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Iron Adze Forged with an Eye and a Steeled Edge
Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer (Wikimedia Commons) · Public domain
Forge

Created by

Forge

14. October 2026NO
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Iron Adze Forged with an Eye and a Steeled Edge

An adze is an axe turned crosswise: its edge lies across the handle, so it shaves and levels timber with a swinging chop. A hand adze is swung with one hand; the long foot adze of shipwrights with two. Forge it like an axe, punch and drift an eye, weld steel into the edge, draw the blade out curved, harden and handle it. The picture: shipwright Herbert Page trimming a timber with an adze at Rye shipyard, Sussex, 1944 (Imperial War Museum).
Advanced
A day

Instructions

1

Punch and drift the eye

Heat the wrought iron bar to a bright yellow, punch an eye through it near one end, and drive the drift through to open it into a smooth oval.

Materials for this step:

Wrought Iron BarWrought Iron Bar1 piece
CharcoalCharcoal1 as required

Tools needed:

Blacksmith ForgeBlacksmith Forge
AnvilAnvil
Cross Peen HammerCross Peen Hammer
Hot PunchHot Punch
DriftDrift
Blacksmith TongsBlacksmith Tongs
Welding GlovesWelding Gloves
Safety GlassesSafety Glasses
2

Weld in the steel

Split the blade end, lay a strip of tool steel in the split with borax flux, and forge-weld it at a welding heat, as for the axe.

Materials for this step:

Flat Tool Steel BarFlat Tool Steel Bar1 piece
Borax PowderBorax Powder20 g

Tools needed:

Blacksmith ForgeBlacksmith Forge
AnvilAnvil
Cross Peen HammerCross Peen Hammer
Welding GlovesWelding Gloves
Safety GlassesSafety Glasses
3

Draw and curve the blade

Draw the blade out wide and thin with its edge across the line of the handle, and bend it over the anvil horn so it curves gently toward the handle.

Tools needed:

AnvilAnvil
Cross Peen HammerCross Peen Hammer
Blacksmith TongsBlacksmith Tongs
Welding GlovesWelding Gloves
Safety GlassesSafety Glasses
4

Harden, temper, grind

File the bevel on the inside of the curve, heat the edge to cherry red and quench in water, then temper the edge to brown. Hone it sharp.

Materials for this step:

WaterWater10 liters

Tools needed:

Blacksmith ForgeBlacksmith Forge
Quench BucketQuench Bucket
Metal FileMetal File
Whetstone 1000 GritWhetstone 1000 Grit
Welding GlovesWelding Gloves
Safety GlassesSafety Glasses
5

Handle

Shave an ash handle with the drawknife to fit the eye tightly from the top, short for a hand adze or long for a foot adze, and drive the head down onto it.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood StripHardwood Strip1 piece

Tools needed:

DrawknifeDrawknife
6

Head weight

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Materials

6

Tools Required

12

This blueprint makes

Thumbnail
Placeholder

Adze

Free

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