The Tools of Hewing; Axes
From the Quicksilver Metaweb.
A discussion of tools
At it's most basic, this is a Felling Axe, a Broad Axe, Chalk, Chalk line, Spirit Level (Two Foot, minimum length -- No Torpedo levels here), and/or Plumb Bob, Permanent Cribing, or Portable Hewing Horses and Dogs (Manner of "Dogging Down", or afixing the Log to the Cribbing, or Horses), and that's pretty much it.
The Felling Axe
The Felling axe is fairly simple. It's the one axe that most people are familiar with. 
My preferred axe is different that most of those commonly available at the Local Hardware stores across much of the US of A, in that it is a Full Three pounds, and then some, and it's Bit -- that part which supports the Edge, is a good deal fuller than the "New", or, modern styles.
Though a Modern Axe is fairly light, and the bit looks a good deal like a Golf Tee, when viewed on edge -- long and narrow before suddenly swelling up to a respectable thickness -- it will still get the job done. It takes a bit more energy, to use this type of axe, due to it's tendancy to Bite into the wood, rather than to blow off chunks, but in the end it just comes down to learning your tools strengths and drawbacks, and making the most of the one, and the least of the other.
* As a Note The greatest drawback to this type of axe is when practicing the Two-Man style of Scoring. In a nutshell, this style involves juggling -- producing V - shaped Notches down a vertical face of the Log while standing upon the ground, rather than atop the log itself.
This manner of scoring most closely resembles the old time images of two men driving in railroad spikes. Timing is everything, in this style. So, the hazard of the modern Axes is that they tend to get Stuck in the cut, making extreme Near collisions of axes a, Nerve Shatteringly common occurance. Sometimes it even goes beyond Near Collisions.
Many times the changes people note in their abilities are far less attributable to their skills, than to the tools themselves, as well as to the type and condition of the Logs being hewed in the first place.
- As a further note , one which also ties back into the safety aspect, Fatigue plays an enormous role in skill, and in safety. Hewing can be physically taxing in the extreme. In the beginning it will seem the equivalant of running the Boston Marathon after having trained, for two years, on a steady regime of nothing but watching news reels, and eating Big Macs by the fist full (Get used to eating like a shop vac, though, if you end up doing any significant amount of Hewing). Fatigue affects control. Unconditioned Limbs get sluggish and swollen, this is a process which goes downhill VERY fast. If your accuracy is failing rapidly, and nothing in the equation has changed, that is, if both the log and the axe are the same, that the log hasn't suddenly turned into a block of ice, and the edge of the Axe still resembles a clean, shiny crescent, and not the old, battered face of a well - abused saw, then the problem you are facing is one of extreme exhaustion. Get off the log Now . Go take a farmer's break and do something else for a bit. This is a time when most injuries tend to occur, as well as damage to the surface of the Timber itself.
The Broad Axe
Probably the most important tool to speak of next, and one which people have the least familiarity with, is the Broad Axe.
The type of Broad Axe you use really depends on the style of Hewing you do, this can be the "Rough - Hewn" look, which is fairly accurate in it's description; it's rough, and it's what everyone thinks of as "Hewn". It's a Dust catcher, and a clothing ripper, and it takes about as long to produce as you would think from looking at it.
The other Main style is what most folks have come to think of as an Adzed finish. It's a smooth, sometimes Extremely smooth, surface. Generally exhibiting narrow (often 3-4" wide), very shallow, and Linked, "Tracks", they are far to shallow, and to wide, to be called "Grooves", which run, one after the other, up, or down, depending on how you look at it, the finished Timber.
In the 1970's all the way, well, all the way to present day, Many Framers believed thees Timbers were Hewn with Adzes, rather than Broadaxes, even without the value of scoring -- which led to a rather interesting, though extremely painful period in my own Apprenticeship, but, that is a different story, for a different time.
Thanks to a Demonstration Peter McCurdy gave to Jack Sobon, some time ago, involving a sheet of papper, a crayon and several hewn, and adzed surfaces, People began to understand that these effects were not produced, at all, by Adzes, but rather by Axes, sometimes Axes with 12 - 14" Faces, as well.
One of the beautiful characteristics of Timbers surfaced in this manner is that, When struck by the correct light, one gets the impression of gently lapping waves.
It is a pretty style, and peaceful style, and it is the one I practice, almost exclusively. It is also far more Labor Intensive than the "Rough Hewn" style, a style I will now refer to as the "Close Scored" style.
But there are good reasons to be able to use Both methods, as conditions and needs warrant. Also, if you end up Hewing for a living, you will find, oddly enough, that the First style tends to be Far, far more popular with clients than the second.
Well, far more than makes sense, at any rate