Progress on a Type M Axe from Wrought Iron and Shear Steel

I thought I’d show some pictures of the progress I’ve made recently on a large Type M axe that I’m forging for a good customer from wrought iron and shear steel.  A few weeks ago I posted about beginning to refine the wrought iron for this piece.  I forged a billet for the axe which was composed of 64 layers of a 1.4″ square bar of heavily rusted wrought.  This layering broke down the large slag inclusions in the original bar.  It was formed and welded as shown here

With some luck and very careful forging it will continue on its way to becoming a large, polished axe with an edge length between 9″ and 10″.