The Brick Dressing Axe
A brick dressing axe was used by bricklayers to “dress” bricks by chipping, squaring, and smoothing them to fit cleanly into place. It could also clean and remove old mortar when reusing old brick. They are a single-handed tool, typically with a double-bladed head that resembles a bow-tie.
The blades are fairly square and flat, with a straight edge. The hardened steel cutting edge made it effective for fired clay bricks, both soft (interior wall) and hard (exterior wall).
The axe was mounted on a short, sturdy handle that allowed for controlled strikes, rather than the swinging motion of a felling axe.
The blades are thin compared to similar masonry axes or chisels, as clay bricks are much softer than stone. These axes are only meant for use on brick, not stone – this sometimes gets mistated.
Brick dressing axes were used to “dress” bricks – that is, to trim and refine their shape after firing. This was especially important in an era before mass production, when handmade bricks often varied in size and required adjustments on site. Bricklayers relied on the tool to ensure bricks would sit evenly in courses and fit tightly in arches or corners. The same tool could also be applied to dressing softer stone in construction.
Some models of axe are full-steel construction with a wrap-around handle. They still maintain a very square and “bow tie” shape, just with a different attachment method to a handle.
Use and Decline
These axes were most common in the 18th and 19th centuries, when uniform building materials were less widely available. As industrial brickmaking developed and standardized sizes became the norm, the need for brick dressing axes declined.
Additionally, during the 20th century, a new tool was invented – the Scutch Hammer. Which allowed more precise “dressing” of better-produced bricks and also allowed for blade replacements without replacing the whole tool.
A Unique Australian Brick Axe
The Keesteel brand out of Australia produced a small number of these funky-looking brick dressing axes. Basically, an additional brick-shaping blade was attached to the front of a standard hatchet.
Not many of these were known to be produced. They were likely made as a stopgap as brick dressing axes were becoming obsolete with improved brick quality and standardization.
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