Can you help me identify these two items.

Curt Hal

Curt Hal

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Jul 8, 2014
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These two items came as part of a package deal for a couple of axe heads. I have no need for them and will sell them, but am not sure exactly what they are. The first two photos, I believe, are a blacksmith's cold chisel. The third photo looks like a wedge of some sort, but I'm not sure about that one. Any help identifying these two pieces would be greatly appreciated.
 
The first two photos show a home made blacksmith's hot cut. That second tool looks familiar but I can't place it just now. I've seen one before - somewhere.

Do you have a grinder? Can you spark test the two metals of that last piece? Is it high carbon steel over mild steel?
 
The last one look to be a German style socketed splitting wedge.
 
Square_peg said:
The first two photos show a home made blacksmith's hot cut. That second tool looks familiar but I can't place it just now. I've seen one before - somewhere.

Do you have a grinder? Can you spark test the two metals of that last piece? Is it high carbon steel over mild steel?
Click to expand...

I only have an angle grinder. How does the spark test work?
 
Should be high carbon steel for the "shoe" and a mild steel ring over the wooden portion to prevent splitting when struck.
 
That's a good find on picture #3 a socketed splitting wedge. It is a lot nicer to pound on wood rather than pounding on metal to split wood. When the wood wears down, just fashion another piece to fit in the socket and fit the ring. The ring keeps the wood together. I have a set of these for when the maul just doesn't work.
 
The last item is a socketed wedge for log splitting. It is meant to be driven with a large wood maul or a beetle (also called a Commander)
This wedge is usually seen in raill splitting but was also used to split logs in half for puncheons floors in early log cabins. It was even used for multiple splits in a log to make rough planks which were then hand planed into boards.
If you want to sell it let me know.
 
A modern-day version of the socket wedge, from Stubai of Austria:

6725-53---54-scheitkeil.jpg


They are supposedly available in the US from StubaiDirect dot com.
 
Curt Hal said:
I only have an angle grinder. How does the spark test work?
Click to expand...

An angle grinder will do fine. All you have to do is grind some metal off with an abrasive wheel and look at the spark pattern. It's a way of getting a good guess about what general type of steel you have and its suitability for hardening.

In general, high carbon steels will have sparks that burst like fireworks rather than just trailing off and dying. Start by testing a piece of known high carbon steel (like the tang of a file). Observe the sparks. Then test a piece of known mild steel. The difference will be very evident. Blacksmiths will sometimes use this method to judge junkyard steels and determine which might harden well for use as tools.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_testing
 
Crazy! I've seen wooden splitting edges, and have used steel ones plenty to split firewood back before I got strong enough to swing an 8 lb maul effectively, but I have never seen one that was steel *and* wood. Learn something new every day.
 
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