Tools (continued)

Drawknives. A drawknife works best to peel dry logs. Position the log about waist high, and grasp both handles so the beveled edge of the blade faces the log. Begin each stroke with arms extended and pull the tool toward you while keeping even pressure on the blade. Keep fingers clear of blade corners.

Carpenter's Adzes (Cutting Adzes). This tool trims and shapes logs into hewed timbers or flattened logs. To use a cutting adze, stand astride or on top of the log to be hewed. Grip the handle with both hands and swing it with short strokes in a pendulum motion along the log. Use your thigh as a stop for your arm and to control the depth of the cut. When standing on a log and swinging, stand on the heel of your forward foot, toe pointed up.

A square-tapered eye and handle end allows the head to tighten when swung, but also allows its removal for carrying and sharpening. Some adzes may have a small set screw to further secure handles to heads. An adze needs to be razor sharp to work. Never use this tool for grubbing.

Tools for Sharpening

About Sharpening—Inspect all tools before use. Sharpening makes tools last longer. A small scratch that is ignored could lead to a serious crack or nick in the blade.

Use a file or grindstone to remove metal from the edge. If there are no visible nicks, a touchup with a whetstone will restore a keen cutting edge. In these instances, you need only restore the edge bevel. Whetting the edge removes very small bits of metal from the blade and causes the remaining metal to burr slightly on the cutting edge. This burr is called a feather, or wire edge. Remove this weak strip by honing the edge on the other side. The correctly honed edge is sharp, does not have a wire edge, and does not reflect light or show a sharpening line. Wear gloves when sharpening cutting edges.

Restoring the blade bevel requires coarser grinding tools to reshape worn cutting blades. Reshape blades with hand files, sandstone wheels, or electric grinders. Remove visible nicks by grinding the metal back on the blade. Remember that the correct blade bevel must be maintained. If the shape can't be maintained, have a blacksmith recondition the tool head or discard it.

If a cutting edge is nicked from a rock, it often is work hardened. A file will skip over these spots and create an uneven edge. Use a whetstone to reduce the work-hardened area, then resume filing. Alternate the two until the file cuts smoothly over the entire length of the edge.

Files. Files come in single or double, curved, or rasp cuts. Single-cut files have one series of parallel teeth angled 60° to 80° from the edge; they are used for finishing work. Double cut files have two series of parallel teeth set at a 45° angle to each other; they are used for restoring shape. Curved files are used for shaping soft metals. Rasp cut files are used for wood.

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