Bone tools 3: Making a primitive bone adze 🦴
Channel: Make It Primitive
Date: 2021-04-26

An adze is similar to an axe, but with a horizontal edge. It's a very useful woodworking tool. I made a primitive adze from yew wood for the handle (like Ötzi's famous copper axe) and a head from a deer metacarpal bone that I had first shaped into a bone chisel on a previous video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyMMyifVfeY

For a first real-life test, I used my new tool to improve one of my earlier ones: My small axe's grip got an oval cross section for better handling. It also needed a new axe head, since the old one broke.

I'm very happy with this addition to my primitive tool set. It handled the task of chewing through the tough, dry willow wood really well (willow may split easily, but its fibers are quite tenacious). Regular re-sharpening of the blade is necessary, so I will keep a small whetstone at hand.

00:00 Intro
00:19 Making the adze handle
01:38 Grinding the adze head
02:48 Mounting the adze head to the handle
03:40 Using the adze to improve my stone axe

#bonetools #primitiveskills