It followed me home (Part 2)

Kevin Houtzager said:
isn't it just bent out of shape? It kinda looks of to me? But then again, i could Be wrong....
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I suppose it's possible but I don't see any signs of stress in the metal or deformations, and I'd think that bending steel like that would leave some sort of evidence. Plus the hardened steel at the bit would probably chip or break before bending much.

I've seen a number of nicer broad axes with a similar curvature to them. The idea is that it helps to keep the blade from digging in as you're hewing a beam. My understanding is that in hewing you want the cutting edge's motion to be as close to parallel with the wood surface as possible. Basically you're taking small bits and trying to to keep the blade from really digging in. However, to actually take a bite out of the wood you have to twist the axe slightly so that the cutting edge's motion is pointing a little bit into the wood surface rather than parallel with it. By putting this curve in the flat side of the axe it's easier to keep the angle as close to parallel as possible while still taking a bite because there's less of a chance of the poll hitting the wood and deflecting your strike.

This article was helpful to me when I first tried to figure out how to hew with an axe:

https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/the-endless-look-at-hewing-hatchets/

That all said, I'm no expert on hewing so hopefully one of the experts will chime in and correct me if any of that is wrong.
 
jblyttle said:
IMG_20170717_144558 by Justin Lyttle, on Flickr
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Steve Tall said:
Would a drawknife that size be useful for your trail crews working with big logs? I'm trying to think of what it would excel at.
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Square_peg said:
Yes it would. I have 2 similar sized draw knives that we use for peeling large cedars for trail structures. It's rare to find them this large, though.
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Steve Tall said:
I recently acquired a 24" (with 14" edge) drawknife made by Greenlee, and that's what I figured a good use would be. It looks similar to this one:

$_57.JPG
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Here are my 2 larges drawknives. The one below has a 14" wide blade. The one above (17") is one I made in the back yard forge but I screwed up the heat treat. It's developing cracks along the edge and is in the process of being re-ground. It will never be right but I think I can still get some work out of it.

Drawknives%202.jpg
 
mhutch said:
. . .
I've seen a number of nicer broad axes with a similar curvature to them. . ..
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Old Axeman said:
rjdankert-Bob, lets talk some more about your broadaxe. Can you show us a picture of the "flat" side using the straight edge from poll to bit? Lay the straight edge on it to show an even gap at both poll and bit. Put the two straight edge pictures (poll to bit and toe to heel) together for us. This is just what I was talking about in a thread a while ago with Square _Peg. From what you are telling me your broad axe has perfect geometry to hew with. The better quality Penn. and New Orleans pattern broad axes had this geometry. It is hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like you are almost there with the bevel. Maybe lay the bevel back a hair more and make sure the bevel is only one angle (read that to mean no micro bevel) and perfectly flat in profile. And no back bevel on the "flat" side. Lap the "flat" side for 1/2-1" back, while keeping the very slight factory arc from toe to heel and from bit to poll. If the handle is offset enough and is 20-24" long, you now will have one hell of a hewing machine!
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rjdankert said:
Like this?
26518518791_818b9b7c36_c.jpg

25981294903_31319f5d61_c.jpg


In my earlier post (#2041) I said the curve flattened out as I moved the straight edge back. When I was fooling around with these pictures I rechecked that and that is not the case. The curve continues back to the eye. I have edited that post.

Bob
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Old Axeman said:
That is exactly what a broad axe should look like, In my opinion (and my grandfather's opinion). I know that Doug Reed, a life long professional broad axe hewer, agrees also. Thanks for the great pictures Bob.
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Bob
 
With the broad hatchet we're talking about curvature from bit to eye. What Old Axeman was talking about was curvature from heel to toe on full size broadaxes. Heel to toe curvature prevents the points from digging in - similar to a lipped adze but less extreme curve. Curvature from bit to eye is to get relief for the knuckles.
 
mhutch said:
2hwz0js.jpg

fopysk.jpg


I certainly didn't need a broad axe-I already have one that virtually never gets used-but for the price I couldn't say no to this one. It's unmarked but seems to be made well. What caught my eye is that it's got a noticeable curve on the flat (un-beveled) side of the bit. My limited experience with my other broad axe tells me that this subtle detail could be advantageous, and I'd think that a maker who goes to the trouble of incorporating such a detail would be a pretty good one.
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The little hewing hatchet is interesting but ya know those back saws in the back ground are a distraction. Even got a nice little rose wood square there I would bet...
 
garry3 said:
Saws look like dandy's.
That kind of picking is extremely scarce around here. Haven't seen a good saw in ages. I am jealous but I enjoy seeing what others find.
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The saws are nicer than anything I'm used to. A 12" Richardson carcase saw (12PPI crosscut) and a 10" Dunn dovetail saw. They need some work but I enjoy the restoration.

I grew up in the midwest and lived in the northwest for the past 7 years so I know what you mean about slim pickings in some areas. Even with axes, I had to rely more on ebay than anything else. Last year I moved out to New England and since being in this area, it's opened up a whole new world for me. I really caught the bug--I now check out flea markets and craigslist every week looking for old tools and in a month I've found more around here than I ever did back west in Kansas, Washington, or Idaho. Back west I spent well over a year trying to find old backsaws because I just couldn't bring myself to pay ebay prices for something I can't even look at first. Now I have all the backsaws I need with less than $50 invested. The mountains aren't quite as big and the fly fishing scene can't replace what I had back west but if you're into woodworking or old tools or history in general, New England can be pretty fun.
 
phantomknives said:
new england sounds like the place to be. maybe i'll pay a visit in a while
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If it's old tools you're after, it is like night and day compared to the rest of the country. The further west you go the worse it seems to get except for perhaps the Washington and Oregon coasts where there is some decent rust hunting to be found--though the climate means that things tend to get very rusty.

It makes sense. The city I grew up in wasn't even a city until the 1870's or later, and was nothing but a cowtown until the early 1900's. Though a lot of the best tools I've found were made after the turn of the century, I guess folks in the midwest just didn't need the types of tools I'm after. Most of the houses and things being built around that time in Kansas were rough so maybe that's why there aren't a lot of fine tools. And when it comes to axes...well...Kansas doesn't exactly have a lot of trees so who needed an axe anyway? In New England, however, there were all these old renowned old places, nice historic houses, rich people wanting mahogany furniture, etc. That's about as much as I can come up with. I don't live in or near any of the big urban areas so I can't speak to them but I'd be willing to bet they're better places to find furniture-making tools and worse places to find things like axes. In my neck of the woods, though, up north...everyone had axes at one point. It was a basic necessity for quite a long time. So they're around.
 
Oh ya, as for convexity along the toe-to-heel axis of a broad axe:
2aql8i.jpg


It definitely helps to keep the corners from digging in.
 
I love New England. Well, parts of it. I'm sitting in the valley between Cannon Mountain and Mt. Lafayette in NH as I type this. I'll be in eastern NH tomorrow and western Maine Sat-Sun hunting for rusty treasure.
 
A Cheney adz hammer arrived at my house a couple of days ago.

Before and after a lick and a promise:


Side views:




Original patent:




Bob

On a bit of a side note Cheney information here:
http://jtc.net/hchc/

According to the author above, my adz hammer is a "type 2".
Advertisement for a "type 2" ca. 1936:

The above has an ebonized octagon handle. The "type 2" also used the "coke bottle" style.

Earlier in this thread a "type 3" was included in a post. I wanted to show it for comparison, but unfortunately the picture is in an undisclosed location and being held for ransom.

"Type 3" for comparison:
 
Kevin Houtzager said:
What is that handle made of? Looks like oak or something?
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Obviously I've had it in my hands and looked it over, but I don't feel confident to say absolutely what the wood type is. Sorry :(

Here is a closer look for you if that helps:




Label on a "type 2" (doesn't prove all Cheney handles were Hickory):

cheney-777-03-05.jpg

http://jtc.net/hchc/777/

Also, I cannot be certain that my handle is original or even if it is an OEM replacement. But if someone put a gun to my head and said "name the wood or I pull the trigger", I'd say Hickory. :D


Bob
 
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