Technics of Forestry. 475 



In directing the forging of axes, and grinding by smiths' and 

 woodwards' lads, I have asked them to hold the axe so that this 

 ridge was not blurred out in grinding — the same as a cleaver. 

 With a critical sense of hearing I could, without looking, tell if 

 an axe was being ground properly, correct grinding producing the 

 sound " eth," by which term I designated these faint angles left 

 by grinding. When sharpened, so that the woodward can pare a 

 piece of skin off his horny hand with its keen edge, it will stand any 

 fair work, even to cutting a spike nail in halves if bedded in the tree, 

 and not turn the edge of the axe ; but with a loose scrap of iron, a 

 blow would notch the edge at once, but if well embedded in hard wood, 

 the same as ironclads are backed with teak, the axe will go through 

 the nail as easily as a shot will go through armour-plating ; but will 

 fail to do so if the teak backing is removed. 



The terms for handle vary in different counties, " helve " and 

 " haft " being the next most familiar terms. Ash is generally used, 

 being light, tough, and cool to handle, and by its smoothness not 

 abrading the skin of the hands. 



The eye of the axe is not parallel, but slightly convex ; this favours 

 the tightening of the handle by wedging ; sometimes a wooden wedge 

 is driven in on the line of the eye, and the cross wedge of iron driven in as 

 shown afterwards, but the less wedging the better for the handle ; as 

 the cross section of the end of the handle shows more wood to be ex- 

 panded from the slit to the head of the axe, the wedge is best driven 

 in crossways. An axe-head invariably gets loose in that direction, 

 and not sideways, the strain from the handle in wrenching an axe 

 out of a cleft being in the line from edge to head. The handle is 

 driven through the eye a little as use loosens it, and the wedo-e is 

 driven farther in to tighten the handle. The handle is left larger for 

 two or three inches near the head, as it gets chipped about here pretty 

 much in use. The handle must be quite straight, and straight grained, 

 and taper slightly up to the clutch-knob, which is much smaller 

 than that of the bill-handle. From 3 feet to 3 feet 4 inches are 

 common lengths. 



{To he continued.) 



