: Now not to get too technical and historical

: I was just reading 1491 by Charles Mann, in which he mentions the
: European straight plow (used for centuries if not thousands of
: years), which just cut a line in the soil, sides sticking to the
: soil, often requiring multiple oxen to pull. At the same time
: the Chinese had a mouldboard plow that turned the earth away
: from the blade. It was more efficient and easier to pull.

: This is like the Chinese mouldboard plow. Either Etienne is as
: strong as he is good looking, or this is one terrific axe/wedge.
: Old school axes I've swung get stuck in the log and I have to ...
: well whatever I wind up doing, eventually works and isn't very
: efficient. (I could build kayaks faster than I could ever make
: the pile in Etienne's shed).

: Anyone know enough about blacksmithing to know if Etienne's nifty
: axe could have been made by an 18th century blacksmith? If it
: could, then it might fit under the category of why the Americas
: never used the wheel, the Euros the wedged plow. I'll bet it
: would be very difficult to make, (too massive, would require a
: more than a forge).

: I'm certainly going to be thinking about it the next time I go
: camping and I'm beating my wedged hatchet out of a 4" wide
: bone dry piece of firewood with my framing hammer.
: Etienne, I salute the efficiency of your axe, but why did you park
: your carrier so far from the work? Showing off your legs?

: Thanks for sharing.

Hi Will,
I'm not a blacksmith but spent enough time hanging around a smithy as a youngster to see what could be done with a lump of iron. That shape of ax head would have been within the ability of an 18th century smith. And likely a 15th century smith if he thought of the idea.
From the shape I could see, the head could be made on a ordinary smith's anvil.

Mike Savage
South West Cork