Best Froe Shape - pick a favourite!

[bugbear]

I've been to an awful lot of green woodworking events, and seen a hell of a lot of froes.

I was wondering what makes a good froe? I suspect almost any old shape
can be made to split wood, but are there "better" and "worse" froes?

Messing around with a sketch, I think the cross sectional shape of a froe can be described
in 4 numbers ("parameters"), see top left of picture.

Depth
Thickness
Proportion of blade that is tapered
Convexity (perhaps measure by sagitta) of taper

These 4 numbers are enough to describe all the shapes on this picture:

So - what's your favourite froe? I would especially welcome input from anyone who's used more than one.

BugBear

 

[Sheffield Tony]

A lot depends on what you are going to do with it.

If you just want to spilt a short billet of wood, e.g., making shingles, anything vaguely wedge-shaped is going to do.

If you want to make hurdles or such like, where you need to be able to get a controlled splitting of a long length, you need to be more picky.

I think fairly thick with a long taper - more like the rightmost 2 - are better than the more straight sided sort. Also, not represented in your figure or by those four numbers - a slight "belly" is useful to get a spilt started in a wide log.

I have used more than 1 froe, but all old, or homemade. Not tried any of the current commercially available ones.

 

[bugbear]

I think fairly thick with a long taper - more like the rightmost 2 - are better than the more straight sided sort. Also, not represented in your figure or by those four numbers - a slight "belly" is useful to get a spilt started in a wide log.

Heh. The "straight sided" sort reflect (I suspect) ease of manufacture, and are simply source stock with a bevel dumped with an angle grinder.

The thing you call belly is presumably similar to a "breasted" saw blade, or the curve of a Norfolk/Suffolk pattern bill hook.

(or indeed, most Kent pattern hatchets)

BugBear

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Indeed - and rather like the Cornish shovel in function - a slightly curved rather than straight edge concentrates the pressure to get things started.