An Ax to

Grind

A Practical

Ax Manual

An Ax to

Grind

A Practical

Ax Manual

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Technology &

Development

Program

2300 Recreation

July 1999

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Technology &

Development

Program

2300 Recreation

July 1999

9923-2823P-MTDC
About the Author

Passport in Time and Heritage

 Expeditions are part of the USDA

 Forest Service’s Heritage Program

 that allows the public to explore the

past on their national forests.

My Favorite Ax

Bernie Weisgerber is a historic preservation specialist

for the USDA Forest Service. He has been in charge of

the Northern Region’s Historic Preservation Team,

headquartered in Missoula, MT, since 1991. He

worked for the National Park Service’s Historic

Preservation Training Center before coming to

work for the Forest Service.

Bernie and his crew of skilled craftsmen

restore historic Federal buildings, often at

remote sites, using traditional technologies

and materials. The team’s projects often provide training opportunities for

other Federal employees and the general public, as part of the Forest

Service’s Passport in Time and Heritage Expeditions programs. Weisgerber

has twice been a guest craftsman on National Public Broadcasting’s This

Old House television series.
The Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, has developed this information for the guidance of its employees, its

contractors, and its cooperating Federal and State agencies, and is not responsible for the interpretation or use of this information by

anyone except its own employees. The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience

of the reader, and does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be

suitable. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of

race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited

bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,

large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination,

write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-

9410, or call (202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

An Ax to

Grind

A Practical

Ax Manual

Bernie Weisgerber

Author

Brian Vachowski

Project Leader

USDA Forest Service

Technology and Development Program

Missoula, MT

8E82A42—Ax Manual/Video for Heritage

 Site Restoration

July 1999
Acknowledgments___________________________________________________________________ v

Brief History of the Ax _____________________________________________________________ 1

Evolution of the Ax in America _____________________________________________________________ 1

Ax Types, Patterns, and Uses ______________________________________________________________ 4

American Felling Ax ________________________________________________________________________ 7

Double-Bit Ax ______________________________________________________________________________ 8

Broad Ax ___________________________________________________________________________________ 9

Other Axes and Hatchets __________________________________________________________________ 10

Adzes _____________________________________________________________________________________ 13

Decline of the American Ax _______________________________________________________________ 14

Getting the Hang of It _____________________________________________________________17

Basics of Handle Selection ________________________________________________________________ 19

Hanging Procedure _______________________________________________________________________ 21

Sharpening _______________________________________________________________________________ 27

Using Axes _________________________________________________________________________33

A Most Versatile Tool _____________________________________________________________________ 33

Using an Ax Safely ________________________________________________________________________ 33

Chopping Technique ______________________________________________________________________ 35

Felling Trees ______________________________________________________________________________ 38

Limbing __________________________________________________________________________________ 41

Cutting Pinned-Down Saplings ____________________________________________________________ 42

Bucking __________________________________________________________________________________ 42

Splitting __________________________________________________________________________________ 44

Hewing ___________________________________________________________________________________ 45

Buying an Ax_______________________________________________________________________51

New and Used Axes _______________________________________________________________________ 51

Manufacturers ____________________________________________________________________________ 51

Distributors ______________________________________________________________________________ 53

Organizations _____________________________________________________________________________ 55

Selected References _______________________________________________________________57

T able of Contents

ii
From the time this manuscript began as a series of audio tapes, An

Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual has benefited from a lot of

assistance. I would like to thank the following Missoula Technology and

Development Center staff and other Forest Service employees for their

major contributions.

John Alley (Northern Region) Printing

Bob Beckley Photography

Michelle Beneitone Text processing

Ted J. Cote Design and layout

Gary Hoshide Review

Jim Kautz Photography

Bert Lindler Editing

David Michael (Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest) Review

Brian Vachowski Project Leader,

research, writing,

editing

Gloria Weisgerber (Northern Region) Review

Mark Wiggins Photography

Jerry Taylor Wolf Research, editing

I would also invite you to look at the companion video program, An Ax

to Grind. Parts 1 and 2 of the program are each 30 minutes long. Copies

are available from MTDC at the address on the inside of the back cover.

Many of the photographs are of axes from Bernie Weisgerber’s personal

collection. Many of the illustrations were drawn by Frederic H. Kock for

Bernard S. Mason’s book, Woodsmanship (1954). The illustrations are

used here by permission of Mrs. Frederic H. Kock.

A cknowledgments

iii
iv
I

B rief History of the Ax

I

’ve always had a passion for axes. I received

my first ax—a toy—when I was 8 years old,

and my first real ax not long afterwards.

Since that time, for over 45 years, I’ve used and

collected all kinds of axes and adzes in my

professional work restoring historic buildings

and structures.

We cannot explore everything there is to know

about axes in this publication. What I would

like to share with you is a brief background on

the development of axes, the hanging and

sharpening of axes, how to use an ax, and

detailed information on certain ax patterns. I’ve

tried to place the discussion within the context

of working with axes today and from a

historical perspective of their use within the

USDA Forest Service.

In An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual, you’ll

find:

• A brief look at the history of the ax,

especially its evolution in America

• Types and patterns of axes and adzes,

showcasing some examples from my

personal collection and some from old

catalogs

• How to hang and sharpen an ax, two

essential skills for anyone using an ax

• Various examples of using axes,

incorporating historical material

• Where to buy a good ax

• Some other good references about axes that

you may find useful.

This manual is intended to be a companion to

my video program, An Ax to Grind (99-01-

MTDC). The video (Figure 1) was produced by

the Missoula Technology and Development

Center (MTDC). Copies are available from the

center. I hope you’ll take a look at it.

Figure 1—The video program, An Ax to Grind (99-01-MTDC),

is a companion to this manual. The video is available from

Missoula Technology and Development Center.

...having an ax to grind

Getting even for a perceived

wrongdoing.

...barking your knuckles

Scraping your knuckles on the side of

a log while hewing it.

...can’t get the hang of it

Can’t get it right, originally referring

to the way an ax handle was mounted

to the ax head.

Evolution of

the Ax in America

Figure 1

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iv 1
Figure 3—Parts of the ax. (Courtesy of Gränsfors Bruks AB,

Sweden.)

Figure 2—Barking your knuckles comes with the territory

when you choose to hew logs with a broad ax.

Although we still make references to axes in

our daily speech, most Americans have a

limited knowledge about them (Figure 2),

including how to use and properly maintain

them. But the ax, in one form or another, has

been around for over 10,000 years—even longer

if you consider some of the crude stone tools

used as axes by early man.

While the ax has gone through transformations

from stone, copper, bronze, and iron to steel,

its overall shape and function have remained

consistent (Figure 3). The ax was the first real

woodworking tool, one of only a few available

for a long period. For centuries the ax was one

of mankind’s most useful tools.

The early iron and steel axes used in America

had European roots. Henry J. Kauffman, in his

introduction to American Axes (1994), wrote:

Part of the problem of focusing attention on

the American axe arises from the fact that

the earliest ones used here were made in

Europe, and certainly the first ones made

here were European in character. Thus, in

the earliest colonial times a dividing line

could not be drawn between the two categories. As a matter of fact, the object was

really a European-American axe. Because

iron, unlike wood, is similar regardless of

the place it was made, the essential substance of an axe does not help to identify

its origin. Short of some identifiable

maker’s mark, the manufacturers of most of

our early axes must remain anonymous.

It seems certain that most of the first axes

made in North America were made and used

on the Atlantic seaboard, a few exceptions

occurring when trading companies brought

in blacksmiths to their centers of exchange

to repair and resharpen axes. As settlers

moved westward and southward, their

needs were supplied by smiths who went

with them and were responsive to individual needs. This procedure was the beginning of very high specialization in the

forms of axes, a differentiation which was

picked up by the big manufacturers in the

nineteenth century. The axes were mostly of

the felling variety, but there were other

purposes for which an axe was needed.

Parts of the Axe

Figure 2

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2 1

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 8—An 18th-century splitting ax, with straight handle

typical of early axes.

Figure 8

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Figure 5—An early 20th-century Collins ax manufactured for

the South American market. Note the similarity in design of

the two axes.

The pace of specialization increased; as

evidence of this trend, one manufacturer

informed the writer that at one time the

company manufactured about three hundred different types. The president of the

Mann Edge Tool Company, in Lewistown,

Pennsylvania, reported that in 1969 they

were producing seventy different patterns;

however, the bulk of their production involved only about twenty.

The ax became quite specialized in Europe

during the Middle Ages and afterward. When

European colonists dispersed throughout the

New World, they brought their tools and their

knowledge with them. It is not surprising to see

the appearance of trade axes (Figures 4 and 5)

and Germanic goose-wing hewing axes. We also

see examples of older European-style

specialized axes (Figures 6, 7, and 8) in

America.

Figure 4— A 17thcentury trade ax,

typically made in

northern Spain

and traded by the

French with

American Indians.

Americans modified European axes for two

principal reasons (Kauffman 1994). First, the

European axes were not as well suited to the

virgin stands of huge trees found in America as

they were for the smaller timber stands of

Europe. The European axes were good tools for

hewing, but less adequate for felling. The

second reason, Kauffman suggests, is that many

of the Europeans who left their homelands for

an uncertain future in America were prepared

Figure 6—

An 18thcentury

mortising

ax or

twibil

gives an

idea of the

specialization

apparent

even in

early axes.

Length,

4 feet.

Figure 7—An

18th-century

shingling

hatchet is

another

specialized ax.

Ax head is 51/2

inches long by

4 inches wide.

Figure 4

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Figure 5(a)

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Figure 6

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Figure 7

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iv 3

Brief History of the Ax
to adapt to survive. Their pioneering spirit bred

ingenuity.

The need for a better felling ax, the need to

process huge amounts of timber during

America’s settlement, and American ingenuity

made development of the American felling ax

inevitable.

Ax Types, Patterns, and Uses

During the 19th century, America’s agrarian

society was not as mobile as our society is

today. People lived their lives in relatively small

geographic areas. This is one explanation of the

hundreds of different ax-head patterns that

developed over the last 150 years.

The individual skills of local blacksmiths and

their view of what an ax needed were important

factors in the development of ax-head patterns.

Ax patterns became a matter of regional

preference.

Around the turn of the 19th century, more than

300 different ax-head patterns were being

manufactured in the United States. Many were

nearly identical. To simplify identification and

eliminate unnecessary or duplicate patterns,

the Ax Manufacturers’ Association agreed to set

a standard, which resulted in a standard chart

of ax patterns (Figure 9).

Certain ax patterns become popular within a

given geographic area, such as the Jersey (my

particular favorite), the Michigan, the Dayton,

and the Kentucky (Figure 10). At times, ax head

patterns included a name that related to their

use. For example, the rafting ax pattern

originated in the day when logs were rafted

down rivers.

Ax-head patterns were also adapted to the

timber that was available in the local area. The

double-bit ax was originally developed in

Pennsylvania (Figure 11). But the double-bit

axes with a long, narrow, heavy ax head and a

long handle, were developed for cutting large

trees in the Pacific Northwest. Some of the

patterns from this area were the Puget Sound,

the Young’s felling pattern, the Redwood

pattern, and the Humboldt pattern.

We no sooner got started on thisbook than confusion over

terminology set in. The simplest term

to decide was “ax” instead of “axe.”

Although most historical sources go

with axe, we chose ax because that

spelling is preferred in the

Government’s style manual. More

problematic was the correct term for

a single-bit ax. We found single-bit

axes described as a single-bit ax,

felling ax, American ax, and pole ax.

Although woods workers commonly

refer to a single-bit ax as a pole ax,

dictionaries refer to the pole ax as a

medieval battle ax, an ax that’s quite a

bit different than the axes we are

writing about. Pole ax probably refers

to the poll (steel counterweight) on

the back of the head of a modern

single-bit ax. The trade axes that

preceded the single-bit ax did not

have a poll. The American ax and

felling ax have slightly different

meanings to me, so we compromised

on single-bit ax throughout most of

the text. Whether or not single-bit

axes should be hyphenated is yet

another story. We chose to rely on a

modern dictionary for the spelling.

1 4

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 9—Some standard patterns manufactured by True Temper Kelly in 1925.

iv 5

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 11—A 19th-century “Hand Made” double-bit ax.

Figure 10—Some Collins Company “American axes” from the company’s

1921 catalog.

Figure 11

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1 6

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 13—My favorite American felling ax, a True Temper

Kelly Perfect with a Jersey head and 32-inch straight hickory

handle.

American Felling Ax

During the period in which the trade ax was

being introduced to the North American

Indians, the felling ax was brought to America

by settlers from England, France, and Spain.

The 17th-century felling ax was made of two

pieces of iron that were hammer welded down

the center of the poll surface. Later axes had a

thin poll with a flat surface. When North

American blacksmiths began making the felling

axes, they forged the poll side of the pattern

longer in order to make a lap weld, which gave

more welding surface. This produced a heavier

poll with more weight behind the handle,

providing better balance. In essence, this design

is the modern ax that we use today (Kauffman

1994) (Figure 12).

high-carbon-steel single-bit ax appears in an

advertisement in the October 29, 1859, issue of

Scientific American (Kauffman 1994).

The addition of the poll by an unknown North

American blacksmith is what makes the

American felling ax unique. Late 18th-century

iron axes often had steel insert cutting edges.

Earlier European axes with their long blades

were awkward to use. When North Americans

ground down the blades after sharpening them

many times, they discovered that they could

use them to cut more accurately. These axes

had better balance and geometry. The blade

wobbled less during the swing. After this

discovery, American axes were made with

shorter, wider blades.

In the late 18th century, some axes became

almost square. These axes are often referred to

as the American ax (Figure 13). Introduction of

An edge tool maker’s advertisement in the

Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser on

July 7, 1789, shows that the American felling ax

was fully developed then. The illustration

closely resembles the Kentucky pattern made

by the Douglas Ax Company and illustrated in

its 1863 catalog. The Jersey pattern, my

personal favorite, is very similar to the model

of 1789. It is still available. In the mid-19th

century, some of the American axes were still

made of both iron and steel. An iron poll and a

Figure 12—Winchester ax and hatchet, Michigan pattern,

typical of the American felling ax.

Figure 12

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Figure 13a

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Figure 13b

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iv 7

Brief History of the Ax
the Bessemer process for making steel in the

late 19th century made steel affordable. The

entire ax blade could be made of steel. Polished

steel axes reduce the friction between the blade

and the log. The ax blade can be made even

thinner, allowing size and weight to be reduced

while maintaining cutting efficiency. Making

the entire ax wider with a heavier poll gave it

more balance than the narrow, long-bladed

English or European ax with little or no poll

(Kauffman 1994).

The head of a full-size single-bit ax or poll ax

weighed 3 to 6 pounds. The handle was 30 to 36

inches long.

The single-bit felling ax, or American ax,

became the international standard for quality

axes.

Double-Bit Ax

The first double-bit ax was probably made by

William Mann in Pennsylvania at about 1850.

The Mann Edge Tool Company is one of the few

American companies still in the business of

making axes. By 1860 the double-bit ax was very

common in the Northeast. The double-bit was

not widely popular until the last quarter of the

19th century when it came into its own in the

Pacific Northwest (Figure 14).

The double-bit ax weighed from about 21/2 to 5

pounds and had a handle that was 26 to 42

inches long (Figure 15).

Figure 14—Three double-bit patterns available from Collins

in 1921.

Figure 15—Three representative double-bit patterns:

Bluegrass Western pattern double-bit ax (top); True Temper

Kelly Perfect Michigan pattern double-bit ax (middle); and a

21/2-pound reversible cruiser ax, sometimes used for ax

throwing (bottom).

Figure 15a

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Figure 15b

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Figure 15c

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1 8

Brief History of the Ax
Which is better, a single-bit or double-bit ax?

No other question is likely to raise as much

controversy among ax enthusiasts as this one.

Although the single-bit or poll ax was developed

first and has remained popular, the double-bit

developed a strong following because of its

balanced feel and versatility. Typically, one

blade was sharpened to a finely honed, narrow

“felling edge,” while the second blade was

ground slightly blunter, and used for knots,

cutting near the ground, or in other instances

where a finely sharpened blade was more likely

to be damaged.

The double-bit ax remains a popular utility ax

in the Western United States, especially among

agencies like the USDA Forest Service. The

single-bit ax also remains popular. All of the

competition axes are single-bit axes. In my

opinion, a single-bit ax is a more efficient

cutting tool; the double-bit is more versatile.

Broad Ax

Other special-purpose axes helped develop

America. The hewing ax (also called broad ax or

side ax) was used to square timber or flatten

the sides of logs. It was used primarily for log

buildings and timber framing, either in house

or barn construction. Hewn timber was also

used for railroad ties and trestle bridges.

The goose-wing broad axes (Figure 16) brought

to America by German settlers were the earliest

hewing axes commonly used in this country.

These axes were first used in Bucks County, PA.

An earlier pattern of hewing ax known as the

medieval goose-wing ax occasionally shows up

(Figure 17). Goose-wing broad axes were made

in both left- and right-handed models. The

goose-wing handle was offset to the left or right

by fitting it into a bent metal tube forged to the

bit. Later hewing axes, known as American

broad axes, had a handle that allowed the head

to be taken off and re-versed for use by righthanders or left-handers.

Figure 16—An 18th-century Germanic goose-wing hewing ax.

There are maker’s marks hammered into the blade.

American broad ax patterns had geographic

names. The most popular were the

Pennsylvania, Western, Canadian, and, the New

Orleans pattern, my favorite (Figures 18a, b, c,

d, and e). Until the 1930’s the Western and

Canadian patterns were used to hack railroad

ties. The slang expression for a person who

made railroad ties was a “tie hacker.”

The hewing ax is the preferred tool for

flattening the surface of round logs. In past

centuries, wood beams were often made by

splitting the logs with some type of mallet and

wedge, or glut. Then they were surfaced with an

adz or a hewing ax. When iron axes became

available, the hewing ax almost replaced the

adz. Hewing axes were frequently used to

roughly square the logs before they were sawn

into boards with a pit saw.

Even after the sawmill became common, the

hewing ax was still used for hewing beams and

planks in the Northwest. It was often easier to

Figure 17—A medieval goose-wing ax that differs from the

Germanic goose-wing axes brought into the United States by

early settlers.

Figure 16

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iv 9

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 18d—Kelly 20th-century Canadian

broad ax.

Figure 18b—Early 20thcentury Douglas, New

Orleans broad ax—my

favorite.

Figure 18e—A 19th-century shipwright’s mast broad ax.

fell the tree, hew it square into cants, and skid

the cants to the building site rather than to

load and transport round logs to the sawmill

where they would be sawn before being brought

back to the building site. The hewing ax has

been used in the same manner for about 2,000

years.

Figure 18c—Early 20thcentury Beatty knife-edge tie

hacker’s broad ax.

Other Axes and Hatchets

Axes have other uses besides felling timber and

building houses. Splitting axes are used for

splitting firewood or rails. Hatchets, with their

short heads and handles, are used in the

building trades, and for camping and hunting

(Figure 19). Some axes and hatchets are used

specifically for mortising (Figure 20), wood

carving, flooring, shingling, and carpentry

(Figures 21a and 21b). Special competition axes

are also used in logging contests where people

chop while racing the clock and each other

(Figure 22).

Figure 18a—Beatty

Pennsylvania broad ax.

Figure 18a

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Figure 18b

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Figure 18c

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Figure 18d

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Figure 18e PRINT Borders

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1 10

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 19—Plumb 21/2-lb boy’s ax with 19-inch handle—my

favorite for log cabin work.

Figure 19

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Figure 20—An 18th-century mortising ax.

Figure 20

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Figure 21a—Some

20th-century Plumb

hatchets and hand

axes.

iv 11

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 21b—More 20th-century Plumb hatchets and hand axes.

Some axes weren’t used for

cutting wood. Ice axes were used

to cut ice from lakes in the

winter so the ice could be used

for refrigeration during the

summer (Figure 23). Sod or turf

axes were used to chop sod for

sod houses (Figure 24). People

have used axes as a weapon for

centuries. Fire axes are used to

break down doors to enter

burning buildings. The Pulaski is

an ax tool used to fight wildland

fires (Figure 25). An ax known as

a butchering ax was used to kill

cattle (Figure 26). Axes called

“salesman samples” were

miniature versions of full-size

axes. Salesmen would carry them

to hardware stores to

demonstrate their wares.

Figure 22—A Tuatahi competition ax. This New Zealand company

specializes in custom-made axes and competition crosscut saws.

Figure 22

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Figure 23—A

19th-century

ice ax for

harvesting

pond ice.

Figure 24—A 19th-century sod ax for building sod houses.

Figure 24

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Figure 23

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1 12

Brief History of the Ax
Figure 27b—Plumb

railroad adz.

Figure 27a—

Collins lipped

shipwright’s adz.

Adzes

The adz is another hewing or

dressing tool (Figures 27a, b, c,

and d). It has a head that gives it

the appearance of a hoe, but it is

tempered and sharpened to cut

wood. The adz is primarily used for

dressing or planing timber that has

been hewn by a broad ax. An adz is

used for the final dressing in some

of our finer hand-built structures.

Figure 25—The Pulaski is a popular wildland firefighting tool

that combines an ax with a grubbing hoe.

Figure 25

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Figure 26

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Figure 26—A 19th-century butchering ax.

Figure 27c—Modern carving ax or adz.

Figure 27d—Douglas carpenter’s adz.

Figure 27a

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Figure 27b

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Figure 27d

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Figure 27c

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iv 13

Brief History of the Ax
Decline of the American Ax

Some of the leading American ax companies

have included: Collins Company, Mann Edge

Tool, Kelly Axe or True Temper Kelly, Plumb

Axes, and American Axe and Tool Company.

When factory production first began, axes were

produced by individual blacksmiths hired to

make a complete ax. Gradually an assembly line

was introduced. Improved steels and more

efficient forging processes took most of the

hand labor out of ax manufacture. The

manufacturing process and materials evolved

from individual blacksmiths hammering out

axes one at a time to the giant drop hammers

used today to stamp out fully formed ax heads.

During the 19th century, axes provided the best

technology to meet the needs of the burgeoning

forest products industry. Manufacturers

produced hundreds of patterns for both general

utility and specialized uses.

The use of American axes and their quality were

probably at their peak during the period from

1850 to 1950 (Figure 28). Beginning about 1870,

ax production began to drop due to the

increased use of the crosscut saw as a felling

tool. The ax continued to play an important role

for swamping and limbing trees, but its role

was diminished.

The introduction of the power saw was the

death knell of the ax and the crosscut saw. By

the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, lightweight,

efficient chain saws had taken over almost all

of the work that previously had been

accomplished with an ax—felling, bucking, and

limbing.

If you search the Internet for ax, axe, or axes,

you will probably find more sites related to

guitars (referred to as “ax”) than you will to

those dealing with cold, hard steel. But if you

focus on work in the woods rather than on the

Internet, you will see that the ax still occupies

an important place as a woodworking tool.

A Swedish company, Gränsfors Bruks AB, still

manufactures hand-forged axes (Figure 29).

Gabriel Brånby of Gränsfors Bruks provides a

good summary of the modern role of the ax

(Gränsfors Bruks 1997):

In a certain way we are back at the time

before the entry of the booming forest industry. There are no axe-using forest

workers any longer. The millions of cubic

feet of pulpwood and timber that today

arrive at the forest industries have never

been grazed by an axe. The chain saws,

harvesters and logging machines have

taken over completely. Today most axes

are used in small-scale activity by people

like homeowners, firewood cutters, campers, hunters, joiners, woodworkers, log

builders.

Figure 28—During the heyday of American axes, companies

went to great lengths to promote their axes, like this Kelly

“Best Axe Made” broad ax.

Figure 29—Modern hand-forged broad ax made by the

Swedish Company, Gränsfors Bruks AB.

Figure 28

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Figure 29

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1 14

Brief History of the Ax
Thousands of new axes are sold every year,

mostly for the activities Brånby describes.

Some historic axes are sold or traded by

collectors (Figure 30). In the Forest Service,

axes still play a critical role in designated

wilderness areas where mechanized or

motorized equipment is prohibited by law. In

these areas, axes, adzes, and crosscut saws are

needed for clearing trails, cutting firewood,

managing forest fires, and maintaining or

restoring administrative buildings.

Outside wilderness, axes and adzes are used for

historic building restoration and as lightweight,

convenient, affordable alternatives to chain

saws. To at least a few recreational wood cutters

and craftsmen, the rhythmic sound and motion

of chopping are more appealing than the whine

and exhaust of a chain saw.

This look at the history of the ax and its

evolution in North America is not complete.

Four excellent references for more detailed

study are: Henry J. Kauffman’s American Axes

(1994); Charles A. Heavrin’s The Ax and Man

(1997); Alan Klenman’s Ax Makers of North

America, and Henry Mercer’s Ancient

Carpenter’s Tools (1960). Full citations for

these sources are in Selected References.

Figure 30—This modern blacksmith-made trade hatchet

might be just the right gift for your sweetheart on Valentine’s

Day.

Figure 30(a)

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iv 15

Brief History of the Ax
1 16

Brief History of the Ax
The length, shape, and mounting of an ax

 handle (also called a helve or haft) is

 known as the hang. The hang of an ax is

always a matter of personal preference. You must

hang your ax to suit you. The cutting edge of a

well-hung ax is in an exact line with the end of

the handle (Figure 31). If you place the ax on a

table so that the cutting edge and the handle

touch the surface, the cutting edge will touch at a

point one-third from the heel (Figure 32).

In addition to having the

blade aligned and set at

the correct angle, a

properly hung ax just

feels right. The head is

neither too heavy nor too

light, and the handle is

just the right length. The

handle may be curved or

straight, depending on

your preference. The

handle’s diameter should

feel comfortable to the

grip, and the handle

should be constructed

from the highest quality

hickory. I personally

prefer a slim-taper

octagonal handle. I get a

good grip, or purchase,

on the slim handle and it

has a bit of flex to it,

unlike thicker handles.

Many years ago, before

the proliferation of massproduced axes, most

users selected and

handled their own axes.

Professionals who

worked with axes were

G etting the Hang of It

very particular about the weight, length, design,

geometry, flexibility, and most importantly, the

hang of their axes. Such attention allowed them

to work faster and made the task easier.

Most felling axes and broad axes were not

regularly sold with handles until about 1920. The

purchaser generally took pride in making and

fitting, or hanging, his or her own handle. Many

people made patterns of the handle they used on

a thin board. Sometimes this pattern was handed

down through the family. Some of these patterns

still exist and can be found in old barns and

workshops.

Throughout history, hickory has always been the

preferred wood for percussion tools like axes,

mauls, and hammers. In the 18th century,

hickory was probably split instead of sawn to

obtain a straight and continuous grain essential

for a quality tool handle. Surviving handles from

the 17th century show that most were straight

patterns, without the swell at the end of the

handle as is common on both straight and bent

handles today (Figures 33 and 34a, b, and c).

The Hang

of It

Figure 31—In a correctly

hung ax, the cutting edge is

in a direct line with the

center of the handle (from

the Axe Manual of Peter

McLaren).

Figure 32—Proper ax-head angle (drawing by Frederic H.

Kock).

iv 17
Today, few ax users hang their own axes. Most

professionals in ax competitions hang their own

axes, as do some professional woods workers and

craftsmen.

Most axes with broken handles are thrown out or

relegated to a dusty corner of the garage and

replaced with a new ax from the local discount

store. Often the ax heads thrown into the corner

are of much higher quality (better steel,

craftsmanship, temper) than most generic axes

sold by mass marketers today.

In my opinion, folks who take any pride in their

ax skills need to know how to hang and sharpen

an ax. They should know how to make

emergency repairs in the field, and they should

know how to sharpen and care for their axes to

keep them safe and tuned for peak performance.

The most important reason for acquiring these

skills is one of attitude. By hanging and

sharpening your own ax, you realize it is your ax,

not just a hunk of wood and metal. And you are

more likely to take care of the ax and use it

safely.

Figure 33—Some ax handles available in 1999 from O.P.

Link Handle Company (reprinted by permission from O.P.

Link Handle Company).

Figure 34b—A 19th-century S-bend broad ax

handle.

Figure 34c—A 19th-century dogleg broad ax handle.

Figure 34a—Modern S-bend broad ax handle.

Figure 34a

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Figure 34b

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Figure 34c

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1 18

Getting the Hang of It
Basics of Handle Selection

Hickory makes the best handles for percussion

tools like axes. You seldom see any species other

than hickory offered by ax-handle companies.

There are several important characteristics you

need to look for in a good ax handle. Generally,

you get what you pay for, because the higher

grade hickory handles sell at a premium over

lower grade handles. Your new handle should be

of straight grain, second growth, clear hickory.

Cheap, inferior handles tend to break, split, and

warp. If you are going through all the work of

hanging your own ax, you should spend the extra

dollars to get a high-quality handle. Some

characteristics you need to look at include:

Color: The best handles are from second growth

hickory sapwood, all white in color (Figure 35). In

lower grades, various amounts of red-colored

heartwood are in the handle.

Grain: The highest grade does not have over 17

annual rings per inch of radius, a characteristic

of faster-growing second growth trees. The

orientation of the grain is critically important

(Figures 36 and 37). If the handle is not straightgrained, it is likely to break.

Figure 35—Hickory cross section. The outer, white

sapwood makes the best ax handles. This particular piece

is too small and too riddled with checks to be good

handle stock.

Figure 36—The grain of ax handles should run parallel to

the length of the handle and to the wedge slot.

Figure 37

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Figure 37—Grain orientation is important. The handle on

the left has a good orientation. The one on the right does

not, and is more likely to break under stress.

Figure 35

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iv 19

Getting the Hang of It
Defects: Various defects, including stain, holes,

knots, splits, streaks, and grain deviations all

diminish the grade of the handle.

Camouflaged Defects: Many less-than-perfect ax

handles, often on bargain or utility axes, have

defects that are camouflaged. This often helps

make the ax look better, but you should

recognize that good looks can hide defects. Some

common techniques include staining, painting,

or fire-finishing, which hardens and darkens the

handle’s surface.

Handles come in a variety of lengths, typically

from 32 to 36 inches for 3- to 6-pound axes

(Figure 38). Often the longer lengths work best

for big timber and for splitting wood, while the

shorter lengths are superior for smaller timber

and general utility work. Handles (Figure 39) can

be straight or curved (called a fawn’s foot).

Double-bit handles are almost always straight,

but for single-bit axes you can choose either

curved or straight handles. My personal

preference is a straight handle, usually less than

36 inches long. The handle can be oval or

octagonal. I special order O.P. Link handles in a

slim-taper, octagonal pattern, a design not found

in their general catalog but one the company

makes for me from the hundreds of patterns they

have on file.

Figure 38—Longer handles with heavier heads are for big

timber. Most choppers prefer shorter, lighter axes for

smaller wood (drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

Most ax manufacturers also offer axes with

fiberglass or other plastic composite handles.

While these may be durable and sturdy and

perhaps adequate for splitting mauls, they do not

provide the feel that a hickory handle offers. You

also cannot customize a fiberglass handle. They

are not traditional, which matters to me. And

besides, they are just flat ugly.

Figure 39—Some ax handles, from top: double-bit with too

much heartwood; handmade 19th-century single-bit; the

next three are new single-bit handles from O.P. Link—

fawn’s foot octagonal, straight oval, and my favorite,

straight octagonal slim-taper.

Figure 39

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1 20

Getting the Hang of It
First, check to see whether you

 really need a new handle. Often

you can reuse the same handle and

just replace a loose wedge.

Figure 40—Tools needed for hanging an ax include

(clockwise, from top left): leather gloves, four-in-hand

rasp, wood rasp, keyhole rasp, steel drift for double-bit

ax, steel drift for single-bit ax, hickory drift made from old

handle, spokeshave, coping saw, and wooden mallet.

Figure 40

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PRINT Borders Figure 41—Cut off the old handle just below the ax eye,

close up against the head, with a coping saw. Remove any

steel wedges or screws that may be in the top of the

handle at this time.

Hanging Procedure

Figure 42—Drill out the wooden wedge and part of the

handle from the top side of the ax eye. Power drills work,

too.

Figure 41

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Figure 42

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iv 21

Getting the Hang of It
Figure 43—Use a wooden or steel drift or swedge to drive

out the remainder of the handle. Notice the drift in the

center is shaped for a single-bit ax, the one on the right is

for a double-bit ax.

Figure 43

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Figure 44 —Block up the ax head upside down. Drive the

drift down through the bottom of the ax eye toward the top

of the ax eye. The ax eye is tapered larger on the top to

facilitate wedging the handle tight. This taper requires the

old handle piece to be driven out the top of the ax eye.

Figure 44

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Figure 46—Take the new handle and place it next to the ax

head. Bring the shoulder of the new handle all the way up

to the bottom of the ax eye in its finished mounting

location. This usually leaves quite a bit of excess wood on

top. Draw a line to show where the excess wood should be

cut off.

Figure 46

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Figure 45—If you use a fawn’s foot handle, saw off the

handle about 3/4 inch from the butt end to provide a blunt

surface for pounding with your mallet (drawing by

Frederic H. Kock).

1 22

Getting the Hang of It
Figure 47—With the handle in the vise, use a hand saw to

cut off the excess wood. Be careful not to split the handle.

Figure 47

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Figure 48—Using an aggressive wood rasp or a four-inhand, start dressing down the handle to fit the ax-eye

socket tightly. At this point, be careful not to split off the

edges of the handle or to rasp off too much wood. Once

it’s rasped off, it can’t be put back! It usually takes several

repetitions of rasping and checking for fit to get

everything just right.

Figure 48

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Figure 49—When the ax is properly hung, the bottom of

the ax eye should rest on the shoulder of the handle. Drive

the new handle into your ax head for a trial fit. Place the

handle in the eye socket from the bottom. Use a large

wooden mallet to strike the bottom of the handle squarely

and firmly. This will draw the weight of the ax head up

onto the handle. There’s no need to rest the ax head or the

handle against a solid base. Sight down the cutting edge to

see if the ax edge is in exact line with the end of the

handle (See Figure 31).

Figure 49

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Figure 50—Drive the handle out again using a drift, and

take one final rasp for a good tight fit down on the

shoulder. The ax head will leave marks on the high spots

that need additional light rasping.

Figure 50

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iv 23

Getting the Hang of It
Figure 51—Since you’ve cut off the excess portion of the

new handle, the wedge kerf slot is too shallow and must

be deepened. Use a hand saw to cut the saw kerf deeper

for the wood wedge. The cut should be approximately twothirds the depth of the ax eye.

Figure 51

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Figure 52—Time for the final fit. Drive the head on by

striking the bottom of the handle. You can often tell when

the head will move no farther by the solid sound of the

strike.

Figure 52

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Figure 53—This handle is properly mounted on the

shoulder. Compare this photo with the untrimmed handles

in Figure 39 to see how low on the shoulder this ax head

is mounted. There is no excess shoulder, and the handle is

ready to be wedged.

Figure 53

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Figure 54—With a coping saw, cut the protruding handle

flush with the ax head.

Figure54

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1 24

Getting the Hang of It
Figure 55—The fitted handle is ready for wedging. Use a

correctly sized wooden wedge, usually made of wellseasoned yellow poplar or other hardwood. Avoid plastic

or steel wedges.

Figure 55

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Figure 56—Sometimes the wedge is too thick for the saw

kerf and ax eye. If so, thin the wedge out a little bit so that

it can be driven almost full length.

Figure 56

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Figure 57—Before inserting the wedge in the handle, apply

a coat of Swel-Lock to the inside kerf cut and the new

wooden wedge. Swel-Lock is a product that swells wood.

It is not a glue or an adhesive; rather, it penetrates and

expands wood fibers to keep the new handle tight.

Figure 57

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Figure 58—Insert the wooden wedge. Rest the handle bottom on

something solid. Drive the wedge squarely and firmly into the

kerf with a wooden carpenter’s mallet. If you have set everything

up properly, there should only be 1/4 to 1/2 inch of wedge

protruding above the top of the handle when the wedge has

been driven to the point of refusal. Use a coping saw to cut off

any excess wedge.

Figure 58

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iv 25

Getting the Hang of It
Figure 59—Sand any paint, varnish, shellac, or wax from

the handle. Sand the handle smooth on all but 6 inches of

the butt section. The body of the sanded handle is where

your hand will slide. You don’t want any splinters or

rough wood there.

Figure 59

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Figure 60—Rough up the lower 6 inches of the butt

section of the handle with a wood rasp. This rough section

will give purchase, or grip, to your stationary hand at the

bottom of the ax handle.

Figure 60

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Figure 61—Apply a light coat of raw linseed oil if it is

available, or boiled linseed oil if it is not. Tung oil will

also work. A regular application of these oils will protect

against drying and cracking. Wipe off the excess oil.

Figure 61

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Never insert iron, steel, screws, nails, or any

other metal object down in the wooden wedge to

tighten the handle, even though you see this

being done on many factory-handled axes. Epoxy

should not be used, either. This advice applies

for the entire life of your ax. The metal wedges

tend to split the grain on the hickory handle. I

can’t see any reason why you would want to do

that to a properly hung ax.

A loose handle can be temporarily tightened

either in the field or in the shop by soaking the

head in a bucket of linseed oil. Never soak the

handle in water, except for short-term, emergency

field tightening. Water will tighten the handle to

the head, but the water dries out rapidly, leaving

the head looser than before you started.

Tightening the handle by soaking it in linseed oil

is also a temporary measure. The ax must be

rewedged or hung again to keep it tight.

Sharpening

1 26

Getting the Hang of It
“Putting your nose to the grindstone” implies

tedious, repetitious, and unending work. You will

find that sharpening a dull or abused ax is indeed

tedious and repetitious, but to do it right you

have to do it slowly (Figure 62). Along the way,

you’ll learn the value of patience, and appreciate

the differences in steel tempering and ax quality

as you sharpen different axes. Best of all, you will

appreciate the usefulness of a razor-sharp ax, and

the importance of doing everything you can to

keep it sharp.

Never use an electric high-speed dry bench grinder

With oil and rags, there is a risk ofspontaneous combustion. Be

sure to discard the oily rags or soak

them in buckets of water to prevent

any accidents.

Figure 62—The right way and wrong way to use a grinding

wheel (drawings by Frederic H. Kock).

Figure 63 —Tools for sharpening (clockwise from top left)

include leather gloves; ax-bit width gauges; 8-inch, 10-inch,

and 12-inch mill bastard files; Carborundum scythe stone;

Carbor-undum ax stone; file card; and grooved Carborundum

sharpen-ing stone. Natural Arkansas sharpening stones also

work.

Figure 63

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to sharpen your ax. That type of a grinder will

almost certainly draw the temper from the ax and

ruin it. Very few people have enough skill to use a

high-speed grinder without drawing the temper

from the steel, leaving the steel too soft to hold an

edge. The only grindstone that I recommend is one

of the old-style pedal grindstones that stay wet with

a constant application of water to the stone. If you

draw the temper from your ax with a high-speed

grinder, you may have ruined the ax for good. At

the minimum, you’ve drawn the temper for at least

3/16 of an inch back from the edge. You can always

tell when the temper is drawn because the color of

the steel at the edge turns blue. If this happens to

your ax, you’ve got to remove a lot of steel to

reshape the edge back to where it still is tempered.

If you use a pedal grindstone, keep it wet, and

always rotate the grindstone toward you and into

the ax, not away from it.

If you don’t have a pedal grindstone, your

options are limited to a file and whetstone. This

is how most quality ax sharpening is done today.

Few stores carry pedal grindstones. Wear leather

gloves (Figure 63) throughout the sharpening

process, as the ax will become razor-sharp.

iv 27

Getting the Hang of It
Fit your file with a guard to protect your hands

(Figure 64). The guards, which keep your fin-gers

away from the sharpened ax blade, can be made

from leather, wood, or a piece of fire hose.

Clamp the ax to the bench at a comfortable height

(Figure 65). Put on gloves to protect your hands.

Hold the file as shown. Because you file into the

edge of the ax, not away from it, you need gloves

in case of a minor slip. Always file into the edge,

toward the center of the ax handle, because this

creates the least amount of burr to remove on

the other side. The single-cut file sharpens only

on the push stroke. Lift it away from the ax head

on the return stroke. If you “saw” with your file,

it will fill with metal particles. It will not cut well

and it can also be ruined as the file edges are

peened over. Occasionally brush the metal

particles from the file with a file card. Always

store and transport your files so they are

protected from each other and other metal tools.

Banging them together will dull their edges.

When sharpening, always try for a fan-shaped

effect on the cheek of the ax (Figure 66). File back

for a distance of approximately 2 to 3 inches from

the cutting edge right at the middle point of the

ax. Work your way from the cheek down to the

actual edge, keeping a rounded profile. Stop filing

once you have filed one side so that a burr of

metal can be felt on the back side. Turn the ax

Figure 64—File guards help keep your fingers away from

the sharpened ax blade.

Figure 64

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Figure 65—Clamp the ax to the bench at a comfortable

height for sharpening.

Figure 65

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Figure 66—When sharpening, try for a fan-shaped effect

on the cheek of the ax (drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

Figure 66

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1 28

Getting the Hang of It
over and repeat the process on the other side of

the ax. Continue filing on the opposite side until

the burr goes back over to the first side of the ax

where you started. Stop at this point.

It is time to check the shape of the edge with a

sharpening gauge (Figure 67). This gauge can be

handmade from a piece of cardboard, a small

piece of brass, or even a piece of wood. See the

illustration for the proper shape of your edge.

The angle is about 25 degrees, but is slightly

convex. The gauge is exactly to scale and can

serve as a template (Figure 68).

Continue to file equally on both sides of the ax

until the sharpening gauge pattern fits exactly

Figure 67—Use a sharpening gauge to check the shape of

the edge.

over the edge. If you are sharpening a double-bit

ax, keep one blade slightly thicker for rough

work and grubbing near the ground, and the

other blade shaped according to the sharpening

gauge. Use the properly shaped edge for fast,

clean cutting.

Now it is time to hone the edge with a whetstone.

The honing process finishes and polishes the

edge and removes the burr. Honing should

always be done immediately after reshaping with

a file. It should also be done in the field during

use and every morning before starting the day’s

ax work. Natural whetstones are quarry stones.

My favorites are Arkansas stones, which come in

different grades. The Washita is my favorite for

fast cutting and the Hard Arkansas is my favorite

for finishing. One of the finest finishing oil

stones is called a Surgical Black Hard Arkansas.

This stone will

Figure 68—A template for a sharpening gauge (reproduced

to exact size) and illustrations showing its use (drawings

by Frederic H. Kock).

Figure 67

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iv 29

Getting the Hang of It
Figure 69—Round ax stones, sometimes called pocket

stones.

Figure 69

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put a razor edge on your ax. Manmade stones are

usually oil stones of Carborundum and come

with a coarse and a fine side. Other whetstones

are called water stones and use water to float the

metal particles out of the stone instead of oil.

Always use oil with an oil stone or water with a

water stone to float the metal particles away. Wipe

the stone clean of these metal particles

periodically and apply more oil or water. Water

stones are quite a bit softer than oil stones and

tend to cup and wear faster. The advantage of the

water stone is that it rapidly puts a fine polished

edge on your ax.

Round artificial ax stones (Figure 69) are

sometimes called pocket stones. I know of two

types. The traditional type has both a coarse and

a fine side and is about 1/2 inch thick. This

traditional ax stone can be dangerous to use,

because your fingertips are always in jeopardy.

Another type of ax stone has a finger groove in

the center to keep your fingertips out of jeopardy.

Both of these round ax stones are of

Carborundum and require oil (Figure 70) to float

the metal particles off of the stone. Use the ax stone in a circular motion, working

into the edge, toward the middle of the ax head

(Figure 71). Work one side of the ax with the

coarse stone until it creates a metal burr, then

flip the ax over and use the coarse stone until it

pushes the burr back. Switch to the fine side of

the ax stone and repeat the process until there’s

a very fine burr and both sides of the ax edge

have been honed. Honing the edge removes very

small particles of metal from the blade and causes

the remaining ax metal to burr slightly. This is

sometimes known as a wire edge or a feather

edge. At this point you may want to move to one

of the Arkansas stones like the Hard Arkansas

finishing stone and work the burr back and forth

until it breaks off or becomes very fine. I

recommend stropping the edge by drawing the ax

toward the edge (opposite the direction used

during sharpening) on a piece of finished leather

or a piece of soft, clear wood like pine. This

stropping will remove the final burr or wire edge.

The last step is to apply a protective coating to

Figure 70—Use oil to float metal particles off ax stones

made of Carborundum.

Figure 70

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1 30

Getting the Hang of It
the ax head itself (Figure 72). You can clean the

rust and pitch from the metal with an abrasive

impregnated rubber eraser block called the

Wonderbar. Wipe light machine oil over all the

metal on both sides of the ax, and then carefully

rub a beeswax and oil mixture into the steel. The

mixture will cling to the steel and protect it from

rust. The ax head should be warm to ensure

better coverage of the mixture.

Always check the ax for sharpness. A honed ax

will cut faster, be safer to use, and stay sharp

longer. If you look directly into the edge of your

ax with the light over your shoulder (either

sunlight or artificial light), the edge that you’ve

just honed will reflect no light. If you see any

light reflected from the edge, you need to go back

and hone the ax with the stone. Occasionally, a

ding or a nick in the edge will reflect light just at

one point. It is not always necessary to remove

these dings as they will disappear through

repeated filings. A correctly honed edge is sharp

with no wire edge. It reflects no light. If you

followed procedures, your edge should be sharp

enough to shave with (Figure 73). I sometimes

check the sharpness by carefully dry shaving the

hair on the back of

Figure 71—Use the ax stone in a circular motion, working

into the edge, toward the middle of the ax head (drawings

by Frederic H. Kock).

Figure 71

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Figure 72—Protective coatings for the ax head.

Figure 72

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8 x 5 7/8

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Figure 73—Shaving hair on the back of your hand is a

traditional method of checking an ax’s sharpness. A safer

method is to place your fingernail against the edge. The

edge should bite into your fingernail.

Figure 73

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iv 31

Getting the Hang of It
my hand. This is a traditional method used in the

woods for years. A safer and equally effective test

is to carefully put your fingernail (not your finger)

against the sharpened edge. The edge should bite

into your fingernail and not slide down it.

1 32

Getting the Hang of It
U sing Axes

A Most Versatile Tool

The ax is a wonderful tool. It can be used to fell

standing trees, to buck them into logs, and to

limb them once they are on the ground. Axes can

be used for hewing logs square, or for splitting

firewood or fence rails. The tasks they’re suited

for range from trail work and fire fighting to

restoring historic buildings.

Before you lift an ax to admire it or work with it,

you need to recognize its potential danger. An ax

is a sharp wedge, normally applied with enough

force to cut something. Whether that

“something” is a log, your foot, or the person

standing too close to you depends on your skill

and concentration. By taking pride in your work,

taking good care of your ax, and learning the

correct techniques, you can avoid most of the

danger of using an ax.

Master your ax instead of fearing it. You master

ax work by practicing it. Chopping is an art. It

takes years to become an expert. You can learn

only so much by reading manuals and looking at

illustrations; the rest you can learn only by

swinging. Take a cautious, rather than

aggressive, approach to chopping your first logs.

Placement, control, proper stance, and technique

are far more important than power. Only when

you have become fully proficient does power

become a consideration.

This chapter gives some basic instruction—and a

few tricks of the trade—for using an ax for felling,

limbing, bucking, splitting, and hewing. It also

describes how to use an adz for log work. I’ve

relied heavily on illustrations from one of my

favorite books about axes, Woodsmanship, by

Bernard S. Mason (1954). The wonderful

illustrations are by Frederic H. Kock.

Unfortunately, it is long out of print, but some of

the illustrations are reproduced here by

permission. We also used some good information

from Fred C. Simmons’ Northeastern Loggers’

Handbook (1951).

Bear in mind that some of these historic

illustrations do not reflect modern personal

protective equipment, particularly hardhats and

eye protection.

Using an Ax Safely

Personal protective equipment that you need for

ax work varies with the job. Always wear good,

stout leather boots, at least 8-inches high. Always

wear safety glasses or goggles for eye protection.

Hard hats are needed when there is any chance

of being struck by something overhead. Hard

hats are a must for tree-felling operations.

Some people wear gloves when using an ax, some

don’t. Gloves are a good idea for splitting

firewood, where you are handling many pieces of

splintered wood. Leather gloves are always

required while sharpening an ax. For chopping,

use your judgment. If leather gloves protect your

hands and help give you a good grip on the

handle, wear them. I personally don’t wear gloves

most of the time because I get a better purchase

on the ax handle without them. The last thing I

want to happen is for the ax to fly out of my

hands on a swing. Then the person next to me

really will need that hard hat!

I

t’s always a good idea to complete a

 job hazard analysis that identifies the

safety concerns of the ax work you will

be doing. In the Forest Service, a job

hazard analysis is required. You must

also describe the safety gear and

procedures you need to follow to do the

job safely. The job hazard analysis can

save your life. Do it!

iv 33
Figure 74—A dull ax or one that is too blunt is more likely

to glance off dangerously than it is to cut (drawing from

the Northeastern Loggers’ Handbook).

Always carry your sheathed single-bit ax at its

point of balance near its head with the edge

pointing down. The ax should be on your

downhill side if you are walking on a slope. If you

fall or trip, toss the ax away from you. Carry a

double-bit ax at your side. Carrying an ax on your

shoulder is asking for trouble, especially in the

woods or on rough trails. Don’t do it.

Keep track of your ax. Be careful where and how

you lay it down, and remember where it is. If you

must leave your ax unsheathed, lay it flat with

the edge toward a solid object like a log or a wall

(Figure 75). Serious accidents are caused by

stumbling over or falling on a carelessly placed

ax.

For temporary safe storage, stick a single-bit ax in

a log or a stump. Never lay it down flat out in the

open. Never lean it up against a tree, a wall, or

any other object where the edge is exposed. Don’t

leave it stuck for long in a block of wood because

it will rust. A double-bit ax should never be stuck

in a log with one edge sticking out. Place your

double-bit ax underneath a log lying flat or put

one bit into a small piece of wood and then stick

the other bit into a horizontal log. A sheath is

better than any of these methods.

Here are a few more pointers on ax work:

Figure 75—These methods may work, but it’s better to

keep a protective sheath on your ax (drawings by Frederic

H. Kock).

1 34

Using Axes
• Do not chop directly through a knot if you

can chop around it or chop the knot out.

Knots often are very hard and can chip your

ax or adz.

• Never strike the ground with your ax. If you

need to cut roots, use a grubbing tool like a

Pulaski or grub hoe. If you have to use an ax,

use a “grubbing’’ ax that you don’t care about

abusing.

• Never try to drive a stake or wedge with the

flat side of your double-bit ax. It is almost

sure to crack the eye.

• Never use the poll of a single-bit ax for

pounding steel wedges. The poll is there for

counter balance to the bit. It is not there for

pounding! The poll is not tempered properly

to pound and will become deformed or chips

of steel may fly off. A single-bit ax can be

safely used to pound wooden or plastic

wedges—that is all!

• The ax head is brittle at extremely cold

temperatures. It is likely to chip unless it is

warmed before using. One way to warm up

your ax is to place it (sheathed of course)

under your armpit, for a few minutes. Or

warm it between your hands. If you don’t

want to share some of your body heat with

your ax (which by now should be considered

a family member), chop very slowly for at least

2 minutes in order to warm the ax up in the

wood.

Chopping Technique

Chopping is an art. Start out loose and relaxed.

Hold the ax with one hand fixed just above the

swell at the end of the handle. On the up-stroke,

the other hand slides up the handle close to the

head. On the down-stroke, it slides back down

the handle. At the point of impact, it is close to

the lower hand. Each blow lands exactly where it

is intended, with the proper force, and at the

proper angle. There is no shock to the hands or

shoulders. One corner of the ax blade should

always be free of the wood, so that a slight twist

brings out the chip and releases the bit without

undue strain.

Grip—On an ax that is hung properly to fit you,

place your left hand about 1 or 2 inches from the

butt end of the handle or helve. Place your right

hand about three-fourths of the way up the

handle. This is the proper hold for a right-handed

person (Figure 76).

Forehand Swing—This swing is used to cut the

right side of a notch. These instructions are for

right-handed choppers. Raise the ax over your

right shoulder, your hands in the starting

position (Figure 77). Swing the ax down on the

log with a very natural swing motion, your right

hand sliding down the handle toward your left

hand at the bottom of the handle. You will end

this motion with both hands at the end of the

handle when the ax strikes the wood. Do not

drive the ax straight into the wood, but instead

cut on an angle about 45° to 50° from the edge of

the log (Figure 78). Raise the ax again, slide the

right hand up about three-fourths of the way on

the handle and start your next swing. Continue

this motion for the forehand swing. Your left

hand never leaves the end of the handle.

Figure 76—The proper ax hold for a right-handed person

(drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

iv 35

Using Axes
Figure 78—Cut at a 45° angle to be most effective (drawing

by Frederic H. Kock).

Backhand Swing—The backhand swing is used

to cut the left side of the notch (Figure 79). Bring

the ax over the right shoulder as in the forehand

swing, but shift your body well to the left so that

the ax comes down more in line with the left side

of the notch. This backhand swing is somewhat

more difficult to master gracefully. Proper ax use

always includes these two motions, the forehand

swing and the backhand swing, always over the

right shoulder for right-handed choppers.

Changing hand positions instead of using or

developing the back swing technique is not

considered acceptable ax use.

Accuracy is the only thing that counts; the force

Figure 77—Forehand swing (drawings by Frederic H.

Kock).

Figure 79—Backhand swing (drawings by Frederic H.

Kock).

1 36

Using Axes
Figure 81—Three ways of gripping the ax for precise

strokes: a) two-handed choked grip; b) one-handed

choked grip and; c) one-handed full swing (drawings from

the Northeastern Loggers Handbook).

Figure 80—Sequence of strokes for most efficient

chopping (drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

of the swing is not nearly as important as its

placement. Chop with a series of strokes: the top,

the bottom, and then the middle (Figure 80). If

you chop in that order (top, bottom, middle) with

both the forehand swing and the backhand

swing, the chip will fly out after your last cut. On

your last cut in the middle on the backhand

swing, you should give a slight twist to the ax as

you sink it into the wood to pop the chip out.

Swing with a natural rhythmic and unforced

motion. Always watch your aim. Leaving one edge

of your ax blade exposed will help ensure it

doesn’t get stuck in the log.

It is best to confine yourself to one grip and do all

the chopping either right- or left-handed,

whichever is your natural swing. In the long run,

it is important to learn to chop well both righthanded and left-handed. Being ambidextrous can

save a chopper a lot of trouble in everyday work

in the woods, particularly in limbing.

Other grips besides the full-swing chopping grip

are used for specific tasks (Figure 81). For careful

and delicate work, such as sharpening stakes,

notching house logs, or some limbing, use a twohanded choked grip, with both hands grasping

the ax near the center of the handle. For cutting

brush or sharpening wooden wedges, use a onehanded grip at the ax’s point of balance near the

head. For splitting wood, cutting saplings, or

sharpening stakes by yourself, use a one-handed

grip, with your hand about halfway down the

handle. Your spare hand should be nowhere near

the ax blade during these operations!

iv 37

Using Axes
Figure 82—Using an ax as a plumb. A hard hat is also

required here (drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

Felling Trees

This description of felling with an ax is meant

only to give the reader a generalized idea of the

felling procedure. It should not be construed as a

training guide. A faller needs to judge many

variables—some deadly if misjudged—before

attempting to cut down a tree. The information

presented here is just a guide to help prevent

some common mistakes. It focuses on ax

techniques rather than felling techniques.

Never start chopping until you are sure there are

no branches or brush in the way. An ax deflected

by a small branch or twig can cause a serious

accident. Be sure your fellow workers are in the

clear.

Decide the direction in which you want the tree

to fall, ideally with the natural lean of the tree. If

not, you may have to use special techniques and

equipment to offset the lean, techniques a novice

should not try. Your ax can serve as a plumb to

determine the tree’s natural lean. To do so, hold

the ax in your hand above your head at arm’s

length (Figure 82). Grip the very end of the

handle with the ax head down. Use the ax as a

plumb to sight around the tree from different

positions as you walk a circle around the tree. Be

sure to take into account the crown mass, which

side the branches are on, and whether there is

more weight on one side or the other.

Consider wind direction. A slight breeze on the

ground can be more powerful at the top of a 60-

to 100-foot tree. Wind can change the direction of

fall with unpredictable results. Heed the warning

of an old country-western song by Sonny James:

Don’t Cut Timber on a Windy Day. Decide the

direction you will need to move the log after it is

down on the ground. Try to drop the tree in a

clearing, if possible.

After you have determined where the tree is going

to fall, gently swing your ax handle fully extended

over your head in a 360° arc to make sure there

are no obstructions (Figure 83). Walk around the

tree at arm’s length with the ax fully extended to

make sure that there are no branches within this

circumference. Clear the underbrush for an

escape path at about a 45° angle to the direction

of the planned tree fall. The route should be clear

of all vines, branches, and rocks—anything that

you might trip over. Never stand directly behind

the tree as it falls or during your escape. If the

tree kicks back, or if the tree slabs and splits, the

back portion will kick straight back.

“Widow makers” are another danger. These are

usually dead branches in the tree you’re felling

or in neighboring trees that might be knocked

down by the tree you are cutting. You should

always wear personal protective gear during these

Felling is probably the most dangerous and difficult job in the

woods. The USDA Forest Service has

long required specialized training and

certification before any of its employees

are allowed to cut standing trees. This

training is required whether chain saws,

crosscut saws, or axes are used to fell

the trees.

1 38

Using Axes
Figure 84—Notching a tree to determine the direction of

fall (drawings by Frederic H. Kock).

used in combination with the ax, the front notch

should be no more than one-third of the diameter

of the tree.

Use your ax as a sight guide to determine if the

notch is in the proper direction of the fall (Figure

85). A double-bit ax is best for this purpose as it

makes a perfect T-square. Place the head of the

double-bit ax in the front notch that you have

just cut, with the handle pointing directly in the

planned direction of the fall. If the handle does

not point in the planned direction of the fall, you

must re-chop the notch until the handle points

in the right direction.

Figures 83—Clear an area completely around the tree

before starting to chop (drawings by Frederic H. Kock).

operations. Hard hats and safety glasses are a

must.

Make sure your footing is secure and stable.

Chop only when you are well clear of other

people. Stand with your weight evenly distributed

with both feet planted about shoulder width

apart. Check the distance to stand from the cut

before you start to swing. Start swinging with a

very gentle easy motion in order to gauge your

distance and your power stroke.

The first cut will be the front notch or the

undercut in the direction of the planned fall

(Figure 84). This notch should be about one-third

to one-half of the diameter of the tree when

felling strictly with an ax. If a crosscut saw is

iv 39

Using Axes
Figure 87—Plan and clear escape routes at an angle away

from the planned direction of fall.

Figure 86—Back notch or the final felling cut.

Figure 85—Using a double-bit ax as a T-square to indicate

the direction of fall.

Now begin the back cut, or the final felling cut,

on the opposite side of your front notch. The

back notch should be a minimum of 2 inches

higher on the stump than the front notch. The

back notch is cut to within about 2 inches of the

tip of the V on your front notch (Figure 86). Never

cut completely through the back notch to the

front notch.

Direction of fall

When the top of the tree starts to move in the

direction of fall, move a few yards back away from

the tree at an angle (Figure 87); never move

directly behind the tree or in front of the fall!

Keep your eye on the top of the tree while

making your escape. You should get as far from

the tree as possible. Keep your eye on the tree

long enough to make sure not only of its

direction of fall, but to look for widow makers

that can be thrown back in your direction. As the

tree is going down, continue to look overhead.

You are only safe once the tree and broken limbs

are on the ground.

Escape Path

Safety


Zone

Safety


Zone

Direction


of Fall

45 ̊


45 ̊
 Alternate Path

Remember the rule when placing your cuts to

create a notch—near, far, and middle to remove

each chip. Always place the front notch and the

back notch as low on the tree as possible while

standing safely and comfortably. As the back

notch gets deeper, closing in on the 2 remaining

inches of hinge wood, keep glancing toward the

top of the tree. The tree will start moving there

Cutting through the hinge wood is the single most dangerous thing a

novice faller can do. Never cut through

the hinge wood! If you do, you will have

absolutely no control over the direction

the tree will fall, and it could very well

fall on you.

Front notch

first, allowing you to detect whether the tree is

going to fall in the planned direction. A gust of

wind blowing opposite the planned direction of

fall can get you into serious trouble at this point.

1 40

Using Axes
Figures 89—Guidelines for limbing (drawing by Frederic

H. Kock).

Figure 88—Cut the underside of the branch when lopping

branches (drawings by Frederic H. Kock).

Limbing

After the tree is on the ground, the next step is

removing its branches, called limbing. Start at

the butt of the log and work toward the top,

cutting on the underside of the branches (Figure

88). Always limb from the opposite side of the log

with the log separating you from the ax. Limbing

is a dangerous operation because of the chance

of glancing blows (Figure 89) when the ax does

not dig into the wood.

You need to pay attention to branches that are

under compression, those that bear the weight of

the log. When the limb is cut, the limb may

spring free, striking you. The log can also roll.

Limbing is like other chopping in most ways. The

same grips on the ax handle are used and the

swing is the same. Much of the ax work, however,

is performed in constricted, awkward positions.

Some branches are large, others small. You need

good judgment to place the right amount of force

behind each swing of the ax.

The danger of accidents from an ax that has been

deflected by branches is much greater than with

clear chopping. One important precaution is to

clear interfering branches

When you use an ax for both thefront and back notches instead of

using a crosscut saw for the back

notch, you cannot use a wedge to

secure the direction of fall. This is one

disadvantage of using an ax instead of a

saw for the back notch.

BRANCH ON THE

FAR SIDE

NEVER ON THE NEAR

SIDE

NEVER STRADDLE

THE LOG

iv 41

Using Axes
Figure 90—Cutting off a large limb.

before attempting to chop a large limb. If the log

is so large that you cannot reach over it to limb,

chop the top branches off first. Stand on top of

the tree trunk to chop the side branches. Cut

each limb flush with the trunk; leave no stobs or

pig ears.

The inexperienced chopper should do very little

limbing while standing on the log. Experienced

choppers with sure control of the ax will be able

to work safely in the more hazardous positions.

For large limbs, particularly on hardwoods, it is

often necessary to cut a notch similar to that

used in cutting down a tree (Figure 90). Cut from

the lower side of the limb, as always, and keep

the bottom of the notch even with the trunk

A good suggestion from Ian Barlow, trails and wilderness expert on the

Nez Perce National Forest:

No matter how hard you try to avoid it,

sometimes you have to limb on the

same side of the log that you are

standing on. When that happens, a

good rule of thumb is to never let your

ax handle or your ax head drop below

the level of your hands while you’re

chopping. If you never let your ax head

break a plane that’s parallel with the

ground, you can’t cut your feet.

surface. The vertical side of the notch should

slope somewhat with the angle of the limb. Often

a larger notch is easier to cut than a smaller one.

The downward cut is made with the grain of the

wood and not directly across it.

A word should be said about hemlock knots.

These knots are very hard, especially on dead

limbs. It is sometimes better to break off small

limbs with the poll of the ax than to try to chop

them. It is easy to take a huge nick out of the ax

bit by swinging too hard at right angles to a

hemlock limb. This is more likely to happen in

cold weather, when the ax is more brittle. In such

cases, warm the ax bit before using it on such

limbs. If possible, use an ax with a blunter taper

than you would for ordinary chopping. As a final

precaution, chop lightly at an angle to, or with,

the grain, and do not attempt to twist out the

chips.

Cutting Pinned-Down

Saplings

A dangerous job that goes along with limbing is

cutting off bowed-over saplings, whose tops have

been pinned down by the fallen tree. Never cut

them by giving either the top or the butt a whack

with the ax from the outside. They can spring out

like a catapult, with a force that can easily break

a jaw or arm. The trick is to cut the bowed-over

tree from the inside. If this is impossible, give the

strained fibers on the outside a light touch with

the ax to partially release the strain before fully

severing the sapling.

Bucking

Bucking means cutting a tree into log lengths or

firewood bolts once it is on the ground. Often it

is also necessary to buck logs that have fallen

across trails. Most bucking is done with the saw,

but there is nothing wrong with using an ax for

this job. A good chopper can often buck a log in

the same time it takes to set up a crosscut saw

1 42

Using Axes
Figure 92—Size the notch to close halfway through the log

if you can chop both sides of the log. If you can only cut

on one side, the notch will have to be much larger

(drawings by Frederic H. Kock).

Figure 91—Top view of the sequence of cuts made by an

experienced right-handed chopper standing on top of the

log. The final power stroke is offset slightly.

and use it to cut a log.

The beginning chopper should stand on the

ground to the side of the log. Make sure you have

firm footing. Take a wide stance and chop

between your feet, turning your body in the

direction of the ax stroke as you cut first one

side of the notch, then the other. Again, keeping

the handle parallel with the ground will prevent

foot injuries.

For an experienced ax user, the proper position

for bucking is to stand directly on top of the log

and chop halfway through one side. Turn around

and chop halfway through the other side to finish

the cut. These two V-notches will meet right in

the middle of the log (Figure 91).

On logs that are small enough to be rolled over,

FIRST

SECOND CUT CUT

POWER

STROKE TO

FINISH IT OFF

you can achieve the same economy without

standing on the log. Stand on the ground and

chop a V-notch on the top, then roll the log over

and chop a V-notch on the bottom.

Often it is necessary to chop a large log while

standing on the ground. You must make a very

large V-notch to chop all the way through from

just one side. You also risk hitting your cutting

edge on a rock as you finish the cut.

How wide should you cut your V-notch? The

most common mistake is to make the V-notch

too small (Figure 92). This pinches the middle of

the V-notch before you reach the center of the log.

You will quickly find that chips will not clear from a

notch that is too wide. If a very large log is bucked,

you need to make your notch narrow and then

widen it out; the chips won’t clear if you start the

notch much wider than 10 to 12 inches.

The advantages of chopping two V- notches in a log instead of one large

V-notch is simply a matter of ease of

chopping. Chopping two smaller Vnotches is easier and takes less time

than cutting one large notch.

TOP VIEW

SIDE

VIEW

iv 43

Using Axes
On a large log you increase the size of the notch

by chopping out one side. Always remember your

high, low, and middle technique for placing ax

blows. Make three forehand swings, high, low,

and middle, followed by three backhand swings. If

you are standing on the log, your first swing

should strike high at the top of the log; the

second at the bottom of log; and the third right in

the middle. If you follow any other sequence, the

ax will stick in the wood. The last stroke, stroke

number six, throws the chip on the ground

(Figure 80).

Splitting

The wood to be split is cut into stove lengths that

can be anywhere from 12 to 24 inches long.

Stand the wood on end, either on the ground or

on a chopping block, if the wood has been cut

straight with a chain saw or crosscut saw. If the

ends are uneven, the wood needs to be placed in

a crotch of a downed tree to hold it upright

(Figure 93).

You should have a designated splitting ax. Its

blade should have a much steeper angle than a

felling and bucking ax. Take advantage of existing

cracks or checks in the wood to help direct your

first blow, because the first split is generally the

most difficult. Swing straight down toward the

top of the block. Use your body weight, with your

knees snapping into position just as you hit the

block of wood. Give the ax handle a slight twist

just as the bit hits the block (Figure 94). This

throws the block of wood apart and prevents the

ax from sticking. The real secret of splitting wood

with an ax is in this little twist right at the end of

the stroke.

Give a slight twist to the ax on this last chip-removal stroke. This twist

will help bust the chips out and keep

the ax from sticking in the log.

Figure 93—Safe and unsafe techniques for splitting wood

(drawings by Frederic H. Kock).

1 44

Using Axes
Figure 94—Twist the ax head as it enters the wood to keep

it from sticking (drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

On a knotty, gnarly block of wood you’ll need to

start your split from the outside edges and slab

off the sides. Inevitably, your ax will become

stuck in the block you are trying to split. The

best way to remove it without damaging the ax is

to rap the end of the handle sharply downward

with the palm of your hand without holding the

handle.

Hewing

Hewing is shaping a log with an ax or an adz. The

primary tools are the single-bit ax and the hewing

or broad ax. The single-bit ax is used for scoring,

a process of chopping cuts perpendicular to the

length of the log down to a chalk line marked on

the log. This line marks the edge where you want

the flat, hewn surface.

Follow the scoring process with broad ax hewing.

An adz is sometimes used for the final dressing of

the hewn log. Hewing can convert a round log

from the woods into a square timber or a partially

squared timber called a cant. Hewing doesn’t

work well on dry logs, so hew green, freshly cut

logs. Here is a summary of the steps to follow:

1. Remove the bark from the log using a

drawknife (Figure 95), bark spud (Figure 96),

or possibly your single-bit ax. Place the log

crossways on two other short sections of log

that have a V-notch chopped in them to

cradle the log. The log to be hewn should be

placed in these V-notched cross sections,

called yokes, at a height that is comfortable

to hew. The position should be about knee

high or a little bit higher.

Place wood chips, a wood slab, or an old

board on the ground underneath the log to

Figure 95—Removing bark from a green log with a

drawknife.

Figure 95

34%

3 3/8 x 2 3/8

10 x 7

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

Figure 96—Using a bark spud.

Figure 96

34%

3 3/8 x 2 3/8

10 x 7

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

keep the broad ax from digging into dirt and

rocks. Clamp the log to the yokes with log

dogs, big iron staples driven into both the

yoke and the log at both ends (Figure 97).

This keeps the log from moving from its

proper position.

iv 45

Using Axes
Figure 98—Lay out the dimensions of the beam on the

small end on the log.

2. Using a level or a plumb bob (Figure 98),

scribe a vertical line on the small end of the

log to mark the depth to which you want to

hew. Then, to make sure the log is large

Figure 97—Use a log dog to secure the log to the yoke.

Figure 97a

44%

3 x 3 3/4

6 7/8 x 8 5/8

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

enough, measure out the final end

dimensions of the cant or beam you wish to

create. Scribe this layout on the small end of

the log first, because it is more difficult to fit

it there than on the large end of the log.

3. Now move to the large or butt end of the log

and repeat the process of scribing the end

dimensions of the beam or cant.

4. Snap a chalk line from the upper corner of

the layout on one end to the corresponding

corner on the other end (Figure 99). It is

easier to do if you first cut a notch in the log

with your pocket knife immediately above

the scribed vertical line. Drive a nail into the

vertical line just deep enough to hold one

end of the chalk line. Run the chalk line up

through the notch and along the length of

the log (Figure 100). Then, holding the line

tightly at the other end, snap the line by

raising it straight up and letting it go.

5. Next, score the log. To start scoring with

your single-bit ax, stand on top of the log.

Plumb bob

Narrow end

of log Figure 99—The chalk line will mark the top side of the

hewn surface.

Figure 99

37%

3 3/8 x 2 1/2

9 x 6 5/8

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

Figure 97b

44%

3 x 3 3/4

6 7/8 x 8 5/8

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

1 46

Using Axes
Figure 100—Here’s a way to secure one end of the chalk

line while you move to the other end.

Chop to the depth of the chalk line in the

center, or for a large-diameter log, take

chops high, low, and in the middle. Do not

burst (clear) the chips. Each of these swings

is done with the forehand swing only. This

process is called slash scoring. It is the most

common method of scoring. The slashes are

placed 3 to 4 inches apart down the length of

the log.

On a large log, scoring is easier using a

method called “juggling” (Figure 101). In

juggling, you score the log by chopping a

series of shallow V-notches to the depth of

the chalk line. To do this, stand on top of

the log and cut with both the forehand swing

and the backhand swing. Then, still working

from the top of the log with your single-bit

ax, chop parallel to the log with the grain to

split off the chips between the V-notches

(spaced 10 to 12 inches apart, Figure 102).

Figure 101—In the scoring technique called juggling, you

cut a shallow V-notch down to the depth of the chalk line.

Slash scoring is a different technique that doesn’t involve

cutting a V-notch.

Figure 101

48%

3 3/8 x 3 5/16

7 x 6 7/8

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

Figure 102—Finish the juggling process by removing the

excess wood between V-notches with a single-bit ax.

Figure 102

48%

3 3/8 x 3 5/16

7 x 6 7/8

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

Nail in

line to 

hold end

of chalk 

line

Cut notch

Run chalk 

line up over 

notch and 

down length 

of log

iv 47

Using Axes
6. Hewing with the broad ax is the next step

(Figure 103). In a right-handed swing, your

left hand should be on the end of the broad

ax handle, with your right hand holding the

handle near the ax head. Standing on the

ground, spread your legs apart so they are

out of harm’s way, and swing straight down

toward the ground. Follow the chalk line,

breaking the remaining wood between the

scoring slashes, or between the V-notches

left from juggling.

Generally only two sides of the log were

hewn in cabin building, the exterior and the

interior walls. If you want to hew all four

sides, you will need to rotate the log 90° and

repeat the process on the remaining two

sides.

7. Use an adz to give a more finished

appearance to the hewn log. The traditional

method of using the adz is to roll the log 90°

so the hewn side is face up. Stand on top of

the hewn face and cut directly toward your

toes. As you might imagine, this can be a

dangerous operation for someone who is

unskilled. The adz needs to be razor sharp

to cut well. The utmost concentration is

needed to swing the adz with enough power

for it to do its job but not enough to slice

your toes (Figure 104). On small logs, you

sometimes can straddle the log and swing

the adz between your legs (Figure 105).

If a chip of wood gets stuck to the ax bit, which often happens while

hewing, stop and remove the chip

carefully from the ax blade. A chip stuck

to the bit of the ax will guarantee a

glancing blow when you begin your next

cut.

Figure 103—Hew down to the chalk line, removing the

excess wood left after scoring.

Figure 103

37%

3 3/8 x 2 1/2

9 x 6 5/8

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

After scoring and hewing the first side of the

log, move the log dogs one at time so the log

does not shift off plumb. The opposite side

of the log is then freed up but is still held in

a plumb position. Repeat the scoring and

hewing process on the opposite side of the

log. At this point the log is flat on two sides. Figure 104—Adz work requires the utmost concentration

to avoid cutting your feet.

Figure 104

50%

3 3/8 x 4 1/4

6 3/4 x 8 1/2

Print to Outside Edge of Borders

PRINT Borders

1 48

Using Axes
Figure 105—You may be able to straddle a small log when

using an adz (drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

Historic log buildings often display the tooling marks of ax and adz

work, best seen on the interior walls. It

is often possible to tell if the hewer was

right- or left-handed by the position of

the scoring marks and the broad ax

marks. There is also a great difference

between the tooling marks left by a

broad ax and those left by an adz.

iv 49

Using Axes
1 50

Using Axes
B uying an Ax

New and Used Axes

Acquiring a good ax is almost as difficult today as

learning to use one properly. The majority of

American ax manufacturers have gone out of

business; only a few are left in the United States.

A few ax companies in other countries, including

Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand, still

manufacture quality axes. I have found the steel

and fit of imported Chinese axes to be of very

poor quality. These are often sold as generic “no

name” axes at discount outlets. Let the buyer

beware.

Buying a quality used ax at a secondhand store,

flea market, or farm auction may be your best

bet. Most used axes are also abused axes, but

about 1 out of 10 is still usable. The price is

usually right. Used axes can often be picked up

for half the cost of a new ax. Look not only at the

ax’s condition, but take the ax’s manufacturer

and its head

pattern into

consideration.

The quality of

steel and the

tempering of

old axes is

often superior

to that of new

axes (Figure

106). The

helve or the

handle is not

of any

importance at

this point.

Shop only

for the ax

head and

plan to

rehang it to

fit your

needs.

Manufacturers

Ames/Woodings-Verona manufactures quality

striking tools, including axes and hatchets.

Woodings-Verona is a division of the much larger

Ames Company.

World Wide Web: http://www.ames.com

Ames Lawn and Garden Tools

Box 1774

Parkersburg, WV 26102

Phone: (800) 624-2654 or (304) 424-3000

Fax: (304) 424-3399

Barco Industries, Inc., and sister company,

Phoenix Forging Company, Inc., have a large line

of striking tools, including axes and hatchets.

These tools are marketed under the Barco name,

as well as the registered trademarks Rocket, Kelly

Perfect, Kelly Woodslasher, Woodslasher, and

Light Duty.

Barco Industries, Inc.

1020 Macarthur Road

Reading, PA 19605

Phone: (800) 234-8665

Fax: (610) 374-6320

Bear Creek Tool Company specializes in handforged broadaxes and about 15 types of adzes.

Their products have been used during a number

of historical restoration projects. This is a small

family operation owned by Charlie Wilkins.

Bear Creek Tool Company

201 North Bear Creek Road

Marshall, NC 28753

Phone: (828) 649-2671

Collins Axe Company is part of the Mann Edge

Tool Company. The Collins name has been

associated with axes since 1826. The company

offers a broad line of axes and replacement

handles. Mann Edge Tool Company supplies ax

heads to other manufacturers to market under

different labels. Collins offers professional

quality, 100% USA-made striking tools.

Figure 106—Telling if an ax is

defective or abused (drawing courtesy

of Snow & Nealley, Bangor, Maine).

A Defective Axe will

break as shown below by

Numbers 1, 2 and 4, or if

soft, the edge will bend.

Number 3 represents

sound breaks which are

no fault of the axe or its

maker. Misuse of a good

axe is the cause. Dealers

will allow no claim under

any circumstance for a

break of this character.

This break may often be

avoided by warming the axe

before using on a very cold

day.

If an Axe breaks across or

under the eye, and the poll

is not battered, the axe is

probably defective; but if

the poll is battered it is

safe to assume that the axe

is not at fault. Axes are not

designed or intended to be

used as mauls or wedges. 2

4

3 2

4 4

1 4

iv 51
Collins Axe Company

Water & Dorcas Streets

P.O. Box 351

Lewistown, PA 17044

Phone: (800) 248-8303 or (717) 248-9628

Fax: (717) 248-4846

Cooper Tools is a conglomerate that

manufactures hammers, axes, and chisels under

the well-known Plumb trademark. Cooper Tools

also owns the Nicholson, Lufkin, and Crescent

trademarks, among many others.

Cooper Tools

3535 Glenwood Avenue

P.O. Box 30110

Raleigh, NC 27622

Phone: (919) 781-7200

Fax: (919) 783-2116

E-mail: cooperinfo@coopertools.com

Council Tool Company was founded in 1886 by

John Pickett Council who developed tools for the

turpentine harvesting industry. Today Council

products include a full line of quality axes and

other tools.

Council Tool Company

345 Pecan Lane

P.O. Box 165

Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450-0165

Phone: (919) 646-3011

Fax: (910) 646-4414

Estwing Manufacturing Company offers a full

line of axes, hatchets, and wood splitting tools.

Most of these tools offer tubular or solid steel

handles.

Estwing Manufacturing Company, Inc.

2647 8th Street

Rockford, IL 61109-1120

Phone: (815) 397-9558

Fax: (815) 397-8665

E-mail: sales@estwing.com

Gränsfors Bruks AB is a Swedish company

established in 1902. The company offers a full

line of hand-forged traditional and specialty axes

and hatchets, each stamped with the initials of

the craftsman who forged it.

A sister company, Gränsfors Bruks, Inc., is

located in Summerville, South Carolina. It

imports and markets Gränsfors Bruks axes and

spring steel wrecking bars, in addition to other

products.

World Wide Web: http://www.gransfors.com

Gränsfors Bruks AB

820 70 Bergsjö

SWEDEN

Phone: +46 (0) 6527-1090

Fax: +46 (0) 6521-4002

E-mail: axes@gransfors.com

Gränsfors Bruks, Inc.

821 West 5th North Street

P.O. Box 818

Summerville SC 29484

Phone: (800) 433-2863 or (843) 875-0240

Fax: (843) 821-2285

E-mail: info@gransfors.com

O.P. Link Handle Company is the largest

manufacturer of hickory striking tool handles

and farming tool handles in the United States.

The Link family of handle makers operates

factories in Salem, IN; Sequatchie, TN; Crossville,

TN; and Hope, AR. The company can create

almost any ax handle from the patterns shown in

its catalog and from its inventory of less-popular

handle patterns.

O.P. Link Handle Company

403 S. Main Street

Salem, IN 47167-1323

Phone: (800) 992-9171 or (812) 883-2981

Fax: (812) 883-1672

Peavey Manufacturing Company was founded in

1857 by Joseph Peavey, who developed the

original “Peavey.” Peavey does not manufacture

axes, but it does make a host of log-moving and

log-working tools and handles, including cant

hooks, draw shaves, and its namesake tool, the

Peavey.

World Wide Web: http//www.peaveymfg.com

E-mail: order@peaveymfg.com

1 52

Buying an Ax
Peavey Manufacturing Company

Route 9

P.O. Box 129

Eddington, ME 04428

Phone: (888) 244-0955 or (207) 843-7861

Fax: (207) 843-5005

Snow & Nealley, Bangor, ME, is a family-owned

and operated business that has been producing

high-quality axes and woodworking tools since

1864.

World Wide Web: http://www.sntools.com

Snow and Nealley, Inc.

P.O. Box 876

Bangor, ME 04402-0876

Phone: (800) 790-8363

Fax: (207) 941-0857

E-mail: sntools@mint.net

Sandvik Saws and Tools Company has

developed from a provincial Swedish steelworks

into an international, materials engineering

conglomerate. Milford, Bahco, Belzer, and

Lindström are some of the brands now

incorporated under the Sandvik Saws and Tools

division. The company manufactures high-quality

sharpening tools, saws, and forestry tools.

World Wide Web: http://www.sandvik.com

Sandvik Saws & Tools Company

P.O. Box 2036

Scranton, PA 18501

Phone: (800) 828-9893

Fax: (800) 877-5687

Tuatahi Axes and Saws in New Zealand grinds

and manufactures premium quality axes and

saws for export to countries all over the world.

Much of its inventory is custom made. Products

available include competition racing axes, work

axes, crosscut racing saws, knives, and grubbers.

Bailey’s is the distributor for Tuatahi products in

the United States.

Tuatahi Axes and Saws

203 High Street

Masterton

New Zealand

Phone: (011) 646-377-3728

Fax: (011) 646-377-5343

Bailey’s

World Wide Web: http://www.bbaileys.com

Bailey’s, Western Division

P.O. Box 550

44650 Highway 101

Laytonville, CA 95454

Phone: (707) 984-6133

Fax: (707) 984-8115

E-mail: baileys@bbaileys.com

Bailey’s, Southeastern Division

P.O. Box 9088

196 Edwards Drive

Jackson, TN 38314

Phone: (901) 422-1300

Fax: (901) 422-6118

E-mail: baileys@bbaileys.com

Vaughan and Bushnell Mfg. Company offers a

line of striking tools, axes, hammers, and

hatchets.

World Wide Web: http://www.vaughanmfg.com

Vaughan and Bushnell Mfg. Company

11414 Maple Avenue

Hebron, IL 60034

Phone: (603) 224-4669

Fax: (815) 648-4300

E-mail: vaughanmfg@aol.com

Distributors

Ben Meadows Company carries several brands of

axes and hatchets, as well as a wide selection of

equipment for natural resource managers.

World Wide Web: http://www.benmeadows.com

Ben Meadows Company

3589 Broad Street

Atlanta, GA 30341

Phone: (800) 241-6401

Fax: (800) 628-2068

iv 53

Buying an Ax
The Country Workshops has been providing

instruction on Swedish carving techniques and

other traditional woodworking skills since 1978.

It also has an online store where axes, adzes, and

other traditional woodworking tools can be

purchased.

World Wide Web: http://www.countryworkshops.

org/toolhewing.html

The Country Workshops

90 Mill Creek Road

Marshall, NC 28753-9321

Phone: (704) 656-2280

E-mail: langsner@countryworkshop.org

Forestry Suppliers, Inc., carries a large line of

axes and hatchets from several manufacturers, as

well as supplies for forestry, engineering, and

environmental science.

World Wide Web: http://www.forestrysuppliers.com

Forestry Suppliers, Inc.

P.O. Box 8397

Jackson, MS 39284-9397

Phone: (800) 647-5368

Fax: (800) 543-4203

Garrett Wade Company offers a large selection

of traditional woodworking products, including

handtools, axes, and adzes.

World Wide Web: http://www.garrettwade.com/

home.html

Garrett Wade Company

161 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10013

Phone: (800) 221-2942

Fax: (800) 566-9525

E-mail: mail@garrettwade.com

Lee Valley Tools is another large supplier of

traditional handtools, including axes, adzes, and

log building tools. The company is based in

Canada, but has an operation in the United

States.

World Wide Web: http:// www.leevalley.com

Lee Valley Tools, Ltd.

P.O. Box 1780

Ogdensburg, NY 13669-6780

Phone: (800) 871-8158

Fax: (800) 513-7885

Lester C. Kenway Trail Services, founded in

1994, features handtools by such companies as

Snow & Nealley, Collins, Peavey, and Sandvick. It

also specializes in rock-moving equipment.

Lester C. Kenway Trail Services

15 Westwood Road

Bangor, ME 04401

Phone: (207) 947-2723

Fax: (207) 945-6050

E-mail: trailser@ctel.net

Sticks & Stones Unlimited, Inc., distributes

the machine-knife stone, Item No. SB-74. This 4-

by 11/2-inch oilstone has a groove cut into its

circumference to help protect fingers from

sharpened edges. This stone works well for

sharpening axes as an alternative to the thinner,

traditional round stone. The company distributes

other stones and sharpening tools.

Sticks & Stones Unlimited, Inc.

1800 East Northwest Parkway

Southlake, TX 76092

Phone: (800) 966-7574 or (817) 488-9500

Fax: (817) 488-5397

Woodcraft, in business since 1928, is a good

source for broadaxes, adzes, hatchets, and other

woodworking tools.

World Wide Web: http://www.woodcraft.com

Woodcraft

210 Wood County Industrial Park

P.O. Box 1686

Parkersburg, WV 26102-1686

Phone: (800) 225-1153

Fax: (304) 428-8271

1 54

Buying an Ax
Organizations

Many organizations have been established for

persons who collect or use old tools. The

organizations typically publish newsletters and

hold meetings to display, discuss, and trade

tools. The two largest national tool collecting

organizations in North America are the Early

American Industries Association and the MidWest Tool Collectors Association.

Early American Industries Association

c/o Elton Hall

167 Bakerville Road

South Dartmouth, MA 02748

World Wide Web: http://www.eaiainfo.org

The purpose of the Early American Industries

Association, Inc., founded in 1933, is to

encourage the study and better understanding of

early American industries in the home, in the

shop, on the farm, and on the sea; also to

discover, identify, classify, preserve, and exhibit

obsolete tools, implements, and mechanical

devices that were used in early America. The

association also offers its members a great

selection of books at reduced prices.

Mid-West Tool Collectors Association

William R. Rigler, Treasurer

RR 2, Box 152

Wartrace, TN 37183

World Wide Web: http://www.mwtca.org

The Mid-West Tool Collectors Association is a

nonprofit international organization dedicated to

the study, preservation and understanding of the

early tools, implements, and devices used by our

ancestors in their homes, shops, on the farms

and on the seas, and to a better perception of the

industries and crafts in which these tools were

used as well as the craftsmen who used them. MWTCA was started by 16 Chicago-area tool

collectors in 1968 and has grown to 3,900

members in all 50 states and 5 other countries.

Regional organizations (many more exist; these

organizations are among the largest)

Pacific Northwest Tool Collectors (PNTC)

Jean Racine, Treasurer

12780 SW 231st Pl.

Hillsboro, OR 97123

Potomac Antique Tools and Industries

Association, Inc. (PATINA)

Greg Wilinski, Sec./Treasurer

7007 Hundsford Lane

Springfield, VA 22153

Preserving Arts and Skills of the Trades

(PAST) Tool Organization

Allan Foster, Membership Director

5200 Lawton Avenue

Oakland, CA 94618

iv 55

Buying an Ax
1 56

Buying an Ax
S elected References

Andrews, Ralph W. 1984. Timber. Exton, PA: Schiffer

Publishing, Ltd.

Andrews, Ralph W. 1984. This was logging! Selected

photographs of Darius Kinsey. ISBN: 0-88740-035-3.

Exton, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. 157 p.

Andrews, Ralph W. Glory days of logging. Copyright

Superior Publishing Co., MCMLVI, Seattle, WA. New

York: Bonanza Books. 176 p.

Berg, Elizabet, ed. 1997. The axe book. ISBN: 91-

970447-6-8. Sweden: Gränsfors Bruks AB. 36 p.

Bohn, Dave. 1986. Kinsey, photographer. ISBN: 0-

87701-287-3. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. 319 p.

Fickes, Clyde P.; Groben, W. Ellis. 1945. Building

with logs. Publ. No. 579. Washington, D.C.: U.S.

Department Of Agriculture. 68 p.

Foley, Vernard; Moyer, Richard H. 1977. The

American ax — was it better? Chronicle of the Early

American Industries Association. XXX. June.

Gamble, James D. 1986. Broad axes. ISBN: 0-

9617220-0-2. Los Altos, CA: Tanro Co.

Goodman, W. L. 1964. The history of woodworking

tools. London: G. Bell and Sons. 208 p.

Grismer, Jerome T.; Kendrick, Clyde H. 1985.

American embossed axes. Columbia, MO: General

Printing Service. 177 p.

Hallman, Richard. 1988. Handtools for trail work.

Gen. Tech. Rep. 8823-2601-MTDC. Missoula, MT:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Missoula Technology and Development Center. 54 p.

Heavrin, Charles A. 1998. The axe and man.

Memphis, TN: Charles Heavrin. 182 p.

Hodgkinson, Ralph. 1965. Tools of the woodworker:

axes, adzes and hatchets. 1965. History Tech.

Leaflet 28. American Association for State and

Local History. History News. 20 (5). May.

Kijowski, Gene W., ed. 1990. Directory of American

tool makers: colonial times to 1899. Early American

Industries Association. 394 p.

Klenman, Alan. 1990. Axe makers of North America.

Victoria, BC: Whistle Punk Books. 112 p.

Klenman, Allen. 1981. Axes made, found or sold in

Canada. Victoria, BC: Idealetter Services. 44 p.

Kauffman, Henry J. 1994. American axes. ISBN: 1-

883294-12-6. Elverson, PA: Olde Springfield Shoppe.

151 p.

Mason, Bernard S., drawings by Frederic H. Kock.

1954. Woodsmanship. Library of Congress Card No.

54-5406. New York: A.S. Barnes and Co., Inc. 90 p.

McLaren, Peter. [1929]. Axe manual of Peter

McLaren. Philadelphia, PA: Fayette R. Plumb, Inc.

84 p.

Mercer, Henry C. 1960. Ancient carpenters’ tools.

Doylestown, PA: Bucks County Historical Society.

Mercer, Henry C. 1967. The origin of log houses in

the United States. Doylestown, PA: Bucks County

Historical Society. 31 p.

Phelps, Hermann. 1982. The craft of log building.

ISBN: 0-9691019-1-0. Ottawa, Ontario: Lee Valley

Tools. 328 p.

Salaman, R.A., rev. by Philip Walker. 1990.

Dictionary of woodworking tools, c.1700-1970. ISBN:

0-942391-51-9. Newtown, CT: Taunton Press. 546 p.

Sellens, Alvin. 1990. Dictionary of American hand

tools. ISBN: 0-9612068-4-5. Augusta, KS: Alvin

Sellens. 546 p.

Simmons, Fred C. 1951. Northeastern loggers’

handbook. Agriculture Handbook No. 6. Washington,

D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sloane, Eric. 1974. A museum of early American

tools. ISBN: 345-24675-6-295. New York: Ballantine

Books. 108 p.

Sorden, L.G.; Vallier, Jacque. 1986. Lumberjack.

ISBN: 0-942802-12-8. North Word, Inc. 261 p.

Williams, Richard L. 1976. The loggers. Library of

Congress Card No. 75-24792. New York: Time-Life

Books. 240 p.

iv 57
1 58

Selected References
Notes:

iv 59
Notes:

1 60
Library Card

Weisgerber, Bernie; Vachowski, Brian, 1999. An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax

Manual. Technical Report, 9923-2823-MTDC. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development Center. 60 p.

A practical and detailed handbook about axes and their historic and continuing

usage. Describes types and patterns of axes and adzes, with many photos and

illustrations. Shows how to hang (re-handle) and sharpen axes. Describes proper

ax usage for tree felling, limbing, bucking, splitting, and hewing. Lists procurement sources and selected references.

Keywords: axes, adzes, hand tools, hewing, historic buildings, historic forestry

practices, log cabin restoration, traditional Americana

Additional single copies of this document may be ordered from:

USDA Forest Service

Missoula Technology and Development Center

Building 1, Fort Missoula

Missoula, MT 59804-7294

Phone: (406) 329-3900

Fax: (406) 329-3719

IBM: pubs/wo,mtdc

E-mail: pubs/wo_mtdc@fs.fed.us

For additional technical information, contact Brian Vachowski at the

address above.

Phone: (406) 329-3935

Fax: (406) 329-3719

IBM: bvachowski/wo,mtdc

E-mail: bvachowski/wo_mtdc@fs.fed.us

An electronic copy of this document is available on the Forest Service’s FS

Web Intranet at:

http://fsweb.mtdc.wo.fs.fed.us

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