A Democratic Axe
(Page 2 of 3)
February/March 2005
By Bill Coperthwaite
I could hardly wait to get back to my bench. For steel, there was an ancient plow point of about the right thickness lying behind the barn. Into the bonfire it went, and when it glowed red, we heaped ashes over it and let it remain until morning, cooling slowly and releasing its hardness. The next day, I reheated and hammered it flat using a handy ledge for an anvil. When the steel cooled, I drew the pattern on it. Three hours of work at the vise was needed to cut it to shape with a hacksaw, and then another hour to dress it with files.
RELATED CONTENT
WHEN YOU'VE GOT AN AX TO GRIND December/January 1991 A pro's hints for ax sharpening By Robert E. H...
Get basic axemanship advice in this article and learn how to wield a most useful tool!...
SEMI-AUTOMATIC LOG SPUTTER September/October 1977 by TYRONE CORNBLATT'S No "scratch" farmer discard...
Energy and water spending bill clears for Obama's pen, homeland security bill next...
For us amateurs in axe-making, there are two major difficulties. One of these is forging the eye of the axe — the hole into which the handle is inserted in a conventional axe. This democratic design eliminates the eye. The other difficulty is tempering, or bringing the steel to the correct hardness. Smiths have long been respected for their skill at the magical process of tempering steel, which requires good judgment and much experience to do dependably.
After a good deal of pondering, experimenting and reading all that I could find on tempering, some of the mystery began to fade. Before tempering, the steel must be hardened by being brought to red hot and then plunged into water. Then it seemed that tempering was merely a matter of temperature control, so we put the axe in an oven set at 475 degrees for half an hour and let it cool slowly. That worked!
Now, you smiths may object, reminding us that a tool like an axe needs to be soft in the eye to resist breaking. To this charge I plead nolo contendere. This design, however, is made with a short handle for use on a block, and such hatchets do not undergo the same severity of blows that other axes do.
For the first time, we now have a democratic axe — an axe that most anyone who wants one can have. (You say you never knew you needed an axe, and I say, very well. Even so, here we have another example of one more democratic tool, which will make designing the next one a little easier, whatever its purpose.)
This experience with the broad hatchet is important for me on several levels. First, it has been an exciting adventure all along the way, from learning to appreciate the variations in different forms of such a basic tool, to designing my own which others have made, to ultimately making my own. Another level of the adventure was to help others make their own hand axes and in the process gain the confidence that comes from making a tool. This process demonstrates how we can have adventure in a variety of ways: Designing, working with the hands and working with the mind as we carry the concept of democratic things further.
