info on building a forge to come in another post.)

Wood-fired Blacksmith Forge

Fuel
You'll need plenty of dry wood to get your forge nice and hot!

Cut off lumber ends from the lumber yard for fuel. I got it for free. 

Grinder or Grinding Stone

You'll want an electric or manual grinder. This will be used for cleaning up profiles and rough grinding edges. I am currently using an electric grinder but if I got a traditional manual stone grinder that would be super cool. 

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post! I will have more about blacksmithing soon. Please comment below and watch for more posts! 

Re-hanging and Restoring a Double-bitted Axe

Here is the grain of the new handle. It had the best grain of any handle at the hardware
store. I bought it at Lowes. Next time I will make my own. 

Today I am going to talk about an old double-bitted axe that I have re-hanged and restored. I have removed the rust, sharpened the bits, and bought and modified a new handle for it. Here is how I did it:

I pulled this ugly staple out of the handle. It was stuck in it
when I bought it. 

Step 1- I knocked out the old handle. I did this by sawing off the handle and leaving a couple of inches, and then I knocked out the old handle with a drift. The handle was removed.

The old axe and handle. 

Step 2-Rehanging. First, I inserted the new handle. I had also stripped all of the varnish off of the new handle with my knife (or as much as I could, anyway). After inserting the handle, I kept removing material from the eye area of the handle until the head fit on well.

The handle from the store (and my ugly carpet, haha!) Sorry for
the poor backdrop! It won't happen again! 

Step 3- I took the handle out and coated it with boiled linseed oil (BLO).

Step 4- I re-inserted the handle and pounded in the wooden wedge.

Here is the wooden wedge I used. I did not use
wood glue when I put in the wedge. Just linseed oil.

Step 5-I pounded in the step wedges. (Here's the story of how I got them: I went to the hardware store because I forgot about getting step wedges. I asked a couple of employees at the hardware store and they didn't even know what a step wedge was. Funny, right? I went over to the part of the hardware store where I bought my axe handle and I found wedge kits for re-handling a sledge hammer. The kits were 98 cents each. I bought one after I saw they had 2 step wedges in each kit along with a sledge hammer wedge.)

Here you can see the wooden wedge and the two metal step wedges.
The wedge system pushes the wood towards all the walls in the axe eye
to ensure a tight fit.

Step 6-I lightly sanded the handle and applied a coat of BLO. I made sure to soak the end grains of the handle and the eye area to make the wood swell so that it wouldn't come loose.

Step 7-I worked the face of the axe: I used a file to remove the major nicks in the axe bit. Then I sharpened it really sharp with a ceramic rod. I lightly sanded the face of the axe to remove any rust.

The finished product.

I hope this was helpful and if you liked this post, please follow and/or check back often! Also, please comment below. Thanks!

Protecting axes and other wooden handled tools with boiled linseed oil and wax.

Let's talk about how to protect your hand tools from rust and rot. High carbon steel will rust and wood will rot. You don't want your axe or other tools to do this. Luckily, there are ways of preventing this. I treat all of my wooden handles with boiled linseed oil generously and sometimes a light wax buff. I use paraffin wax on the heads of my tools to keep the steel from rusting.

To apply boiled linseed oil, you can use an old rag or your fingers. To apply the wax, I simply pick up the block and rub it on the steel. Another way would be to partially melt it and then rub it on with an old cloth.

Here are some pics of some of the tools I've treated and the supplies I've used.

My wooden handled axes and tools

A block of paraffin wax

Boiled linseed oil works well for treating wood

Thank you for reading Arctic Fox Bushcraft. If you enjoyed this post, please comment below, follow and tell your friends! Thanks!

Council Tools Boy's Axe Mods and Sheath Update

Hey guys! I'm back to posting on the Council Tools Boy's Axe. I still haven't had it that long, so I am going to wait until at least June before I post the review. But for now, I want to talk about all the mods I have done on my axe so far.

I have also added an apple cider vinegar patina.

So far I have:

• peeled the stickers
• oiled the handle
• sanded the handle
• sanded the paint off the head
• made a leather sheath or mask
• oiled and waxed the handle and head
• sharpened it (It came quite dull from the factory, but it is now paper-cutting sharp.)

All of these mods are easy and doable with only hand tools, but I used a sander for the head. I didn't use a belt sander, as that could destroy the heat treat. I also could have sanded it by hand, or used paint stripper, but I actually like how the red paint stayed in the cracks. Plus, it could protect it from rust. I oiled it with olive oil and waxed it with paraffin.

Here are a few pictures:

The pole of the axe had to be lightly sanded to remove the light rust from the patina.

As for axes, this is great and probably one of the best boy's axes you can buy. And the price tag is great. (You can see my previous post on the Council Tools Boy's Axe for more info.)

Here's a side view of my CT Boy's Axe

Thanks for reading and check in often if you enjoyed this post! Please tell your friends and family about my blog. You can also comment below. Thank you fellow woodcrafters!