{"id":6821,"date":"2019-10-13T10:50:30","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T14:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bob-easton.com\/blog\/?p=6821"},"modified":"2021-09-19T18:52:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T22:52:16","slug":"hatchet-adze-drawknife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bob-easton.com\/blog\/hatchet-adze-drawknife\/","title":{"rendered":"Hatchet, Adze, Drawknife"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrei showed us some skilled hatchet carving in the previous post,<\/a> and in that post I also mumbled something about my own hatchet.<\/p>\n

It is all David Fisher<\/a>‘s fault.\u00a0 I’ve acquired a few “green woodworking” tools and am trying to learn how to use them.\u00a0 David’s bowls<\/a> are spectacular, and it is this one<\/a> that led me down the path.\u00a0 Of course, there was an initial obstacle.\u00a0 “The Great Adze Shortage of ’15<\/a>” seems to be lingering.\u00a0 Inventory from the well known adze makers is still non-existent anywhere.\u00a0 Did they all go out of business, or is demand so high that traditional retailers simply can’t keep them in stock?\u00a0 Dunno.\u00a0 I found an answer (more on that shortly), and while waiting for the adze to arrive I turned my attention to refurbishing an old hatchet.<\/p>\n

My “Boy Scout” hatchet*<\/h2>\n

It is a very simple, utilitarian tool.\u00a0 I don’t remember when or where I acquired it.\u00a0 I do remember replacing a cracked handle some years ago.\u00a0 After learning a wee bit about bowl carving work with hatchet, adze and drawknife, I realized the grind on this old hatchet was completely wrong.\u00a0 The grind was as it came from some store long ago, a blunt grind that is extremely sturdy and entirely appropriate for rough bushwhacking, definitely NOT for carving.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>Job #1 then became regrinding the hatchet for carving.\u00a0 Using the “scary sharp” sandpaper method, I took it from the blunt near-40\u00b0 to something closer to 30\u00b0.\u00a0 The result is much much much better.\u00a0 More bite, fewer glancing blows.\u00a0 It’s still not the perfect flat grind that I want, but I’ll get it there.<\/p>\n

Job #2, and not absolutely necessary, …but since I was still waiting for an adze to arrive… was a cover\/sheath for the hatchet.\u00a0 Of course, it is wood, and of course it has some carving involved.\u00a0 Inspired yet again by David Fisher<\/a>, the result was fun to make.<\/p>\n