Making an Ice Axe

So I know it was relatively common in the early days of climbing to make some of your own gear, and in that spirit I want to make an ice technical tool for a metal forging and fabrication class I'm taking at school. I was wondering if anyone had any information on the type of steel used, as well as how they test strength in the axes? I plan on making the head from steel and the curved body from aluminum with something grippy for a handle. I think it will be a really fun project, if anyone has any ideas also I would love to hear em.

Supertopo thread on similar topic:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2329222/Material-for-ice-axe-picks

Thanks @SinRopa, yup, definitely doable, message me if you're interested in more specifics, I put a lot of info on that post. Making gear is the best! Some times works out and sometimes it doesn't, test it safely and you likely have very little invested if it fails!