Just another comment on this thread:

I have just noticed an old cut of loggers working out in California in 1880, they were making railroad ties by hand , what was very interesting to me was the one lad was flattening the sides of the split squares with a broadaxe, and he was working with the rough split squares resting on bed pieces, just above the ground level. He was hewing left handed standing at the side of the piece he was working on.
The broadaxe appears to be about 12" wide on the cutting edge, and has an offset handle. He seemed to be doing a finishing pass with no scoring, the shaving just coming off nicely as he worked and when the picture was taken.
I hope this is interesting to those on this thread.
NH