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What is a froe blade?
A froe (or frow), shake axe or paling knife is a tool for cleaving wood by splitting it along the grain. It is an L-shaped tool, used by hammering one edge of its blade into the end of a piece of wood in the direction of the grain, then twisting the blade in the wood by rotating the haft (handle).
What is a maul tool?
A splitting maul also known as a block buster, block splitter, chop and maul, sledge axe, go-devil or hamaxe is a heavy, long-handled axe used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of its head is like a sledgehammer, and the other side is like an axe.
How sharp should a FROE be?
– A froe should be *sharp*. This not only to allow the start of the cut, but also to allow it to potentially slice through the grain when making longer cuts to control direction and depth. (I once saw a guy at Colonial Williamsburg make 12 inch wide by 8 foot long clap boards – just with a froe!)
What is a FROE used for?
The Gränsfors Froe is used to split wood very finely, for example when making shingles for a roof. The wood to be split is placed under the edge. The user steadies the tool with one hand on the vertical handle and strikes the blade with a mallet using the other hand.
What’s the best way to make a froe?
Use a carving knife to smooth out the handle, keeping it slightly larger than the pipe piece of the froe. Use the pipe piece of the froe as a gauge to mark for the tenon on the end of the handle. Use a saw to cut the shoulder of the tenon and then use a carving knife to carefully cut down to the shoulder.
What are Froes used for in woodworking?
Froes were used to make wood shingles, back in the day, and are sometimes called shingle froes. It is a pretty basic tool. It is a blade attached to a handle at a right angle. The blade is struck with a wooden mallet or club and the handle is used to apply leverage to the blade and split the wood.
What kind of steel is a froe made of?
The froe’s 12” blade is made of EN45 spring steel. The handle is a substantial 17 ½” that fits snugly into its socket. The next largest froes – the premium and the large – both possess a 9 1/2″ long x 1 7/8″ wide blade.
Can a froe be used to split wood?
Note: This wood froe tool is not meant to split logs. It’s designed for already split lumber for woodworking, making kindling and more. We’re always looking for ways to improve, so we took our beloved froe and made it better. The steel blade is now case hardened, ultimately making it stronger and last longer.