Working with a carpenters axe
The pattern of the head, the weight, the curvature of the bit, the thickness and width of the bit and the beveled face of the edge vary from axe to axe, and make axes perform differently. The Swedish Carving Axe, with a rather thick curved bit and big angle on a wide beveled face, is a good carving tool. But it is not a Carpenter’s Axe. The Carpenter’s Axe has a thin blade, a straight long cutting edge with low angle of the beveled face. The corners of the bit are pointed. The long straight-edged bit is ideal for guiding by eye. Your eyes can sense position and direction better from a relatively broad, straight axe bit than they can from a narrower, more curved bit. The long straight cutting edge also gives stability when cutting. In a way, the Carpenter’s Axe works as a combination of saw, knife and plane. You can do much more with this axe than rough fitting. It is, for example, quite easy to cut a plank’s end to the desired angle with a planed surface with the aid of the Carpenter’s Axe.

Keep the piece of wood you are working with on a chopping block. Don’t use the same block for splitting rounds. The rounds usually carry sand and earth to the chopping block, which makes the edge blunt. Sharpness is very important for a Carpenter’s Axe. Stand a little to the side of the chopping block and be careful to hold the axe at such an angle that the risk of hurting yourself if you slip is reduced.

Keep the working piece on the part of the chopping block that is the outside or away from you so that a slipping cut will hit the chopping block rather than your leg. Grip the handle with one hand in the inward curve of the axe head in order to increase cutting precision.

Let the edge go with a falling movement against the piece of wood, so that the cutting point glides from the lower corner of the bit upwards along the edge. Always cut along fiber direction— otherwise it is easy to split away pieces that were meant to stay.

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