Folks talk about (re)building wooden ships as an exercise in 'experimental archeology.' They then say that we no longer have the skills to do this. That is PARTLY true, but a bigger problem is that we no longer have the timber to work with! The Royal Forests in the UK were largely there for the growing of trees for ship building, with hunting as a handy byproduct. Shipwrites would tour the forests with patterns of parts that they needed, think of a "Y" shape, or an "L" or "C" shape formed by a branch. These trees were marked for future reference, and 'trained' to create the shape needed, so that they could be 'harvested' 10 or 20 years later. Not exactly the "Just-In-Time" delivery that we expect today!

These men's skill with their axes is wonderful to watch

I met Daniel Eriksson and Matthias Hallgren at a timber framing conference last fall, where they demonstrated hewing a timber and splitting it into three planks of even thickness. The skill..strength, coordination, and stamina, required to do such work is comparable to what we expect to see in athletics, but rarely do we see such competence in the building trades. World class.

You don't get ax skills like that overnight. I had an old man in his 70's out-chop 20-year-old me back in the 70's. He cut accurately, no wasted motions. I beat my part to death and wore myself out.

The sound of sharp iron shearing into the felled timber, echoes and cracks -producing the most satisfying sound imaginable. The chain saw sounds like death and hell by comparison.

I didn't realise how therapeutic it is to watch skilled people recreating history like this. Absolutely fascinating!

Thank you tremendously for not only taking the time to document this amazing process, but also for taking the time to provide English subtitles.

My grandfather was a master carpenter (among other "masters") and he would take me with him on timber hunts. We went to an old warehouse that was built in 1901 and was going to be demolished. We went and saw the timbers that were used in the construction. Massive oak beam that were taken from old growth forest, like 500 years old or more. The grains were so tight that you could not drive a nail into it with out drilling a pilot hole. They were then coated with pitch (tar) and perfectly preserved. He purchased eight of the best he could find and took them to a saw mill where they were planked into 3" x 16" x 12' lengths. He turned them into clocks, custom cabinetry, tables, whatever. He also made his workshop out of them. The rafters are 4" x 4" solid oak. All connected together with dowels and dovetail joints in such a way that when they expand they just get tighter fits. No mechanical fasteners were used (no screws, nails, etc.) People still come to see and we've had Amish carpenters even compliment his work.

Very impressed by all the quality skills in play here. Keeping the split straight over that length is fantastic and the smooth and accurate finish with the broad axe is something to behold. Wonderful. Well done chaps.

The lack of music, the gentle voice and the chopping is pretty relaxing. Very interesting experiment!

Back up a theory with actual hands-on proof is the ultimate craftsmanship. Well done!

What an honor it is to be able to connect with their ancestors in this way.

Many thanks for subtitling this video in English, much appreciation and greetings from the UK. Amazing tree you found, to think that the originals were two metres longer before the branches started, their trees, and the forests must have towered!

Lovely to see old skills being used and it would be good if the younger generation learnt them as who knows one day they could really be needed you can’t always relay on power tools 👍👍👍👍

That is some beautiful work. Thanks for documenting it.

Very interesting video, thank you for the English subtitles. The results of the process are simple amazing such skill with simple hand tools, proof of concept.

I've heard from the older generation here in Norway that they used to pick the trees they would use for building, then they removed the bark at the foot of the tree and then waited for a year or the next season to cut it down. The reason had something to do with the sap would fill the tree out to the bark and make it last longer or somewhat. I really would like to find more information on this.

There is something very satisfying to see a properly sharpened axe used to cut wood so smoothly. It's as if the craftsman was cutting butter.

I'm not sure why youtube sent me here, but I'm glad it did. Very good, educational, video. Thanks for posting it!

Impressive work. My farm is only about 150 years old, but my house and barns show tool marks of similar techniques used by my German immigrant family and their neighbors in 1800's USA.

Thank you for sharing and demonstrating how this was done. You all have showed me many things I did not know. Glad to have learned them. Cheers!

I cannot imagine why anyone would downvote this. It was a magnificent way to understand what people went through before the advent of chainsaws and wood mills. lol. Amazing and fascinating. Thank you for this.

These men have wonderful skill with the tools. Just imagine how skillful the medieval craftsmen were who used such tools practically their whole lives. How much faster could they work?

I have no clue how this ended up on my recommendations. But it's oddly fascinating.

It is gratifying to note that modern carpenters and tree fellers are capable of using ancient tools and techniques. They would be invaluable in recreating or repairing a centuries old structure.

Extremely well done! Congrats. This rafter is so much flexible and stronger than a sawn one. Thanks a lot for making taping editing uploading and sharing. Best regards, luck and health to all involved.

Y'all are absolute wizards with an axe.

Pretty nice. Medieval carpenters did not have internet, so they actually did the things !

It’s good to see a tree used in such a respectful way and the cutting of it, done so professionally, with minimal wastage.

Actually found this film on an American Facebook page called Axe Junkies. I'm a Canadian that lives in Sweden now so it was for me, very satisfying to see Swedish skills and knowledge so widely appreciated. Great work and film, guys.

Really interesting and nice video. Comment section is a trash fire, but know that your work is very appreciated.

Top film, thanks for sharing

The fact that these buildings are 700 to 800 years old suggests that there is something very worth studying, preserving, perpetuating here. If we can make homes and dwellings last this long, we can have some serious security in our dwellings.

This video shows a team of people going to great lengths to maintain a 800 year old church. The team shows considerable skill in rediscovering histroic building methods while aiming for economy of materials and labour. Very commendable.

I was told there were tree fellers but I counted four!

A pleasure to watch professional craftsmen at work. I envy them the smooth soft lumber, being Australian and used to cutting somewhat less easygoing logs. I shall add several techniques to my skillset which makes today a win in my book.

The täljyxan translation given as broad-axe is essentially correct, and has its roots in the idea of not so much that it's 'broad' in the modern sense but that board or plank in Scandinavian languages was (variants of) "breda" - which can also be translated as "board". Thus, one could say it's a "board-axe" ('plank -forming-axe') as much as a "broad axe" (which might refer to the axe-head), but only the latter is in common usage. Another not incorrect translation of täljyxa is side-axe. But personally I would prefer the term bilyxa for these broad and side-axes, and perhaps use the term carving-axe, forming axe or finishing-axe as a better description of a täljyxa. Another variant I have seen here and there in names for these types of axes are "skeppsyxor" - lit. ship axes, with the obvious need to make board (plank) shapes to form the strakes of a ship - Viking ships were always built by splitting/cleaving logs aproximately in the way shown in the video, as the wood remains stronger and more flexible when the grain is not cut across as with sawing. Roughly speaking, old men of the forest have told me that of ten pines felled in Scandinavian forests, some three would have a clockwise twist in the grain, three anti-clockwise and three rather straight (I have not verified this, it's hearsay). The twists though can be used for forming certain strakes in a ship, making use of the natural form of the wood, and following the twist when splitting as opposed to straight-splitting. Roskilde Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde, Denmark, have carried out a large spectrum of splitting and cleaving experiments on many kinds of woods, using traditional and ancient techniques, and document their methods and work very thoroughly.

That is serious axe control

The first chalk lines used soot. I didn't know this before. I am super glad I do now. Old building techniques fascinate me to no end.

I’ve done enough chopping to know these men are extremely accurate with their axe blows. They must do a lot of this kind of work.

Once again, I am completely mesmerised! But this time, with English subtitles, I know what's going on and it's 3 a.m!!! }:] Tack så mycket!!

. The last long scene of the guys hauling off that rafter was a nice touch. Well done, Sven. .

I met a guy many years ago who produced willow for cricket bats. He cultivated them from seed in his garden until they were about 5 yr old and would ensure no branches formed on the main part that would become the trunk. This was to ensure no knots on the main trunk that was used for the bats and to ensure the maximum amount of wood could be harvested from one tree.

Working wood without power tools is its own reward.

Four men, a couple of axes, some augmenting tools, and good weather, gets this job done in just three days. Impressive.

I watched an old man in Korea cut, flatten, and straighten boards to build a boat using only an axe. Best quality axe work I’ve observed. Years later, I was fortunate enough to visit the Viking Stave Churches in Norway. They used the same techniques to build the churches used to build their ships. Standing next to the Fjords, in Scandinavian weather, is a testament to the work and techniques of those men.

A lot of hard work went into gaining that knowledge. Well done lads.

My father was Scott. In Gaelic he described this method but showed me on a smaller scale. He was born about 1900. Your broad axe was narrow. A wider one would have been faster and less tiring. He Made a mast for sailboat restoration from Spruce. That was 50 years ago.

This is a beautiful video - making fine things with wood using traditional techniques, might I say with phenomenal stamina, skills, thought and patience. Many thanks indeed. I must also add, that as a woodworker with a deep love of trees, it's never easy for me to watch one being felled, preferring not to think about it when I do my own work. This beautiful tree will now have a long life in a new role. :-) Many regards from Sydney, Australia - Dave

Great work with a huge benefit to heritage. Thank you very much for all the hard work cutting, detail conversation, and filming/editing this great outing!

This is a most important project. Largely, meaning has been devolved from life by everything being so easy and at the reach of ready-made products. The part at the end about saving labour, saving material, and creating a strong rafter, were most impressive. Many thanks for the hard work.

Can't wait to see the rafters for the second restoration planted in 2640!

"You save on labor." Wow, way back when, someone saved labor with this method. Now, it is a reminder that we have developed great tools to save even more labor. Has the quality of our new work kept pace with the products of old? Sometimes not. I wish my Swedish were better so I could listen to this and not read subtitles. Thanks for a great piece of work. Looking forward to more of your efforts!

Fantastic axe work and a great look into how things were done during that time. Very precise for using hand axes and wedges. No wonder that spire has lasted over 800 years.

That makes one appreciative of POWER TOOLS! But, I also appreciate the craftsmanship involved. Thanks for posting.

Your humble approach, your refined technique and sound knowledge are a splendid tribute to that majestic tree. The generations of foresters who dedicated their care to its growth would certainly approve your work.

Tack för att ni bevarar den Svenska kulturen och historian 👍🏻

Thank you for producing such a wonderful and informative video, your hard work certainly paid off, Bravo to you and your team.

Wonderful to see the old techniques are being retained, there is a fundamental need for such skills, particularly as we head towards a society that has become increasingly specialised.

Nice video, interesting scorp like tool used for de-barking.

Sjukt häftigt!

A truly magnificent video & display of skill. Thank you for undertaking this experiment, and subsequently sharing this with the world.

Ce documentaire très bien tourné montre très bien les stratégies de refend des bois employés depuis le Néolithique, très précieux pour nous archéologues: bravo à cette équipe qui travaille avec beaucoup d'intelligence et de réflexion, c'👍est parfait!!!

Very impressive gentlemen you shined a light on how our ancestors worked and made things that lasts 100s of years and it was all done by hand with little tools and their brawn and Brains, we should always preserve the knowledge and respect our past for the path it laid for us today. God bless mankind

Absolutely brilliant video! Loved every minute of watching craftsmen replicate ancient skills.. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing your experience and thirst for preserving your cultural heritage.

Beautiful workmanship and understanding how these techniques may have been implemented!!! Thank you so much for posting!

Everything about this video is wonderful. The tree that was cut down for the project, was absolutely perfect. Excellent forest management. It was neat to watch him fell it with an axe.

Amazing work. Thank you for sharing your skills and experience.

Alot of hard work ,so well done

That was a really cool video! I hope you learned more than just what you set out to search for and that it helps you continue to understand the techniques used to be able to repair and preserve those historic buildings. Thanks for sharing this!

Lovely to see good craftsmen at work. Beautiful work!

Magnificent workmanship, great effort to recreate, thank you.

That was really interesting, my thanks to those who worked on the English captions also!

Thank you for producing this documentary!

Thank you so much for taking the time to document this experiment. Very interesting to see some techniques I have come across in different cultures repeated.

Very labor intensive. Building a church must have been a very long process extending over many years.

@örebrolänsmuseum, At 6:47 they talk about some cracks in the wood. Earlier the woodsmen cut of the bottom meter of bark some years before they cut the tree. When they did so, the wood fibers starts to contract and the entire tree twist in the direction of the fibres. That way, when the woodsman later cut the tree down, the cracks would not be severe or damage the construction later. This might have happened in this church as well, when you see the sparr logs at 1:25. The cracks is much more diagonal than what you would find on a regular tree. Some of the stave churches in Norway has some really bad issues because of newer renovation that did not take this into care. For instance, Høyjord Stave Church probably have to change the main stave because it at present date is more than 10cm lower than when they replaced it some years ago, during renovation.

This process speaks to our more ancient craftsman roots. It's wonderful to watch and learn.

Thanks for providing subtitles. Nicely done.

Very nice to see how they did it, not only for Sweden but particular skills were passed around all over Europe so the same way might have happened in England etc.. I've always looked at beams and rafters in medieval places (pubs mainly) to see which were the original ones and which have been brought in to restore. The cuts are the give away of course but now I've more to watch out for on longer beams. Nice video well done gentlemen.

Fantastic axe work fellas. Pardon the pun, but top notch! I may very well be wrong and am in no way trying to take away from your work and the technique but my understanding was that when splitting, they did as was done in this video up until the hammering in of the wedges. I had been told that the wedges were then soaked with water, and the timbermen would work another piece while the wedges absorbed the water and expanded, opening the split further - then a cut, hammer in new (dry of course) wedges into the split, and move on again while the wedges were periodically soaked, and the process was repeated several times as the split got deeper. I think this was a big time saver allowing them to work on a number of splits at a time as wedges in other partially split logs did some of the work for them.

Glad to see some still preserve the real craftsmanship.

That axing motion at 19:09 makes me so anxious about the dudes leg

Great video! Thank you for making and sharing it.

Well done. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks a lot for saving your traditional crafts! Greetings from Saint-Petersburg!

Very interesting, thanks for this. I was really expecting over a thousand snowflake tree huggers whining about the tree being chopped down, but no. I was pleasantly surprised, it is mostly quite civilised. Hoping to see more of this restoration.

The broadaxe work is the most satisfying part to me. The sharper the tool, the easier the work and the better the result. Abraham Lincoln once said something in the sense of "If I had 10 hours to cut down a tree, I'd use 8 hours to sharpen my axe."

At 11:23 the way the log log moves. Nature in action. Bending, instead of breaking. No wonder the pieces from the 1100s are still intact!

What a very pleasant video! I could watch this all night!

Fascinating. Thank you for the video (and subtitles!)

I have a chainsaw Mill and it's magical to see something round turned into boards this is as well a beautiful process thanks for showing it.

What a weird felling cut. Now I've seen everything. Very interesting.

This blew my mind. Thank you for sharing

It's a lot of hard work, but it is such a harmonious process. Wonderful.

To all the posters stating that the 200 year old tree was wasted. I think it was put to a very good use, your education. A noble and lofty goal. What you do not realize, is that most species of pine don't live all that long. Most will rot and hit the ground before 250 years. Very wasteful. And then there's the added benefit of your knowledge on how the rafters in a 700 to 900 year old church steeple was made. See how this works? Education.

really good subtitles too, unusual !

Brilliant video! Such an interesting insight into the possible ways people worked hundreds of years ago. Thanks for posting :)

Such a fine piece of handcrafted lumber! Many construction applications. Very useful.