Lost Art Press

Jennie’s Hacking Knife

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Jennie’s hacking knife, which fell into my possession.

After Jennie Alexander died in 2018, she left a house full of tools, chairs and bits and pieces from her long life of woodworking, research and writing. For several months, her friends and family sorted through the possessions and distributed them so they would do the most good.

Shortly thereafter, we traveled to Jennie’s Baltimore home for one last time: to shoot step photos for the third and final edition of “Make a Chair From a Tree.” As we were leaving her home on Light Street, Jennie’s daughter Harper implored us to take some of the objects that no one else would.

Otherwise they were going to charity or the resale shop.

Among the few things I took was this hacking knife. Clearly blacksmith-made, it’s a heavy sucker at 1 lb. 4 oz. It’s made from 3/8”-thick steel. Overall the knife is 9-1/2″ long. The blade is 4-1/2″ long and 2-7/16″ tall. The handle is 5” long and 3/4” tall.

I asked Peter Follansbee if he knew anything about the knife, and he sent me to blacksmith Tom Latane. 

“I may have made that one,” Tom replied. “I think I also made one with a more shapely handle. The first one I made (which looks much like that) J. Alexander rejected because it wasn’t heavy enough to split pegs by knocking the cleaver and pegwood against the chopping block once the cleaver was stuck in the wood. The lightness hasn’t been a problem for me since I never made the super long pegs that J. did. I just strike it a couple times with the mallet, and the wood pops apart.”

Here you can see the sharp taper of its blade.

I’ve been using the knife for a few years now and think it’s perfect. I use it to split pegs, of course, but also to make short sticks. It also has a very Jennie-esque quality to it as it is so outwardly plain. In fact, it didn’t even really look like a tool when I first saw it among the clutter in her workshop. 

But now I wouldn’t be without it.

I get occasional questions about the knife after I showed it in use in “The Stick Chair Book.” Plus we get asked: When will Crucible make them for sale? I think the answer is never. This is a tool that is best made by your local blacksmith. So take the dimensions listed above to their shop and see about getting your own Jennie Alexander Hacking Knife. You’ll be glad you did.

— Christopher Schwarz

13 thoughts on “Jennie’s Hacking Knife”

  1. For some reason I always thought it was an antique heavy worn out cleaver. I’ve wanted one for years but haven’t come across one, now I know why. Thanks for for the dimensions.

  2. For some reason I have three or four of these. Came out of chest of tools I bought a couple of years ago. I always thought they were used in leather work but the big one will now be put to use splitting firewood. Thanks for the article.

  5. A few makers sell batoning chisels, a similar but more lightweight version of the hacking knife.

  6. For some reason, it reminds me of a japanese Naga (hacking knife). Rustic, indeed. But rustic love is also love, right?

  7. now i know what to do with the steel plate i have laying around. is the edge hardened?

  9. Christopher, I believe you took the “hacking” term the wrong way. After years of Jennie’s scrap wood bin filling up she secretly decided to use that wood for a barbecued chicken business. Spatchcocked chicken would easily be cut apart with the “hacking cleaver”. The heft of the blade meant she didn’t need it to be super sharp. I bet if you closed your eyes and smelled the blade – mmmm, barbecue!!

  12. I read Jennie first printing of “making a chair” during jury duty over a week. I truly enjoyed the book. While I have never made a chair, it has been one of my favorite books. Go in peace Jennie.

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