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Peter O Zwart
Location: Ontario Canada Joined: 28 Nov 2010
Posts: 69
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 Posted: Wed 26 Oct, 2011 4:46 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | If you are speaking about the last photo then this axe sure seems to have a normal wedge.Crack in the handle supports this idea. And you can see a line that goes across the middle of the shaft end. |
Thank you for pointing that out, I'm not sure how I missed that, it certainly does look like it was wedged with a normal wedge. However, this does not explain the dark spot in the centre, I don't think that such a spot would come from hammering the wedge in and it seems like a strange place to decorate.
| Quote: | | Well, this is a shot in the dark type of guess but do you think the darker section could be heartwood? |
While heartwood is generally darker than the sapwood this seems to be to circular, though this is not necessarily a argument against it.
Thanks for that info about the metal wedges Peter.
Does anyone have more pictures of the end?
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Johan Gemvik
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| Posted: Wed 26 Oct, 2011 5:01 am Post subject: |
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The plot thickens!
Yes, it could certainly be darker heartwood I'm seeing. Aleksei spotting a standard wood wedge in there is something I wanted to see there too but was trying not to jump on myself. It could be one if the fit of it was perfect and now the wood has aged so it's not so noticeable.
Looking at it again, I see the dark section is squared off at the flatter sides of the handle, this could be an indication that the heartwood is in the center of an inserted wedge.
Thanks Peter J,
You don't happen to have any photos on the iron wedges or if you can list the finds I can talk to the museum to get some myself?
"The Dwarf sees farther than the Giant when he has the giant's shoulder to mount on" -Coleridge
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Johan Gemvik
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| Posted: Fri 28 Oct, 2011 6:53 am Post subject: |
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I did an experimental flush profiled wedging of one of the axes. The wedge was a little less wide than the handle top though so it doesn't go all the way at the sides. Next one will go all the way and when I round off the sides it hides it, just like at the top.
The wedge goes 2/3 through the eye and the cut for the wedge is also that depth or just slightly more but still inside the eye only.
This is one possibility of what we're seeing in the Oseberga photos. This turned out to be a very secure and solid wedging as well as attractive looking.
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Owen Bush
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sun 30 Oct, 2011 1:02 am Post subject: |
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In the absence of a specific origional with an obvious conical section suggesting a handle inserted from the top then wood and steel wedges seem the answer .
steel as well as wood wedges are definatly a belt and braces answer and I think they would have been used by some and not by others. It is my experience that they work better than wood alone .
Absence of steel wedges would not mean they were not used on a specific axe , I am so cheap I often re use my wedges when a handle breaks on one of my tools!!
these are good questions to ask.
as an aside I find wedges fascinating , they have many many uses in antiquity across many crafts and are not so prevalent today as they once were.
forging soul into steel .
www.owenbush.co.uk the home of bushfire forge school of smithing .
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This is a standard topic