Also called a frow, shake axe or paling knife, a froe is a tool for cleaving wood by splitting it along the grain, L-shaped, worked by hammering one edge of its blade into the end of a piece of wood in the direction of the grain and then twisting the blade by rotating its haft, or handle. The haft acts as a lever that multiplies the force on the blade, letting wood be torn apart with comparatively little force at the handle, and twisting the haft one way or the other guides the direction the split follows.
Facts
Open Questions
Introduced When (Circa)Not established by the cited source.
Froe (Wikipedia) describes the tools construction, splitting technique, froe club, and a possible Old English root for its name (fro, away, as in to and fro) but gives no date or era for when the froe was first introduced; checked fresh 2026-09-17 against the raw article extract, no other live citation on this entity names a date either. Disputed
OriginThe word froe may derive from the Old English word fro, meaning away, matching the direction the tool is hammered to split wood, as in the phrase to and fro; froes are considered safer than hatchets or splitting mauls because the blade is not swung. 1 Wikipedia describes this as one possibility for the word origin, not a settled etymology. Connections
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Source Froe (Wikipedia)
Used In
Froe is used in Woodworking.
Sources
1. Froe (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationOverview section, sentence 2
One possibility of its roots can be found in the Old English word fro, which meant "away"
- Open Questions: When was the froe introduced as a tool?
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
When was the froe introduced as a tool?
The standard reference consulted for this entity discusses only the possible Old English etymology of the name but gives no date or era for when the froe itself came into use.
What would resolve this A history-of-technology or archaeology source naming when L-shaped froe-style cleaving tools first appear in the record, or their approximate century of origin.
History of technologyFroe (Wikipedia)
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