Asymmetric wrapped eye

[Donal Harris]

I’ve read lots of posts online, but all seem to assume the reader knows what they mean by “asymmetric”. I know what a wrapped eye is and I know the meaning of asymmetric. I just don’t know what asymmetric is in regards to a wrapped eye. What would a symmetric wrapped eye be?

Likely a silly question. 

[George N. M.]

Not a silly question, very few are.  I understand an symmetric eye as being one where the plane of the blade bisects the eye exactly.  When looking down from the top it looks like a circle (the eye) on top of a line (the line of the blade).  Anything that does not do this is an asymmetric eye.  The commonest version would be an eye that is just rolled up from the blade so that the O of the eye is on the side of the blade.  Hinges can be made this way and I believe that splitting froes can be made this way.  Any striking tool, like an axe, needs to be symmetrical.  Otherwise, the tool will twist in the hand.  For a struck tool like a froe it doesn't matter.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Chenier]

An eye bolt is a good example of a symmetric wrapped eye.

[Ed Steinkirchner]

As I've always understood it, an asymmetric wrapped eye is where the starting bar is bent with just enough material to make the eye and weld to the body. Whereas a symmetric eye is bent in the middle more or less and welded like we'd normally do for something like a tomahawk.

I remember a while back someone here doing quite a few axes of the assymetrical welded type, as well as welded langettes  and all those tricky welds

I'd have to go digging for the posts

[ThomasPowers]

For a hewing axe you want the entire blade Flat, "planer" on one side vs a felling axe where you would like the eye bisected by the plane of the blade.

[Donal Harris]

These are just hinges, but if it were an axe, the left one is asymmetric as it is and would be symmetric if moved over to be inline with the blade?

[George N. M.]

Yes, exactly.

[Donal Harris]

Thanks. Reading about them has almost been like reading a journal article where the authors are using a lot of jargon and acronyms which they assume the reader is already familiar with.