Broad axe handles can be left right or on center. (A full over the head swing or more of a short chopping motion). The log or beam can either be on the ground or raised depending on how you’re gripping the handle. You generally work standing to one side of the log with the flat side of the broad axe to the wood. Handles are most often of mid to full length and grasped with both hands.

Popular with several handcrafted log home companies, it can be much quicker to train someone to get a quality look with the planer than to get someone in shape to do a good days work with an Adze.īroad axes are similar in look to an axe with an extra wide blade. And still others might use a short handle curved adze to hollow out chair seats.Īnother way to get that traditional ‘Adzed’ look with less effort is to consider using a Curved Base Planer. Some builders consider an adze the finishing tool to the broad axe. In effect you swing the adze between your legs. Long handles are often used when “straddling” your work on the ground or close to the ground. Short handled adzes are used with either one or two hands with the wood you’re working on located between knee and waist height. If you prefer the look of Appalachian style square hand hewn log homes try using an adze or broadaxe.Īdzes are available with both flat and curved blades as well as short and log handles. You’ll probably be fine in a dry non-buggy area but think twice about leaving bark on in a moist/humid area where wood boring insects abound. Before you do, consider that the bark can harbor insects which can start chewing into your logs bark can also act like a sponge holding moisture in contact with your logs and it can eventually curl up and fall off taking with it any stain/finish you’ve applied and leaving your logs unprotected in those areas. (This is often defined as “skip peeled”).

Many people want to leave some of the inner bark on for a more “rustic” look. If you experience tearing or jagged edges while peeling try peeling in the other direction. You’ll find pictures and description for our many drawknives HERE.īy using a chainsaw and/or grinder to smooth the knots before you begin peeling you can go over those areas with your drawknife for a more consistent look and you’ll minimize the chance of “nicking” your blade on the hard knot wood or a piece of gravel or grit that often gets inbedded around the knot. We also carry mid-weight drop forged drawknives for small poles furniture or railing stock and smaller house logs and heavy weight sizes for peeling house logs. Yet others lean toward a curved blade with the handles almost in-line with the blade such as the Barr Hewing Drawknife or the Gransfors Bruks Some prefer the hand forged Barr drawknife which is easier to sharpen and has a large following of devotees. Professional log peelers (yes there is such a profession and more physically fit group of folks would be hard to find) lean toward heavier drawknives. Overall weight of the drawknife can be a consideration for many people. Several different handle angles are also available because to date no one handle-to-blade angle has been satisfactory for all people. Drawknives come in a wide range of sizes. A drawknife is often used to finish the job before the log is ready to cut.

Manual bark peeler