Let's See Your FROES!

[bczygan]

I want one.

I feel the need to split some wood.

Anyone know where to look for a good user?

Show us a photo of yours and tell us where and how you got it.

 

[KEH]

Woodcraft Supply might have them. I've never had one but have given thought to forging one from a truck spring.

Their main use was for splitting wood shingles, from white oak in this area. Boards were made using them also.

KEH

 

[RivennHewn]

Oh, I do love a good froe.

Usually a good selection on Ebay under Collectibles>Tools, Hardware & Locks>Tools>Carpentry, Woodworking

 

[venturesomerite]

I give it 5 posts before you see an afro

 

[KRB52]

I give it 5 posts before you see an afro

I was wondering if someone was going to throw in a "to".

 

[Criss]

Buckwheat (animated if .gif's work on here)

 

[jakemac]

Unfortunately, my Froe is buried in a storage unit with my draw knife.

 

[Ben Buck]

Here I go again, had to look up what a froe is or what!

I've got to get out more or sumpin'

 

[Criss]

Me too, unfortunately spellchecker in Google changed it and I ended up with a picture of Buckwheat from the little rascals. (Shrug)

Here I go again, had to look up what a froe is or what!

I've got to get out more or sumpin'

 

[rancherbill]

Me too, unfortunately spellchecker in Google changed it and I ended up with a picture of Buckwheat from the little rascals. (Shrug)

The title is the plural, look for the singular.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=FROE&oq=FROE&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i61&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

 

[whyNick?]

Lehman's sells them:

https://www.lehmans.com/p-686-lehmans-own-old-fashioned-froe.aspx

I almost bought one last weekend but ended up getting a hacking knife instead:

https://www.lehmans.com/p-1174-multi-purpose-power-knife.aspx

It works good for splitting kindling but is a bit short for other froe tasks such as shakes.

Froe is a funny word if you say it 10 times fast by the way.

 

[JIMBETHYNAME2]

Lee valley tools has them

 

[2oolhound]

Froe is a funny word if you say it 10 times fast by the way.

How fast can you froe?

 

[whyNick?]

How fast can you froe?

I know there's a joke in there somewhere but it's too late and I can't think of anything.

I've been looking for a froe recently. My 5 year old son desperately wants to learn to use a hatchet but his mother is opposed to him lopping off his fingers at such a young age and I guess I see her point. I figured that with some supervision he could split kindling with a froe and a mallet but I have yet to find one at the right price. Lehman's has been sold out of them for a while so I picked up the hacking knife and actually it looks like it will work pretty well for my purposes. I'd still like to find a froe though.

 

[depatty]

My dad made this one from an old car spring 30+ years ago. I turned the cedar handle a few years back and put it in. Reground the edge to a V rather than the chisel edge he had on it as the chisel edge didn't follow the split. Still need to take the handle out and weld the eye up but it works when I need to split something so haven't gotten around to it yet.

Blade is about 16 inches long and 1 5/8 inches wide. I don't think I have split over about 12 inch diameter log rounds with it.

View media item 48475
Didn't move the ruler to show the handle length but its about 14 from tip to blade.

View media item 48476
Dave

 

[pendragon1998]

I want one too, so that I can split out my own hammer handle billets.

 

[y'sguy]

Finally a tool on gj I do not need.
Again learning something new though!

 

[2oolhound]

Finally a tool on gj I do not need.
Again learning something new though!

Yet! (one day in the not too distant future you're going to need one of these)

 

[Nor'Easter]

Just a shameless plug but if anyone is looking for new Peavy or Granfors Bruks froes I stock them... Support your local tool store, not the asshats at Woodcraft.

 

[ar2stp48]

A tool I have tried to use once; riving shingles was not an easy skill for me Have four froes; one clearly handmade and one with commercial name stamped on it. Not sure about the other two; haven't looked at them closely

Those saying they want one, there are some on evilbay now; and one starting at $10

 

[Packard V8]

I've owned a froe for maybe forty years and used it twice.

For a froe to work properly, it requires clear, straight-grained first-growth stock. Most of what we get today is knotty third-growth which doesn't split cleanly.

Next question, who's got the maul required to drive the froe?

jack vines

 

[FullRaceMerc]

Any film of one in use? Froezin' sounds like good name for a Disney movie.

 

[2oolhound]

Any film of one in use? Froezin' sounds like good name for a Disney movie.

Here you go:

Here's an old video of the blocks (rounds) being cut off the log and in turn the blocks being split into bolts. The bolts are the squarish chunks that are then split into shakes with the froe as you see in the 1st video.

In the 2nd video around the 12 - 14 minute mark you'll see a young man splitting rounds into bolts even though in that case they will be used as fire wood to power steam powered equipment and not split into shakes.

In the 1st video you see the guy splitting the shakes off the blocks but it was also very common to flip the shake and split it again into 2 thinner shakes. On poor quality wood you can't split a shake twice so it is often re-sawed into 2 shakes. The sawn side won't replell water as well as the split side as the saw cuts through the fibbers allowing rain to soak into the wood. Re-sawn shakes are considered poorer quality to split shakes.