THE

AXEBOOK

Responsibility for the TotalWhat we take, how and what we make, what we waste, is in fact aquestion of ethics. We have an unlimited responsibility for theTotal. A responsibility which we try to take, but do not alwayssucceed in. One part of this responsibility is the quality of theproducts and how many years the product will mantain its dura-bility.

To make a high quality product is a way to pay respect and re -sponsibility to the customer and the user of the product. A highquality product, in the hands of those who have learned how touse it and how to look after it, will very likely be more dur able.This is good for the owner, the user. But this is good as well aspart of a greater whole: increased durability means that we takeless (decreased consumption of material and energy), that weneed to produce less (gives us more time to do other things we thinkare important or enjoyable), destroy less (less waste).

One of the goals for Gränsfors Bruks is to makehigh quality durable products. As proof of thisgoal, and to show that we have a responsibility

for the product, Gränsfors Bruks gives a 20 YearProduct Guarantee. An “AXE-GUARANTEE-CARD” is inclu-ded in the AXE-BOOK which comes with every axe. A qualifi-cation for the guarantee is that the advice in the AXE-BOOKis followed. Please note for example pages 21, 32–34.

Gränsfors Bruks has manufactured axes since 1902 and wrecking bars since 1942.

20YEARGUARANTEE

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Lennart Pettersson (L P), axe-smith at Gränsfors Bruks Axe Forge

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AN AXE BECOMES AS GOOD AS ITS SMITH

Gränsfors Axes are forged by very professional smiths.The proof of this professionalism is that they are able toforge axes with such precision that no supplement arywork, to hide mistakes in the forging, is needed.

At Gränsfors Bruks the forging craft is allowed to take itstime. The smiths do not work by the piece. They take careand do the right forging from the beginning. There is noneed to stone or grind or smooth or paint the axes inorder to hide or eliminate imperfections in the forging.

A smith at Gränsfors Bruks has nothing to hide and he isproud of his professional standards. When he is satisfiedwith his work and has accepted his axe, he marks the headwith his initials beside the company’s crown label:

LP Lennart Pettersson KS Kjell-Åke SjölundUN Ulrik Nilsson RA Rune AnderssonCK Claudia Kowalek MM Mattias MattssonLE Lars Enander DG Daniel GräntzBA Bert-Ove Andersson JE Joakim Eriksson US Ulrika Stridsberg

In 1990 Gränsfors Bruks’ Axes were awarded a prize in “Ecological Design” from The Swedish Society forNature Conservation in cooperation with The Swedish Soci-ety of Crafts and Design. In 1995 Gränsfors Bruks receivedanother award from The Swedish Society of Crafts andDesign for the “Hunter’s Axe”.

Forging is important, but at the same time every -thing else must also be made in the right way. Gräns -fors Axes are forged from a Special Swedish Steel foraxes and the blades are tempered and annealed tothe right toughness. The handles are made of firstquality hickory and the axeheads are oiled and pro-vided with a grain-leather sheath. All steps in theaxe production are carefully tested.

Awarded for Excellent Swedish Design

1995

Carpenter’s Axe

Hunter’s Axe

Before industrialism, axes were forged atmany small smith’s shops. The form andstructure of the axes were decided by thefunction of the axe, the demands of theuser and the craftmanship of the smith.Up until the middle of the 19th centuryaxes were used in small-scale activities,the self-subsistent peasant society.

With the booming forest industry andprofessional logging in the 19th century,there came entirely new and bigger cli-ents for axes: specialized forest workersand forestry companies. The increaseddemand for axes made the commercialinterest in the axe business increase andthe production was concentrated to bigaxe factories. Mass production and ratio-nalizations of the production lowered theproduction costs. Little by little the formand structure of axes changed, often atthe expense of quality. Axes became stan-dardized mass produced industry pro-ducts. Great amounts of energy were used

in order to make the axes con form to thecurrent demands on an industry product:every axe of a certain model should lookexactly alike.

In order to hide the structure of the axehead forged by hand, the surface of theforging was stoned, ground, buffed, paint -ed, japanned and stove varnished. Colour-ful brand labels became a must.

In a certain way we are back at the timebefore the entry of the booming forestindustry. There are no axe-using forestworkers any longer. The millions of cubicfeet of pulpwood and timber that arrivetoday at forest industries have never beengrazed by an axe. Chain saws, harvestersand logging machines have taken over com-pletely. Today most axes are used in small-scale activities by people like home owners,firewood cutters, campers, hunters, joiners,woodworkers, log builders.

T H O U G H T S B E H I N D T H E A X E S F O R G E D TO DAY

AT G R Ä N S F O R S B R U K S

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In cooperation between the smiths atGränsfors Bruks and the skilled crafts-man designer Hans Erik Persson, in 1989Gränsfors axes were re-developed intotools for specific purposes. It was a stepbackwards, to wards a more traditionalproduction method based on craftsman -ship. The form and function of the axes, aswell as the forg ing and production tech -nique, emanate from old, often forgottenknowledge.

The axes and the production of axes atGränsfors Bruks today are based on thefollowing five fundamental theses:

1. An axe becomes as good as its smith.There has to be a craftsman behindevery single axe.

2. Unnecessary stoning, grinding, epoxyfixing, painting, and other cosmeticsare eliminated. This is good for theenvironment, inside and outside thefactory.

3. More sensible production demands lessnatural resources at the same time asthe quality and durability of the axe in-creases. Also, increased durability willdecrease the total consumption of natur -al resources and decrease waste.

4. We have an unlimited responsibilityfor Total Quality. Working conditions,product quality and concern for natureare some parts of the Total; humanityand ethics are as important.

5. High level of knowledge of a productwill increase its value. There fore infor-mation about axes is im portant. TheAXE-BOOK is one way, the AxeMuseum is another. The AXE-BOOK isan integrated part of the axe.

Gabriel Brånby

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PARTS OF THE AXE

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Poll, butt

Axe lip, or lug, gives morewood-to-metal contact and extrasteady and durable fitting of thehandle in the axe head

Shoulder of axehandle

Belly of axe handleBack of axe handle

Axe eye

Throat of axe handle

Old traditions are adapted to today’s de -mand. Most of the handles of GränsforsBruks axes have a unique ergonomicdesign which gives a steady grip aroundthe handle. All handles are made ofselected high quality (prima) Americanhickory. Fiberglass handles are strongerthan hickory handles but we believe thatwooden handles are more ecological.Gränsfors Bruks axe handles are soakedin hot linseed oil and dripped dry. Theyare then covered with beeswax to helpkeep the dirt off.

End knob, swell knob,prevents the axe fromslipping out of the handsof the cutter

Upper corner,toe of bit

Axe head

Grip

Axe side, cheek

Lower corner,heel of bit

Axeblade, bit

Sharpening bevel, bevel face

Cutting edge, edge curvature

Gränsfors Bruks axes comewith Grain-Leather Sheath

W H I C H A X E S H O U L D I C H O O S E ?

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Wildlife Hatchet A small, light axe which can be easily car-ried, masked with its leather sheath, in -side your pack or on your belt. Even witha small axe you can manage a lot: cutbranches in the back-yard or chop andsplit sticks for a camp fire. This little hatchet awakes in many of us memoriesand dreams of exciting camps and adven-tures. The hatchet has a 3” face and a 13 1/2” hickory handle and the headweighs 1 lb. It comes with a grain-leathersheath.

Hunter’s AxeSpecially made for hunters. The poll isforged thinner than normal and gentlyrounded and burnished to a Flay Poll tobe used when skinning an animal. Youpull the hide with one hand at the sametime you hit with the Flay Poll of the axebetween the hide and the flesh; and strokeby stroke the hide comes off. The axe isgood for chopping, in wood as well asmeat. The grip of the handle has circulargrooves which gives a steady grip even ifyour hands are wet or sticky. This axe hasreceived, as the first and only axe in Swe-den, a design award from The SwedishSociety of Crafts and Design. The axe has a3 1/4” face and a 19” hickory handle and thehead weighs 1 1/2 lb. It comes with a grain-leather sheath.

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American Felling AxeA professional axe for working in the same way as the “fallers” of the old days.Hand forged out of a solid piece of steel and carefully tempered and sharpened.This traditional American single-bit axe was asked for by Geoffrey Burke, boat-builder and axe man in New Hampshire. He and an axe collector, Lawrence Lyford,put in a lot of effort to help us build theright model. The head weighs 3.3 lb and theface of the bit is 4 1/2”. The axe has anAmerican hickory handle, 31” or 35”. Onspecial orders the handle may be 31”straight. It comes with a grain-leathersheath.

(Yes they had high stumps in the old days).

Double-Bit AxeDifferent models of double-bit axes have been popular in the US since the last quarter of the 19th century because of its balanced feel and ver-satility. Typically, one blade was sharpened toa finely honed, narrow “felling edge”, whilethe second blade was ground slightly blunter,and used for knots and cutting near theground where a finely sharpened blade wasmore likely to be damaged. Today the doub-le-bit axe is used as a Working Axe or as aThrowing Axe for timber sports. The head weighs 3lb and the face of the bits are about6”. The Throwing Axe has a 29” straight hick-ory handle and the Working Axe has a 35”straight hickory handle with swell-knob.They come with two grain-leather sheaths.

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Small Forest AxeSame size as the Hunter’s Axe but a more traditional pattern and poll. The bladeis thin. The handle is long enough to allowpowerful chopping but not too long so itwill fit into a rucksack, the back of a car ora boat. Practical for splitting small sticks forthe fire or cutting small-diameter limbwoodfor starter fuel in a fireplace. The axe has a3 1/4” face and a 19” hickory handle andthe head weighs 1 1/2 lb. It comes with agrain-leather sheath.

Scandinavian Forest Axe A more profesional axe for those who wantto limb a felled tree in the traditional way.Forged to a thin, curved bit and sharpenedto make it suitable for cutting branches infresh, resinous wood, spruce or pine. Thelong handle gives extra strength and powerto the cut. The axe has a 3 1/2” face and a25” hickory handle and the head weighs 2lb. It comes with a grain-leather sheath.

Small Splitting AxeCan be managed with one hand. Forged and ground to a concave, quite thin blade at the bit. This design helps the axe to go fast into the wood - and then split efficiently when the thicker part hits and pushes apart the wood. The poll of this axe, like the poll on most axes, is not designed for pounding on a wedge. The head weighs 2 lb. The faceis 2 1/2”. The 20” hickory handle has circulargrooves at the grip and steel collar near thehead. It comes with a grain-leather sheath.

Large Splitting AxeDesigned for splitting chunks of wood,“rounds”. The thick part of the concavewedge shaped axe head powers apart thegrain of the wood. The poll is not desig-ned for pound ing on a wedge. The headweighs 3 1/2 lb. The face is 3”. The axe has a27” hickory handle, circular grooves at thegrip, steel collar and a grain-leather sheath.

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Splitting MaulEven named Hammer-Poll Axe.Designed for splitting apart large chunks of wood, “rounds”. The Maul’s head is heavier com-pared to the Splitting Axes. The poll is design ed for pounding on a splitting wedge. The head weighs 5 1/2 lb and has a 2 1/2”face. The hickory handle is 31”, has circu-lar grooves at the grip, a steel collar nearthe head, and comes with a grain leathersheath.Splitting Wedge Forged steel wedge. Twisted for maximumsplitting. The poll has ground edges. Thewedge has a 1 3/4” face, weighs 4 lb andcomes with a grain-leather sheath.Always wear adequate clothing andprotection for your face and eyes.Please note page 21.

Carpenter’s AxeThis axe has a straight edge and thin blade with low angle of the bevelface, suited for work in dry wood. Theforged inward curve from the heel to thelip of the head permits your hand to gripalmost straight above the center of theedge. This, and the long straight cuttingedge, gives rigidity, stability, and controlwhen cutting. Functions like a good heavyknife. The axe poll is ground and can beused as a hammer. The head weighs 1 1/2 lb and has a 3 1/2”face. The axe has an 18” hickory handle anda grain-leather sheath.

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Swedish Carving AxeA chop axe for hewing bowls and otherwooden objects, artistic wood carving andarchitectural work. The characteristiccurved shape of the cutting edge, carriedwell above the head’s eye, the position ofthe edge in proportion to the handle, therather thick bit and the big angle of thewide beveled face makes this axe a goodcarving tool. You “cut on the beveledface” with curved movements. This newaxe pattern, based on old Swedish carv ingtechniques, was developed by Wille Sun-dqvist, master craftsman and author of”Swedish Carving Techniques” in cooper -ation with craftsman adviser Onni Lin-nanheimo. The handle is “rugged” to givea good grip. The axe has a 4 1/3” face and a 14” hickory handle and the head weighs 2 lb.It comes with a grain-leather sheath.

Swedish Broad Axe, model 1900 The pattern of the Broad Axe andthe handle is based on old Swedishlogging techniques for squaring logsand structural timbers of all kinds. There is sufficient space between the “bla-de’s beard” and the handle for the user’sfingers. Beveled on two sides (double beve-led) or on one side, left or right. The eye(and the direction of the handle) may bestraight or angled sideways, right or left, toprotect the knuckles. One side beveled, leftside, normally goes with an eye angled tothe right. If you want deeper visible cutswhen squaring logs, you can use a broadaxe, double beveled, with the blade bentand the eye angled to the right or to theleft. The broad axe has a 7” face and a 20”hickory handle and the head weighs 3 lb. Itcomes with a grain-leather sheath. (Otherspecial tools from Gränsfors Bruks are:Log-House Drawknife, Mortise Axe, Froe,Adze. Ask for information.)

Hälsingland is beautiful. That is some thingone notices when visiting Gränsfors Bruks.Along the winding road between Gnarpand Bergsjö you can see green valleys,lakes and blue mountains. There are redhouses and barns scattered among themeadows with grazinghorses and sheep. Then asign catches one’s eyes:Gränsfors Bruks. Turningoff, nestled betweenwood en houses and appletrees, there it is, by a tur-bulent stream. The build-

ing is somewhat bigger than the surroun-ding cottages and one can see how it hasbeen enlarged throughout the years. Entering the wooden door in the olderpart of the house, you pass by the ware-house, lunchroom and old-fashioned office

and get down to the forgein the somewhat newerannex. There, big fly wheelsare moving and a rhythmi-cal throbbing is heardfrom the forging operation.

AT G R Ä N S F O R S B R U K S A X E F O R G E

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Gränsfors, Nordanstig rural district in Hälsingland, between Hudiksvall and Sundsvall, 4 hours by car, north of Stockholm

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Next to the forging hammers, in ovensthat are hotter than 1,200°C, steel barsare heated. When the right temperatureis reached, which the smith can see onthe red-yellowish color of the steel, aglowing piece is cut off and the treatmentin the forg ing hammers begins. The

smith cleverly handles the hot steel, andslowly the square piece is trans formedinto an axe head. The smith finishes hiswork by branding in the GränsforsBruks’ “label and crown” and his owninitials, scrutinizing the axe head andhanging it up to cool.

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The room next to the forge is thesharpening room. Here the right edgebevel is established by grinding (beveling)and, after the tempering and anneallingoperation, the beveled edge is groundwith a finer stone, honed and polished.

After the forging and the first step ofsharpening the edge, the lower part of theaxe head, the blade, is tempered by war-ming it to 820°C followed by a quick coo-ling in cold running water. Then the axehead is annealed: kept for 60 minutes inan oven that is 195°C. This relieves thestress in the steel, built up by the forgingand tempering processes and gives the bitthe desired hardness and toughness. Thehardness of the bit is measured, 57 Rock-well C, and every single head is tested by

a smith who, with a big hammer, strikeson the edge’s corners. If the blade doesnot break the head is good.

After the final sharpening and the “strop-ping” of the edge (stropped on a rotatingbuffing wheel) it is time to put a handleon the axe head. With the help of a hyd-raulic press the handle is squeezed into

the axe head together with a woodenwedge. The right angle in relation to theaxe head, the alignment and the hang, aretested. The last step is to drive a threelegged steel wedge into the wooden wedge.

Finally the axe is carefully checked, theaxe head is rubbed with a water repellantand rust preventive oil and the axe isgiven a leather sheath. Not to be forgot-ten, The Axe Book is tied to the axe.

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The people at Gränsfors Bruks in Sweden are (from left to right): Lars Eriksson, Ulrik Nilsson,Rosa Jansson, Anna-Karin Pettersson, Lennart Pettersson, Margareta Östberg-Kynell, LarsEnander, Gabriel Brånby, Bert-Ove Andersson, Fredrika Norlin, Sonny Lundin, Siw Lundholm,Jan Elfström, Rune Andersson, Mattias Mattsson, Ulrika Stridberg. Kjell-Åke Sjölund, Claudia Kowalek, Daniel Gräntz, Malin Persson, Oskar Lindh, Britt-MarieAndersson, Jan Mattsson, Domingo Gas Pallarés, Lisa Fritzson were not present.

The family owned Gränsfors Bruks ABhas 30 employees in Sweden. In additionto axes, Gränsfors Bruks forge SpringSteel Wreck ing Bars, branded “TOVE”,and forestry tools.

A sister company is Gränsfors Bruks, Inc.located in Summerville, South Carolina,USA. Its 25 American employees develop,produce and market unique protectiveproducts that allow people working with achain saw to be safer. Ask for information.

The axe for limbing is a ScandinavianForest Axe. The bit of this axe is thin butmore curved than the straight bit of, forexample, a Carpenter’s Axe.

You must have plenty of roomin which to swing an axe.Check your clearance andremove any brush or han-ging branches that mightdeflect the swinging axe.Stand on the side of the logopposite the branches youare going to limb so that

you always have the log

between you and your cuts. If theaxe misses a branch, the blade willhit the log rather than your leg.Keep both hands around thehandle – the risk of slippingwill then diminish. Graspone hand near the handleknob and the other

hand closer to the axe head at the start ofthe stroke. Raise the axe, and then let the“head” hand slip down the handle towardsthe “knob” hand while the axe is swungdownward.

Chop the branches from the root end tothe top end of the log and

chop into the undersideof the limb, close to thelog and the base of thebranch.

Thick branches may some-times demand so- called

“counterstroke” or a

“side-stroke” to

make choppingeasier and prevent

the branch from splitting.

Stand firmly on the ground and neverbalance on logs or branches.

L I M B I N G A LO G

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Sidestroke Counter-stroke

Normal stroke

F I R E WO O D

Fresh wood contains about 45 % water.Before the wood is put into the fire thepercentage of water must come down toabout 25% or less, which it normally hasafter a summer’s drying.The bark slows the drying of the wood.Therefore split wood dries more easilythan unsplit wood. It also means that splitwood does not get moldy or rotten aseasily, and of course, is much better tomake a fire with. If you think the stick orbranch is too thin to split, you candebark a string along it and the wood willdry quicker.

Hardwoods such as oak, maple and hick -ory have greater energy content than sof-twoods such as pine, fir and aspen. An old Swedish way, not very commontoday, is to fell the tree with its leaves on

– especially directly after leafing – andput off the limbing until the leaves havewithered. Then much of the water hasevaporated through the leaves and thewood dries quickly after splitting. Apartfrom this old method, winter is regardedas the best time of year for felling. Felling and working with a chain saw willalways be a dangerous task. It is impor-tant to learn how to use a chain saw andgood felling techniques. Always use goodprotective equipment when felling andcutting with a chain saw.

Saw the log to suitable lengths of wood,“rounds”, with a bow saw or a chain saw.Split the rounds at once – the more itdries the tougher and more difficult it isto split. It is rather easy to split evennewly felled thick rounds, yet very dif-ficult to split after a year. Frozen wood is“brittle” and easy to split.

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When splitting rounds, you need a SplittingAxe. When splitting big rounds you mayneed a Splitting Maul and Wedges. Don’t let others come near you while splitting – both the swinging axe and spread-ing splitwoods constitute risks.The chopping block should be big, heavy and stable. The kind of wood in the chopping block is less important, but hardwood like oak is most durable. The block should be quite low, not high er than up to yourknee. Stand the round of wood upright onthe far side of a big chopping block. If youmiss hitting the round, the axe will nor-mally hit the chopping block rather thanyour leg. Keep both hands firmly aroundthe handle, close to the knob of the hand-le, with arms straight. That, and a longhandle, will give a good ‘‘swing”. Keepingyour arms straight and adjusting yourstance, you will find the right distance tothe round. Try to keep the axe handlehorizontal when hitting the round. Forsafety reasons, the hands should never behigher than the axe head when the head ishitting the round. A round is generallyeasier to split from the top end.

When splitting gnarled cross-grained wood,it is very important that your axe is properlysharpened.

It is common that bigger rounds that do notsplit from the first chop are split by meansof its own weight: the axe’s bit is driven intoan end of the round, turned and swung with

the poll against the chopping block. This technique with a piece of wood wedged on the bit can be dangerous if a large chunk comes off in the swing.

For splitting a small stick in two, press theaxe edge against the side of the stick. Gripthe stick in one hand and the axe in theother. Raise the stick and the axe togetherand bring them down hard together onthe chopping block.

Try to place the axe head through thecenter of a round. Also try to place theaxe head straight through the limb, ifthere is one. Big rounds will of course besplit in several steps.

Never push the handle sideways if the axehead is stuck in the wood – the handle maybreak. Remove it in stead with pumping movments of the handle.

When the rounds are really big, gnarledand cross-grained, or have been storedtoo long and dried which make them hardto split, you might need to use a splittingmaul or a splitting maul and wedges.When work ing with wedges, use two.Wedge number two will help to knock thefirst wedge out if stuck. Fasten one wedge on one side. Pound thewedge with the poll of the heavy maul sothat you get a crack. Pound the otherwedge further in the wood until the crackis widened. Move the first wedge and soon, until the round is split. Do not use an axe, felling axe, forestaxe or a splitting axe, for driving in asteel wedge, or as a wedge, when split-

ting. The poll of these axes is notdesigned for heavy pounding on awedge or to be beaten on. That is oneof the things which makes an axe dif -ferent from a maul. The maul’s poll isdesigned and forged to withstand beat ingon a steel wedge. But constantly check theedges of the poll. Do not let a poll get likea mushroom! Always keep the groundedges of the poll of a maul and a wedge ingood shape. Use a file. The ground edgesof the poll will reduce, but not eliminate,the risk of flying fragments of the poll.

Always wear adequateclothing and protection foryour face and eyes when hitting steelagainst steel – a piece of steel cancome off and injure you.

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TO D RY A N D STO R E S P L I T WO O D SFirewood must dry thoroughly beforeuse. In the old days they said: “Woodshould be split before Easter”; then it candry during spring and summer, beforewinter’s wood heating begins.

A few basic rules for your wood yard:Stacked firewood must be chopped or atleast debarked in a string to be able todry. This is particularly important forhardwood with its denser bark.

Place the stack on dry and easily drainedground, preferably in a sunny place.

Put some poles on the ground beforestacking so that the wood does not touchthe wet ground and air can circulate.

Always stack split wood with the barkside down. Otherwise the bark will func-tion like a lid and prevent moisture fromevaporating and the risk for mold willincrease.

Stack the split wood a little scattered andit will dry more quickly. In the old daysthey said that a mouse had to be able toget through.

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Round Stack

1. Make a checkered pattern of poles onthe ground.

2. Make a loose “floor” of split wood onthe poles. Place bark side down.

3. Build a circular wall of largesplit wood. Put the smaller or un -

even wood randomly in the middle.

To avoid going out in the cold and nastyweather to fetch firewood, it is common tostack some dry firewood on the porch orinside the house. But it isimportant that the woodstacked indoors is com-pletely dry. Otherwise youmight have problems withmoisture and mold.

A couple of vertical poles, a tree, or awall can make a stop in one end orboth. If you have vertical poleson both ends you may stretcha wire or rope betweenthem, above or in themiddle of the stack.Then the stack ismore stableand can hand-le more splitwood.

If the stack is built alonga wall: Leave an airspace be tween the stackand the wall. Let thestack lean a littleinwards to avoid the riskof its collapsing due toshifting during thedrying process.

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Bark side down

Put some poles on theground

Dry and well drained ground

Put something, like a tarpaulin, on top ofthe stack as protection from rain or snow,but don’t cover the sides – the stack mustallow air to circulate. If using a tarp, tie itdown with ropes to poles on the ground.A few heavy logs placed on top of the tarpwill prevent it from inflating and beingtorn during storms.

4. When the stack begins to get highenough you build it up in the middle andround it off to an even pile. Place theuppermost layer of split wood as ”tiles”to allow rain water to run off.

Simple stack

In woods and fields Begin with choosing a suitable place.Appropriate beds for fire are sand, gravel or bare soil. Don’t light a fire onflat rocks (they break from the heat andget ugly black marks), peat ground ornear dry grass, bushes and trees. You can put stones around the fire you arebuilding.

Use dry sticks and branches for the fire. In a forest you will always find dry sticksto light with – even when it is raining –like on the lower parts of spruce stems.

In old damaged stems and stumps of pine,you sometime find yellowish-red andstrong smelling pitchy wood. In dry condi-tions this resinous wood is one of the bestthings you can use to light a fire with. Justone split of pitchy wood can light the mostimpossible fire.

Start lighting with smaller sticks and buildup with larger sticks as the fire begins toburn. Extinguish the fire carefully, pre -ferably with water, and restore the groundas much as possible if it is a temporaryplace for a fire, before you leave.

Pay attention to possible fire prohibitions,especially common during dry springs andsummers!

In fireplace and stoveCheck that the damper is open. Place thesplit wood so tightly that the burningwood “warms each other”, but still so scat-tered that the fire is aired.

In a wood stove you should start with bur-ning some paper in the flue or the soot-door just before you light the fire. If you are worried that it might smoke,you can see which direction it draws fromin the stove by keeping a burning matchin the upper part of the opening.

TO M A K E A F I R E

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Teepee Fire Lay (standing splitwood) gives youa quick burning fire, Crisscross Fire Lay (lyingsplitwoods) give a more prolonged fire.

Put in crumpled newspaper or thin smallpieces of wood to light with under thewood. If the flame draws out of the stoveyou should turn off the kitchen fan. Ifyou still have coldair coming outfrom the chimneyyou can open awindow in theroom just whenyou light the fire.The air thatquickly rushes inthen generallygoes out throughthe chimney andgives draft in theright direction.You can use thesame method to “turn” a stove or a fire-place that is smoking.

Don’t choke the access of air too muchwhen the fire has burnt up. Check the airaccess by going out and looking at thesmoke: a correctly burning wood fire lea-ves only carbon dioxide and steam, andtherefore you hardly see any smoke atall. If it is very cold the smoke may bewhite.

All stoves, fireplaces and chimneys needto be cleaned regularly to function well.

AshesAshes raked out of the stove or the fire-place can cause fire. Therefore ashesought to be saved a couple of days in anonflammable vessel to cool off.

Ashes after a wood fire can be saved andspread in the garden (but not in thepotato-patch – then the potatoes becomeshriveled). Wood ashes contain some use-ful salts, above all potassium bicarbonate,so-called potash, and heightens the pHvalue in acidified soil. You may mix somewood ashes into your compost as well.

W E A R I N G T H E A X E O N YO U R B E LT

Most axes from GränsforsBruks come with a sheaththat let you easily carry theaxe on your belt.

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Pull the leather sheathstrap through the belt.

The axe will sit comfor-tably and securely.

The pattern of the head, the weight, the cur v-ature of the bit, the thickness and width ofthe bit and the beveled face of the edge varyfrom axe to axe, and make axes performdifferently. The Swedish Carving Axe, witha rather thick curved bit and big angle on awide beveled face, is a good carving tool.But it is not a Carpenter’s Axe. The Carpen-ter’s Axe has a thin blade, a straight longcutting edge with low angle of the beveledface. The corners of the bit are pointed. Thelong straight-edged bit is ideal for guidingby eye. Your eyes can sense position anddirection better from a relatively broad,straight axe bit than they can from a narro-wer, more curved bit. The long straight cut-ting edge also gives stability when cutting.In a way, the Carpenter’s Axe works as acombination of saw, knife and plane. Youcan do much more with this axe thanrough fitting. It is, for example, quite easyto cut a plank’s end to the desired anglewith a planed surface with the aid of theCarpenter’s Axe.Keep the piece of wood you are workingwith on a chopping block. Don’t use thesame block for splitting rounds. Therounds usually carry sand and earth tothe chopping block, which makes the edgeblunt. Sharpness is very important for

a Carpenter’s Axe. Stand a little to theside of the chopping block and be carefulto hold the axe at such an angle that therisk of hurting yourself if you slip is redu-ced.Keep the working piece on the part of thechopping block that is the outside or awayfrom you so that a slipping cut will hit thechopping block rather than your leg. Gripthe handle with one hand in the inwardcurve of the axe head in order to increase cut-ting precision.Let the edge go with a falling movementagainst the piece of wood, so that the cut-ting point glides from the lower corner ofthe bit upwards along the edge. Always cutalong fiber direction— other wise it is easyto split away pieces that were meant tostay.

26

WO R K I N G W I T H A CA R P E N T E R ’ S A X E

Swedish Broad AxeThe blade ground on one side only.Width of Cut from 300 to 400 mm(5 sizes). (Used for squaring logs andstructural timbers.)

American Felling Axe,Turpentine WedgeWeighing from 3 to 7 lb (9 sizes.) (The American Felling Axeshave been one of the most used types ofaxes for forest workers in the northerntempered conifer belt since the middle ofthe 19th century. Each region had a pat-tern of its own.)

AmericanFelling Axe,OhioWedgeWeighing from 3to 7 lb (9 sizes). (In Sweden named“Yankee Axe”.)

SOME AXES FROM GRÄNSFORS CATALOGS 1910–1923

27

American Shingling Hatchet with hammer-pollCheckered poll and provided with a notch for nail pulling. Width of Cut from 3 1/2 to 4 1/4 inch (3 sizes).

American Broad Hatchet,Carpenter’s HatchetThe blade groundon one side only.Width of Cutfrom 4 to 8 inches (9 sizes). (Similar to the BritishSide Hatchet of Kent pattern.)

De Tumba, South American Wedge type Axe for felling Oval Eye. Weighing from 3 to 5 lb (5 sizes).(Most South American Axes had straight-sided blades withno lugs, oval eyes without thickening at the poll. The shapeof the blade and eye derives mainly from the Spanish andPortuguese tradition. South American Patterns, “MediaLabor” with Oval Eye or Flat Head, “De Tumba” with FlatHead, “Brazil” Narrow or Broad Bit, “Valdivia” with OvalEye and Viscaina with Oval Eye were also available.)

Russian Hatchet,Siberian ModelWeighing from 2 1/2to 3 1/2 lb (9 sizes).(Russian Patterns“Arkangelsk” and“Petrograde” werealso available.)

AmericanClawHatchetWidth of Cut from 3 1/2 to 4 1/4 inches (3 sizes.) (In Sweden named “Packing Axe”.)

The Broad Axe, or the Hewing Axe, isused to shape (hew) logs and timbers ofall kinds in the old traditional way, par-ticularly when building log-houses. BroadAxe patterns have varied enormouslyfrom region to region and over time.

The bit of the Broad Axe is beveled onone or two sides and the direction of thehandle may be straight or angled sidewaysto protect your knuckles.

On request we will send you informationof all the alternatives, including a Log-house Corner Axe and a curved Log-house Drawknife, made by GränsforsBruks.

Of course you can shape your logs with achain saw or electrical equipment butthen you will not have as nice a surface asyou would using a Broad Axe. We are notgoing to show in this text how to make alog house, but we will try to describe howto hew a log. Nowadays machines are usedto a great extent and only the final workis done by hand. Before hewing by handbegins, the log has to be debarked andsawed on two sides (and often stored 6–12months or longer to dry to avoid shrink -ing after the construction work).

The log that is to be shaped is placed ontwo specially made stands which will cre-ate the right working position.

T H E U S E O F B R OA D A X E S

28

Angled to protect knuckles

LogOne sidebeveledbit

Wedge, driven from the side,that locks the log

The right height ofthe stand is whenyou can sit astrideit and have yourfeet flat on theground.

Log

{Gränsfors Bruks forges many differentBroad Axes and Log Building Tools: LogHouse Drawknife, Log Dog, Log Scribe,Mortise Axe, Adze, Froe. Ask for information.

Your hands should be kept quite close toeach other. Your right hand should bekept nearest to the head of the BroadAxe. The thumb of your right handshould be kept up on the shoulder of thehandle, and not around the handle, toavoid the risk of being hurt.

Often the log is twisted in the drying pro-cess. If the log is twisted with checksgoing downward from left to right, youhave to hew in the direction away fromyou on the upper half of the log and in adirection towards you on the lower partof the log. If the log is twisted in theopposite way, with checks going upwardfrom left up to right, you have to hew inthe opposite direction. In so doing youavoid working in conflict with the struc-ture of the wood.

Move backwards while working so thatyou can always check the surface youhave hewed. The log should be hewed as evenly andwater repellantly as possible. Downwardcuts and flakes of wood are not allowed tocreate pockets for rain water. There forethe log is placed upside-down for hewing,compared to how it will later be placed inthe house.

The seasoning checks are turned inwardsif the inside is to be covered with panel-ling. Otherwise they are turned outwardsso that the inside becomes attractive andeasy to clean.

29

Seasoning checks

Upper half of log Lower part of log

Check

Rain Rain

Right Wrong

RulesThe straight distance from the “Throwing Line” to the bullseye on the target should be 20’ (6.1 m).The thrower may not overstep or cross the “Throwing Line”before the axe has hit or missed the target. This should bechecked by a linesman.The “Fore-Bit” is the bit in the target direction at themoment when the thrower lets the double-bitted axe go.Only the “Fore-Bit” of the the double-bitted axe can score ahit on the target area – a condition is however that the bitsticks in the target. The “Fore-Bit” only needs to cut the outer edge of a line ofthe scoring area to win points of that higher scoring area.The “Back-Bit” is not allowed to brush against the target – ifso the scoring will be 0 even if the “Fore-Bit” has hit the tar-get at same time.Best score in minimum of three throws wins. At competitions, targets for practice should be provided. Practic -ing throws at targets planned for competition means automaticdisqualification. The standards for a Double-Bitted Compe-tition Axe and the design for a Competition Target are shownin the drawings.

30

“Fore-Bit”

Throwing Line

Min. 24” (610 mm)

Weight: min 2 1/2 lb (1134 g)

incl. handle Max. 6” (152 mm)

20’ (6.1m

A X E T H R OW I N G

Double-Bit Axe orThrowing Axe

The Swedish Axe Throwing SocietySvenska YxkastarförbundetVålsjö skola Orsta730 30 Kolsvawww.yxkastarna.com

31

Organizers and participants: Pay attention tothe security so that none of the participants oraudience will be hurt! Rope off an area largeenough. Enter the area only to throw or checkscore.

“Back-Bit”

60”(1.5 m)

4”(102 mm)

36”(914 mm)

↕

The Swedish Axe Throwing Societyarranges annual Swedish Competitions in Axe Throwing.

Swedish Champions:1989 (Men only) Jan Engman, Leksand1990 (Men only) Inge Mörk, Mora1991 (Men only) Urpo Salmela, Skövde1992 (Men) Tommy Långdahl, Hedemora1992 (Women) Sari Sundqvist, Nordanstig1993 (Men) Tommy Långdahl, Hedemora1993 (Women) Nina Holm, Nordanstig1994 (Men) Tommy Långdahl, Hedemora1994 (Women) Ulla Sundqvist, Nordanstig1995 (Men) Urpo Salmela, Skövde1995 (Women) Sari Sundqvist, Nordanstig1996 (Men) Anders Lindberg, Tönnånger1996 (Women) Karin Eriksson, Östersund1997 (Men) Urpo Salmela, Skövde1997 (Women) Karin Eriksson, Östersund1998 (Men) Henry Olofsson, Strömsund1998 (Women) Tina Johansson, Mantorp1999 (Men) Roy Bergström, Tönnånger1999 (Women) Kristina Gustafsson, Åsbro2000 (Men) Roy Bergström, Tönnånger2000 (Women) Mona Elofsson, Tönnånger2001 (Men) Robert Mårtensson, Strömsund2001 (Women) Tina Nordberg, Kolsva2002 (Men) Sauli Saari, Kolsva2002 (Women) Mona Elofsson, Tönnånger2003 (Men) Stefan Persson, Tönnånger2003 (Women) Mona Elofsson, Tönnånger2004 (Men) Stefan Persson, Tönnånger2004 (Women) Tanja Väinölä, Kolsva2005 (Men) Robert Mårtensson, Tveeggarna2005 (Women) Tanja Väinölä, Kolsva2006 (Men) Urpo Salmela, Skövde2006 ( Women) Majly Frisk, Tönnånger

(6.1m)

Axes should be kept in a dry place, butstill not so dry or warm that the handlerisks shrinking in the axe head. See to itthat the bit and the bit sheath are not wetwhen you put on the sheath. Grease theaxe head with oil before the axe is putaway for some time. If you don’t grease itthe axe head may become rusty.Axe heads are forged in a shape goodfor cutting. Only the poll of a SplittingMaul is designed for pound ing on asteel splitting wedge. Do not use anyaxe or hatchet, for example a SplittingAxe, for driving in a steel wedge, or asa wedge, when splitting. The poll of anaxe is not designed for heavy poundingon a steel wedge or to be pounded on.An axe used for pound ing or used as awedge will be de -formed or broken.

SharpeningThe sharpening of an axe is done in seve-ral steps, depending on how worn downthe axe head is and the type of axe. Witha Splitting Maul you may stop at the shap -ing step. With a Carpenter’s Axe or a Forest Axe you have to go through all thesteps if you want to have a good cuttingtool.

1. Shaping. If terribly damaged, you canuse a file to reestablish the original edgebevel, the curve of the edge and bevelface. Do not overheat the edge, which willcause it to lose its temper. Cool often! Ifthe bevel face is straight (Carpenter’s Axe,Carving Axe and Broad Axe), the totalbevel face should be in contact with thestone or the file.

When filing, use a flat fine cut file. Keep theaxe head in a vise to allow you to file withtwo hands. Bear down the file against thesharpening bevel, with some of your fingerson the tip of the file, as you push the fileaway from yourself with firm and even stro-kes. Lift the file off the sharpening bevel onthe return stroke. Keep free of filings.

2. Grinding. Always keep the originalbevel shape! Even a straight bevel facehas to be a little convex at the edge; aconvex bevel has more strength. If youmake the bevel of the bit too straight andthin it will deform or break. You can use

CA R I N G F O R YO U R A X E

32

StraightBevel Face

Stone

AxefileFine-toothed flat file.

Stand steady with one foot placed besidethe grinding machine and support your-self with the axe against a supporting stayon the grinder or with your elbow againstyour hip. Move the axe slowly back andforth during grinding so that the wholesharpening bevel becomes evenly groundto its original shape. Also grind evenlyover the breadth of the grindstone, other-wise it will soon become warped andbeveled and difficult to use. Don’t leavewater in the grinders bucket; it deterior -ates the quality of the stone.

You can also use a handstone, usually around, pocket-size, wet stone with dif -ferent grits on the two sides. Use the stonewith a circular motion, first with the

coarse side then with the fine grit side.Rotate the stone in your hand so it willwear evenly.

There are more alternatives: “dry” hand-stones, and diamonds files. Don’t put oilor water on dry stones.

3. Stropping. After you have finishedwith the fine grit stone, the bit will usu-ally have a feather-edge, a wispy border ofsteel attached to the length of the cutting

33

Circular motion

AxediamondHas a coarse side and a fine side.

GränsforsAxe grin-ding Stonewith acoarse sideand a fineside madeof sandsto-ne quarri-ed on theisland ofGotland,Sweden.

a whetstone (whetstone bench grinder) togrind smaller damage and normal wearand give the edge its basic sharpness.

Whetstonebench grinder with supporting stay

Can be used with or without water.

edge, like a tiny fence. To get rid of thefeather-edge and to make the cuttingedge more keen you can stroke it againsta length of leather, like a belt. The direc-tion of each stroke runs away from thecutting edge.

(At Gränsfors Bruks the cutting edge ofthe axes are stropped on a rotating buf-fing wheel made of cloth.)

Always keep the original shape of the bitand the bevel. An axe that is given thewrong shape and bevel face can easilyslide and cut you.

The design of the axe head, the curvatureof the edge, the bevel face, are adapted toits range of uses: Hardwood demandsaxes with fairly thick bit, with roundedbevel face; but with softwood cutting, the bit can be thinner; when limbing infrozen wood (frozen wood is hard) the bitmust be thicker, and the curvature of thebit more rounded than cutting in non fro-zen wood; dry wood cutting needsstraight bevel face for a nice cut. Not onlythe thickness of the bit is important forthe strength; a rounded curvature of theedge is stronger than a flat curvature.

34

Hardwood Softwood Drywood Wrong grind

Curved bit Straight edge

Forest Axe Carpenter’s Axe Wrong grind

25-30°

Fitting an axe with a handle Using an old fashioned wood wedge, sup-ported with a steel wedge, is a safe alterna -tive; you can see if and how the handle isfixed in the axe-eye. If the axe head is loose,you can soak the axe for a few hours in abucket of water. The wood and the wedgewill swell and the handle will be tight for a while. It functions, but we recommend fit-ting the axe with a new handle, or at least, anew wooden wedge. A loose head is alwaysdangerous, for people and axes! It is impor-tant to use handles of high quality. Thehandle, as well as the wooden wedge, has tobe dry. If not, they will dry later and youwill have a loose head. Another reason for aloose head is the incorrect use of the axehead as a hammer or a sledge. The poll of an axe is not designed forheavy pounding. An axe used forpounding or used as a wedge will bedeformed or broken and the headwill loosen from the handle. 1. Saw off the old handle close to the axe

head. (Never burn an old handle froman axe. It will cause the bit to lose itstemper.)

2. Drill out the wedge and asmuch of the wood in the axehead as possible.

3. Punch the rest of the handlebackward. Punch from thehandle side.

4. Clean inside the eye of the axe.

5. Pound the handle into thehead. Let the end of thehandle pass an inch on theother side of the head.

6. Test the alignment and thehang. The line of bit must normally lie in the centerof the handle knob. (Notfor a Broad Axe or a Car-penter’s Axe). On a Forestand a Felling Axe the midd-le of the bit and the handleknob must both touch whenlaid, with the bit down, on aflat sur face. (The alignmentcan vary depending on theshape of the handle, thehandle knob and themodel of the axe – forexample a Carpenter’s Axe or a Carving Axe.)

7. Put some glue in the wedge slit and on the wooden wedge. Drive in thewedge.

8. Saw off the excess of the handle and thewedge a little from the head.

9. Fix the woodenwedge with a steelwedge, diagonal tothe wooden wedge.

35

Steel Wedge

36

Robert C. BirkbyThe Boy Scout HandbookBoy Scouts of America 1990

Percy W. BlandfordCountry Craft ToolsGale Research Company 1974

Dudley CookKeeping Warm with an Ax, A Woodcutter’s ManualUniverse Books 1981

Charles A. HeavrinThe Axe and ManMemphis 1997

Günter HeineAxe Shapes CorneredThe Tools and Trades History SocietyTools & Trades, volume 10 Kent 1997

Torgny JanssonWater cobled grinding of edge toolsTormek, Lindesberg 1993

Henry J. KauffmanAmerican AxesStephen Greene Press 1972

Allan KlenmanAxe Makers of North AmericaCurrie’s Forestgraphics Ltd 1990

Leonard LeeThe Complete Guide to SharpeningThe Taunton Press 1995

B. Allan MackieBuilding With LogsFirefly Books 1997

R. A. SalamanDictionary of Woodworking ToolsThe Taunton Press 1990

Robert ScharffFirewood and your chain sawReston Publishing Company, 1981

Eric SloaneA Museum of Early American ToolsBallantine Books 1973

Wille SundqvistSwedish Carving TechniquesThe Taunton Press 1990

Bernie Weisgerber & Brian VachowskiAn Ax to Grind, A Practical Ax ManualUSDA Forest Service 1999

Glossary of forest termsSwedish Centre of Technical Terminology 1969

Gränsfors Bruks ABSafe Wood Cutters Guide 1992Ancient Northern European Axes 2002

Sven-Gunnar HåkanssonFrom Log to Log HouseAlgrove Publishing 2003

The Axe Book is also available in Swedish, German, French and Japanese.T H E A X E B O O K

is illustrated by Elisabet Berg (exept man on p.8) who has taken most of the photos, except thephoto at the foot of page 3, Jan Lipka, and at the top of page 17, Magnus & Magnus.

All other product photos are taken by Åke Gunnarsson, VUE. English editor Yvonne Caruso. Production Eriksson & Gullberg, Stockholm and Illustra Text & Bild, Bergsjö.

We will thank all known and unknown people who have helped us with The Axe Book.© G r ä n s f o r s B r u k s A B 2 0 07 I S B N 978 - 9 1 - 976 2 2 3 - 8 - 7

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Gränsfors Axe Museum has around 2000 axes, mostly from Sweden. The Axe Museum is situated in the eastern part of Sweden, four hours by car from Stockholm to the north, between Hudiksvall and Sundsvall, at Gränsfors Bruks Axe Forge. Open daily. During work days axe forging is shown for the public. Phone Sweden 0652-710 90.

Gränsfors Bruks

P&

P

From iron to your own axe or a lovely object. Week-long courses year round with Lars Enander. Learnbasic forging skills, tempering, grinding and thedesign language of ironwork. For more information:www.gransfors.com or email axes@gransfors.com

Learn smithwork. Learn timber building.P

&P

From log to lodge. 8-day courses held every month,May to September. Design and build a timber cha-let, using traditional tools. Practise using modernequipment for sawing and chipping of timber. Formore information, see: www.gransfors.com or emailaxes@gransfors.com

AXE MUSEUM

820 70 Bergsjö, Sweden,Phone + 46 - 6527 1090. Fax + 46 - 6521 4002

yxboken@gransfors.com www.gransfors.com

GRÄNSFORS BRUKS INC.821 West 5th North Street, P.O. Box 818, Summerville, SC 29483, USA

Phone (843) 875-0240. Fax (843) 821-2285info@gransfors.com www.gransfors.com

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