In the days before pit saws and wtaer or steam driven circular and bandsaw's, if you wanted usable wood from smaller coppice poles and other trees then you needed to use a froe. They have a long history, being used traditionally in this country for hundreds of years to make all sorts of products-eg cleft fencing, sheep hurdles, builders laths, tool handles, shingles, pegs etc etc. I find it a great tool to get kinderling done quickly. They are also known as bord axes or frombard's. They are a very fast and efficient way to split (rive) small logs to usable dimensions (larger trees need wedges and maul to open them at least for the first 2 or 4 splits), with the added bonus that the stock obtained is near maximum strength as the splits follow the grain whereas a saw doesnt, it just rips through regardless and creates weak points or cross grain. A riven component might be a tad wavy and bendy BUT it will be a lot stronger than one sawn in the modern way. I got mine after a long wait and search to get a good one.
