Hewing a thick spruce with Gransfors broad axe (part one)

I´m hewing a thick spruce log without making any cuts in the sides first. It´s an experimental work to hew a log the old way (from an old photo I have seen). I have just stretched a string to cut after. I´m using a Gränsfors broad axe (www.gransfors.se) and I am surprised how durabel the edge is when I cut those hard spruce twigs.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• broad
• axe
• gransfors
• hewing
• log
• ahardslojdlife
• woodworking
• wood

[mharrop396]

at 5:50 get back to work lol just kidding you make it look easy...

[ahardslojdlife]

@mharrop396 :)

[ludeluver]

Hard work, I love it. Nice job, watching hewing or doing it, for me is the same thing as getting lost looking into a campfire....I just get lost in the work.....when its done, there is not other feeling like it.

[ahardslojdlife]

@ludeluver Thanks!

[DougalPE]

Dude, you are not doing it the old way. You need to rough out that timber with a felling axe first. Cut out pie shaped chunks to the line. Then you come back with that beautiful Swedish axe and smooth the side. If you had a thousand sides to do you would understand what I'm talking about.

I heard once that the poor people in England use to rough out the timbers with a felling axe so that they might get the chunks to take home for fuel. No pay, just fuel.

[ahardslojdlife]

@DougalPE I wanted to do it this way, because I saw an old photo of a man who had just a line, like I have, and he just cut it without making any cuts. I also heard a story from a man who had seen (when he was a kid) how an old man had cut away the whole side from the tree in one piece (like when you square the logs in a sawmill). He didn´t remember how he had done that, and he wished he had. And this is maybe an attempt to try to see if it is possible, or if he just remembered wrong.

[bwinterb]

lol at 2:15 or so I heard a bug that sounded like a mosquito and I kept looking around ready to swat that little blood sucker

[baronmaul]

vart i sverige är det här

[8091pinewood]

You should have made a bunch of crosscuts down the length of the log.Would have gone much quicker.You should also use a longer handle on your broad axe.More leverage,let the axe do a lot more than is is now.Don't forget to put a bend in the handle,so you don't skin your knuckles.

[Hildirinnsterki]

Very nice, very hard work! I am planning to experiment with hewing logs in the near future. Thank you for uploading this, the Granfors Broad axe is a Swedish Broad model 1900? is it double beveled? straight handle?, and the second bigger broad axe you use what brand is that one?

Keep up the good work.

[flamedrag18]

you should really have made notches along the length of the log, then chunks just fly off instead of sticking down the length, leads to a smoother finish without as much work.

[eddiequest4]

Personally, I would have taken a long saw to it (at least the majority of it). Seems like it would save much time.

[s37d]

What happens when u hit a knot, can the broad axe power through it?

[robmochdre]

Nice work , what's the log for? What are you building?