Cut Off Hardies

Cut off hardies are actually chisels that are held edge up in the hardy hole of an anvil. They are used to cut stock. You lay the piece of steel to be cut on the edge of the hardy and strike with the hammer from above.

Generally there are 2 types of cut off hardies: hot cut hardies and cold cut hardies. Hot cut hardies are used to cut hot steel. By the same token, cold cut hardies are used to cut cold steel. You can tell the difference between the two by the angle of the cutting blade. If the cutting blade of the hardy is very thin, that is a hot cut hardy. Conversely if the cutting blade has a large angle, that one is intended to cut cold steel. Because the cold steel is so much harder than hot steel the cold cut hardy needs a great deal more support behind the cutting edge.

Hot cut hardies come in 2 common styles: single bevel (often called a "butcher hardy"), and double bevel. The single bevel cut off hardy is sharpened only on one side resulting in a cutting edge as you would find on a common wood working chisel. The double bevel cut off hardy is sharpened on both sides resulting in a cutting edge as you would find on a knive. The advantage of the single bevel hardy is that the steel cut on such a hardy will have a straight cut on one side of the cut and a beveled cut on the other. When you cut using the double bevel hardy, both sides of the cut are beveled. You will find that some blacksmiths prefer a single bevel cut off hardy, while other smiths prefer the double bevel. (It is a Chevy/Ford kind of thing.) In any case, it is handy to have one of each.

* Single bevel cut off hardy:

• Double bevel cut off hardy:
  

• Anvil Devil

-- AlbinDrzewianowski - 02 Jan 2011