![]() When I recently discussed these tools with Drew Langsner, he said “probably the best hatchets ever made” or words to that effect. The shape of the back of the head is about the same as the previous.īUT – you ain’t gonna find one of these hatchets in the wild. Here the back of the hatchet is sitting flat on the board, and the handle is lifted off: the “other” Fuchs hatchet I use this one particularly when hewing wide panels. This leans the handle away from the plane of action, without having to make a bent handle. This one has a cranked eye, to keep your knuckles safe when hewing. I have another hatchet, same maker, JFR Fuchs, Cannstat, Germany, c. Some of this is the shape of the tool, some is exacerbated by honing: the other way I next put the straightedge perpendicular to the cutting edge, to show relief in that direction as well. Then the tool digs into the wood, and here it scoops the chips out. The benefit of this shape is readily apparent when you try to use one that is NOT shaped like this. the side w no bevel: straightedge on hatchet’s “back” Here is a straightedge held along cutting edge on the “back” i.e. Think of it as a very large, very shallow, in-cannel gouge. So I shot some views illustrating how it’s shaped. The back of the hatchet I often have called the “flat back” but it ain’t that at all. I was a bit vague last time about its configuration, and Robin Wood chimed in, helping to clarify some stuff. When the Edge is downwards, and the Handle towards you, the right side of its Edge must be Ground to a Bevil…” “its use is to Hew the Irregularities off such pieces of Stuff which maybe sooner Hewn than Sawn. Joseph Moxon’s Mechanick Exercises (1683) wrote: While it’s true you can make either work, the single-bevel hatchet is ideally suited for hewing stock prior to planing it. Last time I discussed a few ideas about how to use both single-bevel and double-bevel hatchets for joiner’s work. If you can stand some more about hewing hatchets, here goes. I like to see old tools before I buy them, but that’s getting harder to do. So I wouldn’t want to pay a lot for a hatchet that way…Įven before the Joint Stool book came out, and certainly since then, the number one question I get is where can I get a hatchet for joinery? What do I need, etc. A gamble if you’re shipping to another country, but they go for reasonable prices. Some readers have reported success at the German ebay site for old hatchets. I just ordered 2 new hatchets for spoon work one from Drew and one from Robin Wood. They have a new one now, I have one of these too, and it’s excellent. It could be better but for the money, it’s not terrible.įor the spoon work, my favorite is a Hans Karlsson hatchet I got from Country Workshops years ago. I would hacksaw off the nail puller/claw. Some have shown me the Oxhead hatchet, from Austria. (called at LN the “broad axe, short handle”) A bit heavier than the GB broad axes but good at removing a lot of stock… Lie-Nielsen sells a line of their axes in the US we use some for spoon work when I’m up there. I also have a large Wetterlings axe, it’s nice. That’s the principal complaint about the GB carving hatchet…Drew Langsner writes on the Country Workshops axe page how to fix a GB carving axe’s bevels (file them flat) too bad they don’t just make it right I have used one of the Gransfors Bruks Broad Axes – it’s a nice tool, but a double-bevel.Īnd for some reason, their axes and hatchets have convex bevels for hewing, I like a flat bevel. Their tools’ bevels might be asymmetrical but these aren’t single-bevel tools with a properly placed eye. They offer some of their hatchets right-handed or left-handed but the eyes on these tools are centered on the head, not shifted over to one side. Nice thing about the Kent design is it’s symmetrical, so lefties can remove the handle, make a new one & insert it from the other side of the head.īefore anyone tells me that Gransfors Bruks makes a carving axe available as leftie or rightie – let me save you some trouble. Elsewhere, there are other similar tools. The Kent pattern (below) is one of the most common old ones you will find in both the US and the UK. What do I use it for? Taking rough split stock and preparing it for planing hewing Take note of the relationship of the eye to the cutting edge – for hewing flat stuff, this is the best scenario. and is about 7 ¾” along its cutting edge. You can learn to hew with a crap hatchet, if you can make it sharp.įirst off, for joiner’s work, my mainstay – I have shown several times that I like a hatchet that is large, heavy, single-bevel, and curved cutting edge. But don’t despair – the magic is not in the tools, it comes with practice. There’s lots of tools you can use some better, some less-so. ![]() I’ve had some more questions from readers about axes recently, so time to delve into this subject again. ![]()
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