Blacksmithing from a woodworkers perspective #6: Froe for splitting wood - Swedish sled runner steel

Froe for splitting wood
Forged from Swedish sled runner steel

Back at the forge again and once again to make some tools for woodworking, since this is the reason I started forging.
Have to say it again; ‘there are no greater joy in woodworking, than using a tool made by your own hands’.

Lets burn some gas in the little forge!
Heating up some Swedish sled runner steel, found in an old barn up there.

Trying to bend a curve, to make an eye.
(I wrote trying).

This was acually where I tried to cool down a part of the eye and the steel broke in two, while trying to bend it…
Yeps learning by doing is what this is all about for me.

That’s better!
Once I had something to bend and hammer around, the eye quickly took shape.
The eye need to be tapered, so it will hole the handle, the taper must open up towards the cutting edge.
(Bending while red hot, just not easy to take pictures while holding hot iron).

Welded the eye up.
This is not needed, but will make a stronger froe.

After cleaning up with a file and grinder.

Fair try.
Now time to forge some shape to the blade.

My little forging setup.

Here the piece that broke of…

Now heating up the blade in parts and hammering a wedge shape into the steel, while making it wider towards the splitting edge.
The hard part is keeping it straight.

But I manage to control the beast and end up with this.

Then sanding the edge, so it gets smooth and wedge shaped.
Again breaking something, this time the sanding band… The heat I guess…
No worse than a new band and some more sanding / grinding.

Time to do some woodworking, spinning the lathe.

Making a handle for the froe.
Tapering in the end of the blade.

Testing time.
Beating the froe down into a piece of fire wood, with a mallet on the top of the blade.

It works!
Youuuubbbiiiiii.

You control the split, by pushing the froe in the one or other sideways direction.

Fair leverage, compared to size, it splits the wood as easy as nothing.

Hmmmmm new things can be build now, new doors just opened.

Here next to my antique French froe.
The new one is meant to be brought out in nature for bush craft.

That’s it, another one down on the bucket list.
Hmmm perhaps I should harden it… and make a sheath… and….

Hope this post can inspire others to make their own tools, after all this is why I take a detour out the black road now.

Best thoughts,

Mads

-- MAD F, the fanatical rhykenologist and vintage architect. Democraticwoodworking.