How To Use A Froe?

It is important the blade of the froe should have a dull edge opposed to a sharp edge; the reason being a sharp edge would stick into the wood whereas a dull edge allows the tool to split the wood.

The piece of wood for splitting should be smaller in diameter/width than the length of the blade of the froe being used. This can be checked by lining-up the froe blade against the end of the wood. If the froe blade is shorter or only just a bit longer than the piece of woods diameter/width then the piece of wood is too large for the froe.

Once it has been established the froe and the piece of wood are compatible, the piece of wood for splitting is positioned vertically. The froe blade is pushed firmly into the end/top of the piece of vertically positioned wood, ready to split the wood down its length. The amount of wood that will be split depends on where the blade is positioned. If you wish to split the piece of wood in to two similar halves then the blade would be positioned in the centre of the end/top of the piece of wood.

Once the froe is in position, knock the back of the blade a couple of times (a lump of wood is often the preferred implement) to force the blade into the wood. Once the blade takes hold the piece of wood will start to split down its length. Once the froe has caused a split, the froe is then levered by pulling and pushing the handle. The levering action will cause the split to move further down through the piece of wood.

The froe should slide down as far as it can after each levering action and the process is repeated until the piece of wood is successfully split into two.

If the froe gets stuck and the levering action happens not to be having the desired effect, it can sometimes be helpful to knock in a downwards direction the piece of the blade sticking out.