hewing axe

[Noah Wagener]

i have been using cheap hatchet from Menard's for hewing logs and thought i would step up to broad axe. I notice on Woodcraft they sell a Granfors broad axe that has a double bevel. In all my previous reading i had found that hewing axes have a flat on the side that is facing the log. Is there a big difference between hewing with a single bevel and double bevel as i will continue with the hatchet if it doesnt matter much?

Also, all the broad axes that i can afford on e-bay look pitted. Does this matter much? I am really just doing pre planing work. Not looking for a finish with just the axe.

thanks. Noah

[David Weaver]

I can't speak too much to the hewing process, though where I grew up there are gobs and gobs of broad axes and broad hatchets from probably 200-150 years ago, and many are pitted like that.

The old ones should be bitted, and what matters if you're going to want them sharp is whether or not those pits will end up on the edge.

Most of the old ones I've seen in shops where I grew up have a large bevel on one side, and some degree of rounding on the back side (though not sharply so) probably from stoning the back.

[Ted Calver]

Noah,
If you do a google search for granfors axes you will find they make a mind boggling array of very expensive axes. You will find what you are looking for.

[john brenton]

I think their carvers axe only has one bevel. I'd keep checking ebay though. I got a really good one AND a cast iron sauce pan for something like 15 bucks. I just had to put a new handle on the axe and it was good to go.

[David Weaver]

One comment - if you absolutely can't find anything else, I think the gransfors axes are forged out of one piece of steel. If you have to grind off a fifth of an inch or something to get rid of bevel on the alternate side, you could do it - if you can't find a suitable one anywhere else.

How big of logs are you hewing, like house logs or like something to carve?

[Robert Rozaieski]

You can hew with a double beveled hatchet, but it's not as easy. The single beveled axes aren't just single beveled, they are also offset so the flat side of the bit is in line with the side of the eye of the axe. In other words, the bit is not centered on the eye. This offset really helps with hewing.

[Noah Wagener]

David,

I realize the pits would be knicks in the edge when shapened. I thought maybe that if i am not looking for a finished surface maybe the gaps wouldnt matter that much. I am pretty sure Gransfor makes single beveled axes too, i was just suprised that they made a double beveled one called a broad axe as i thought broad axe meant it is for hewing and i thought hewing axes were single beveled. seeing that they made a double beveled one i thought i could get by with my double beveled one. The logs are of various sizes. I wnat to hew them after riving in preparation for planing. I would probably have to hew sawn faces too with my poor sawing.
I just found Kleen Kutter and Vaughn Bushnell both make single beveled axe heads in my kind of price range. Now i'm wondering about the offset handle. How neccessary and how difficult is it to bend? I dont have a setup for steam bending.Could i just place it over a pot of boiling water or even in the water and how long to stew it?

thanks for help guys, Noah

[george wilson]

No problem to bend a handle. Just steam hickory for an hour and quickly clamp it to a crude setup to bend it. I have just used a straight board with a short board nailed to it. The handle is made offset by clamping the front end of the handle onto the short board,then applying another clamp several inches from it to clamp the longer part of the handle against the straight board. Let it dry several days and finish shaping. The clamps will likely dent the steamed wood some,so leave a little extra wood on the handle to spokeshave off.

I believe I have also done this by just soaking the handle in hot water for an hour before bending,but it has been many years,and I can't be certain. Keep renewing the hot water as you soak the handle.

[Adam Cherubini]

Noah,

Yes there is a big difference. The difference is in the direction of the swing. With a double sided bit, you swing at an angle to the surface you want. With a single sided bit, you can pretty much swing in the plane of the surface you want. The double may seem safer since sometimes I get a big cut with the broad hatchet and sometimes I don't. But my experience is that the double beveled bit can bounce off the wood and go in unpredictable locations. My advice is to stick with the single sided hatchet for now. When you are become an expert, then see if you can try a Gransfor. But don't buy one with out a significant test drive. I'd be inclined to take a class or ask Underhill for advice.

Last- your broad hatchet should be as sharp as a kitchen knife. Mine can easily slice thru a piece of paper. You need this to stop the tool from bouncing. In use, remember to keep anything you care abut out of the POTENTIAL path of the tool. Amazing how many guys will steady a small stick with their hand and chop into it. Unbelievable. When I raise my hatchet blade, the blade never rises above the hand that's holding the stock. (I hew lots of small stock held vertically on a horse or stump.)

Please do be careful because one slip can end your woodworking.

[Noah Wagener]

Thanks Adam. I guess i wasnt clear. I am already using a double beveled hatchet and i am not interested in buying the Gransfor axe. I was just suprised that to see something sold for hewing having the 2 bevels as all my reading said one bevel for hewing. Got me to thinking i dont need to buy a flat sided axe and wanted to see what experienced people had to say on how much an improvement the single bevel makes. My experience is limited to double bevel and tallies with yours as far as having to swing into the wood or the head will hit up from the edge.

All this might be moot as on Coast to Coast the other night the guest was saying that winter insect die off is slowing or not even happening in some parts and trees are dying rapidly which will only accelerate warming and encourage more bug survival. Methuselah is at extreme risk apparantely.

[Joe Fabbri]

233098

Here's a shot of my first attempt at hewing, which I did in December/January. I just used one felling axe for the whole job. The axe was from Home Depot and very soft, but I needed it quickly. I'm looking for another decen,t inexpensive axe right now.

Anyway, note the angle I'm striking the surface. It takes a little bit of time, but you can find the right angle between glancing off, and digging in too deeply.

I think a proper broad hatchet/axe would be easier and more enjoyable to use (though I can't tell you from experience), but you can do it with one (double bevel) axe. Like anything else the sharpness of the blade is very important. I also chose not to swing down, but knee down and just brind the axe up and down mostly with my right hand. You can maintain a decent angle that way too, and I felt safer.

Joe

[ray hampton]

Joe, yes I know that I am late , people use axes to hew out canoes by straddle the log and work from end to end, what I am saying is they have a axe that permit them to hew between their feet,the man made the axe that would made the man a better hewer and quickly

[Noah Wagener]

Joe,

I'll try that method. I've been holding the log in one hand close to vertical and swinging down with the grain. When i get tired or the log is too heavy adn i lay it down i try standing on top and swinging so that the edge is still moving with the grain when it hits. i get more bounce off with this method.
Ray are you talking about an adze? That looks scary to me.

[Joe Fabbri]

Ray, yes I know what you mean about proper tool for certain jobs. In fact, I'd like to get a good broad hatchet or axe, with an offset handle as well. I imagine they must be more enjoyable to use, being like a big chisel and a wider cutting surface.

I think for bulk for, to be followed up by a broad axe/hatchet, swinging with the grain with a regular axe is pretty quick, Noah. But you have to be careful with the grain not to tear out too much. If you look in the picture above, you'll see that the top surface was done in that manner. I didn't stand up on the log and swing sideways (though I did that method later on another log), but with the top side in the picture, I scored with a chainsaw (a fair amount of scores to limit tearing out too deeply), then I kneeled down and swung the axe like swinging a baseball bat, and popped off the chunks between the scores. With this stance, I found you can be fairly aggressive since you're swinging away from yourself mostly. With a small log, though, it can be hard to keep from moving.
Also, I find you have more control by scoring log the traditional way with the axe like this233152, instead of the chainsaw, which is easy to go a bit too deep with. It's more work, but less chance of mistakes.

Anyway, though, I think if you plan on doing a lot of this work, it pays to look into a proper single bevel hewing axe with the offset handle, if only to follow up on the rougher work of the regular axe.


Joe

[ray hampton]

Joe,

I'll try that method. I've been holding the log in one hand close to vertical and swinging down with the grain. When i get tired or the log is too heavy adn i lay it down i try standing on top and swinging so that the edge is still moving with the grain when it hits. i get more bounce off with this method.
Ray are you talking about an adze? That looks scary to me.

Noah, it been over fifty years since I held the measure stick for my grandfather so I do not recall the some of the different axes names, the standard size axe for cutting the trees down and a broad axe to hew cross ties

[Sean Miller]

Highland Woodworking sell the Gransfors Bruks 1900 Right Handed Broad Axe.The handle is offset and is beveled on one side.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/gransforsbruksright-handbroadaxe.aspx