Adze

The adze has always been an important and highly versatile tool for carpenters, cabinet makers, boat builders and sculptors alike, and different versions have therefore evolved for different purposes. They are used for hollowing-out often large objects such as troughs, smoothing, and other large-scale carving projects. The most important detail of a good adze is the right combination of form and length of the handle, which must suit the shape of the head. But also the bevel must be customised for the individual application. An inside bevel allows the adze to be applied precisely, while an outside bevel drives the blade quickly out of the wood again for rough work. All our adzes are made of carbon-steel.

DICTUM One-Handed Flat Adze, Sweep 3
   

DICTUM One-Handed Flat Adze, Sweep 3

€176.90

incl. VAT plus shipping costs

Article No. 706065

DICTUM One-Handed Gouge-Shaped Adze, Sweep 8
   

DICTUM One-Handed Gouge-Shaped Adze, Sweep 8

€179.00

incl. VAT plus shipping costs

Article No. 706052

DICTUM Trough Maker's Adze, Sweep 5
   

DICTUM Trough Maker's Adze, Sweep 5

€176.90

incl. VAT plus shipping costs

Article No. 706066

Pfeil Two-handed Flat Adze, Sweep 1
 

Pfeil Two-handed Flat Adze, Sweep 1

€99.30

incl. VAT plus shipping costs

Article No. 700941

Pfeil Two-handed Gouge-shaped Adze, Sweep 7
 

Pfeil Two-handed Gouge-shaped Adze, Sweep 7

€113.00

incl. VAT plus shipping costs

Article No. 700942

Pfeil One-Handed Gouge-Shaped Adze, Sweep 8
 

Pfeil One-Handed Gouge-Shaped Adze, Sweep 8

€114.00

incl. VAT plus shipping costs

Article No. 700944

 

Expert knowledge - Adze

What makes a good adze?

The adze is a relatively unknown tool, yet unique in its function and extremely versatile. Success or failure in using the tool depends very much on its design. A good adze allows precise application and ergonomic use. A cheap model is often a bad investment because mass production does not set great store by ergonomics and functionality. Because the tool is not widely known, users are often unaware of the great differences in its use.

Pic 1: Schwungkurve DechselPic 1
Pic 2: Schwungkurve DechselPic 2
Pic 3: Schwungkurve DechselPic 3
Pic 4: Einsetzen der SchneidePic 4
Pic 5: Einsetzen der SchneidePic 5
 

There are 3 main criteria for optimum use of an adze:

  1. The correct stroke
  2. Using the blade
  3. Type of bevel
The correct stroke

The adze is swung with the wrist, so this is also the pivot point of the tool. If you draw an arc around the centre of the wrist (marked by an x in the drawings) which runs along the top of the blade, this shows the curve in which the adze is swung (see figure 1 and 4).

The back of the adze that touches this curve is the support surface, similar to a plane. Figure 5 shows how an adze works that does not follow this radius, i.e. does not have a round back. This kind of adze cannot bite through wrist movement alone.

It must also be dragged (as when hoeing beds), which does not allow precise strokes and is not ergonomic. In addition, the adze is immediately driven out of the workpiece again because the elevation on the back acts as a kind of lever.

Figure 3 shows a trough-maker's adze that was made following this principle and works perfectly.

Using the blade

In the drawings, the radius is shown as a red line. Being the radius, this line is almost perpendicular to the back of the adze. So the full surface of the cutting edge meets the workpiece, similar to a plane blade.

In figures 2 and 5, the cutting edge does not fully align with this line. The adze in figure 2 thus penetrates the workpiece first with the sides of the curved blade. This makes it almost impossible to apply the adze with precision because you cannot work out when the tip will touch the workpiece. In figure 3, on the other hand, the tip of the adze touches the workpiece first, which makes it hard to apply the sides precisely.

Type of bevel
  • Outside bevel:

    Outside bevel

    This type of bevel changes the geometry of the adze. Figure 3 shows an exaggerated version of this. Similar to this bent back, the outside bevel also changes the angle of the support surface. Material can only be removed with additional hoeing movements (see above). An advantage of this version is that the blade cannot penetrate the workpiece too easily because the back quickly drives it back out. This bevel type is particularly suitable for rough removal of material. It is also easy to sharpen, similar to an axe.

     
  • Inside bevel:

    Inside bevel

    The more elaborate inside bevel allows precise application of the adze and, if the back is swung correctly, ergonomic use from the wrist. An inside bevel is a must whenever you require highly precise strokes, e.g. in sculpting.

     
  • Combined inside and outside bevel:

    Combined inside and outside bevel

    If the outside bevel is slightly changed by using a very flat bevel, this allows a combination that offers all the advantages of both bevel types: inside bevel for precise application, outside bevel to prevent the adze from catching in the workpiece.

 

All the adzes marked with our Dick logo are designed according to the criteria detailed above. The heads are made by experienced master blacksmiths and are fitted by hand by a wainwright or our own sculpting course instructors. A variety of High Quality Adzes can be found in our Online Shop.