An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, and cut wood, to harvest timber, and as a weapon. The axe has many forms and specialised uses but generally consists of a head with a handle (also called "haft" or "helve").
Before the modern axe, the Stone Age hand axe without a handle was used from 1.5 million years Before Present. Hafted axes (those with a handle) date only from 6,000 BC. The earliest examples of handled axes have heads of stone with some form of wooden handle attached (hafting) in a method to suit the available materials and use. Axes made of copper, bronze, iron and steel appeared as these technologies developed.
The axe is an example of a simple machine, as it is a type of wedge, or dual inclined plane. This reduces the effort needed by the wood chopper. It splits the wood into two parts by the pressure concentration at the blade. The handle of the axe also acts as a lever allowing the user to increase the force at the cutting edge. Generally, cutting axes, which are used for felling, limbing, and Log bucking, have a shallow (acute) wedge angle, whereas splitting axes have a deeper (more obtuse) angle. Most axes are double bevelled (i.e. symmetrical about the axis of the blade), but some specialist have a single bevel blade.
Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles, although plastic or fibreglass handles are also common. Modern axes are specialised by use, size and form. Hafted axes with short handles designed for use with one hand are often called "hand axes" but the term "hand axe" refers to axes without handles as well. tend to be small hafted axes often with a hammer on the back side (the poll). As an easy-to-make tool, the axe has frequently been used in combat, and is one of humanity's oldest weapons.
History
, of stone, and used without handles (hafts) were the first axes. They had
Knapping (chipped) cutting edges of
Flint axe or other stone. Early examples of hand axes date back to 1.6 mya in the later Oldowan,
[Leakey, M. D. 1972. Olduvai Gorge. Vol 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.] in Southern
Ethiopia around 1.4 mya,
and in 1.2 mya deposits in
Olduvai Gorge.
Stone axes made with
Grind cutting edges were first developed sometime in the late
Pleistocene in Australia, where grind-edge axe fragments from sites in
Arnhem Land date back at least 44,000 years;
grind-edge axes were later present in
Japan some time around 38,000 BP, and are known from several Upper Palaeolithic sites on the islands of
Honshu and
Kyushu.
Hafted axes are first known from the
Mesolithic period (). Few wooden hafts have been found from this period, but it seems that the axe was normally hafted by
Wedge.
Birch-tar and rawhide lashings were used to fix the blade.
The distribution of stone axes is an important indication of prehistoric trade.
Metal axes are still produced and in use today in parts of Papua, Indonesia. The Mount Hagen area of Papua New Guinea was an important production centre.
From the late Neolithic/Chalcolithic onwards, axes were made of copper or copper mixed with arsenic. These axes were flat and hafted much like their stone predecessors. Axes continued to be made in this manner with the introduction of Bronze metallurgy. Eventually the hafting method changed and the flat axe developed into the "flanged axe", then , and later winged and socketed axes.
Symbolism, ritual, and folklore
At least since the late
Neolithic, elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes, etc.) had a
Religion significance and probably indicated the exalted
Social status of their owner. Certain types almost never show traces of
wear; deposits of unshafted axe blades from the middle Neolithic (such as at the
Somerset Levels in Britain) may have been gifts to the
deity.
In Minoan Crete, the double axe (labrys) had a special significance, used by priestesses in religious ceremonies.
In 1998, a labrys, complete with an elaborately embellished haft, was found at Cham-Eslen, Canton of Zug, Switzerland. The haft was long and wrapped in ornamented Birch bark. The axe blade is long and made of antigorite, mined in the Gotthard Pass-area. The haft goes through a biconical drilled hole and is fastened by wedges of antler and by birch-tar. It belongs to the early Cortaillod culture.
The coat of arms of Norway features a lion rampant carrying an axe which represents King Olaf II of Norway, who was honoured as the Eternal King of Norway.
In folklore, stone axes were sometimes believed to be and were used to guard buildings against lightning, as it was believed (Rumor) that lightning never struck the same place twice. This has caused some skewing of axe distributions.
Steel axes were important in superstition as well. A Axe throwing axe could keep off a , sometimes an axe was placed in the crops, with the cutting edge to the skies to protect the harvest against bad weather. An upright axe buried under the sill plate of a house would keep off Witchcraft, while an axe under the bed would assure male offspring.
Basque people, and New Zealanders
In Yoruba religion, the oshe (double-headed axe) symbolises Shango, Orisha (god) of thunder and lightning. It is said to represent swift and balanced justice. Shango altars often contain a carved figure of a woman holding a gift to the god with a double-bladed axe sticking up from her head.
The Hurrian and Hittites weather god Teshub is depicted on a bas-relief at Ivriz wielding a thunderbolt and an axe.
The Arkalochori Axe is a bronze, Minoan, axe from the second millennium BC thought to be used for religious purposes. Inscriptions on this axe have been compared with other ancient writing systems.
Types of axes
Axes designed to cut or shape wood
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Broadaxe: Used with the grain of the wood in precision splitting or "hewing" (i.e. the squaring-off of round timbers usually for use in construction). Broad axe bits are most commonly chisel-shaped (i.e. one flat and one beveled edge) facilitating more controlled work as the flat cheek passes along the squared timber.
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Adze: A variation featuring a head perpendicular to that of an axe. Rather than splitting wood side-by-side, it is used to Rip cut a level surface into a horizontal piece of wood. It can also be used as a pickaxe for breaking up rocks and clay.
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Hatchet: A small, light axe designed for use in one hand specifically while camping or .
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Carpenter's axe: A small axe, usually slightly larger than a hatchet, used in traditional Woodworking, joinery and Log building. It has a pronounced beard and finger notch to allow a "choked" grip for precise control. The poll is designed for use as a hammer.
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Hand axe: A small axe used for intermediate chopping, similar to hatchets.
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Mortising axe: Used for creating mortises, a process which begins by drilling two holes at the ends of the intended mortise. Then the wood between the holes is removed with the mortising axe. Some forms of the tool have one blade, which may be pushed, swung or struck with a mallet. Others, such as twybil, bisaigüe and piochon have two, one of which is used for separating the fibres, and the other for levering out the waste.
[Johan David. "Notes sur trois outils anciens du charpentier : le bondax, la bisaiguë, le piochon" , Revue des archéologues et historiens d'art de Louvain 10. 1977.]
Axes as weapons
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Battle axe: In its most common form, an arm-length weapon borne in one or both hands. Compared to a sword swing, it delivers more cleaving power against a smaller target area, making it more effective against armour, due to concentrating more of its weight in the axehead.
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Dagger-axe (Ji or Ge): A variant of Chinese polearm-like weapon with a divided two-part head, composed of the usual straight blade and a scythe-like blade. The straight blade is used to stab or feint, then the foe's body or head may be cut by pulling the scythe-like horizontal blade backwards. Ge has the horizontal blade but sometimes does not have the straight spear.
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Dane axe: a long-handled weapon with a large flat blade, often attributed to the Norsemen.
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Halberd: a spear-like weapon with a hooked poll, effective against mounted cavalry.
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Head axe: a type of thin-bladed axe with a distinctive shape specialized for headhunting from the Cordilleran peoples of the Philippines.
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Hurlbat: An entirely metal throwing axe sharpened on every auxiliary end to a point or blade, practically guaranteeing some form of damage against its target.
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Ono: a Japanese people weapon wielded by sōhei .
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Panabas: A chopping bladed tool or weapon from the Philippines often described as a cross between a sword and a battle axe.
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Parashu: The parashu () is an Indian battle-axe. It is generally wielded with two hands but could also be used with only one. It is depicted as the primary weapon of Parashurama, the 6th Avatar of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism.
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Poleaxe: designed to defeat plate armour. Its axe (or hammer) head is much narrower than other axes, which accounts for its penetrating power.
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Sagaris: An ancient weapon used by Scythians.
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Shepherd's axe: used by shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains, it could double as a walking stick.
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Throwing axe: A weapon that was thrown and designed to strike with a similar splitting action as its handheld counterparts. These are often small in profile and usable with one hand.
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Tomahawk: used almost exclusively by Native Americans, its blade was originally crafted of stone. Along with the familiar war version, which could be fashioned as a throwing weapon, the pipe tomahawk was a ceremonial and diplomatic tool.
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Yue: A Chinese weapon with very large axe blade, also served as ceremonial weapon.
Axes as tools
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Ice axe or climbing axe: A number of different styles of ice axes are designed for ice climbing and enlarging steps used by climbers.
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Mattock: A dual-purpose axe, combining an adze and axe blade, or sometimes a pick and adze blade.
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Pickaxe: An axe with a large pointed end, rather than a flat blade. Sometimes exists as a double-bladed tool with a pick on one side and an axe or adze head on the other. Often used to break up hard material.
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Pulaski: An axe with a mattock blade built into the rear of the main axe blade, used for digging ('grubbing out') through and around roots as well as chopping.
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Splitting maul: A splitting implement that has evolved from the simple "wedge" design to more complex designs.
Hammer axe
Hammer axes (or axe-hammers) typically feature an extended poll, opposite the blade, shaped and sometimes hardened for use as a
hammer. The name axe-hammer is often applied to a characteristic shape of perforated stone axe used in the
Neolithic and
. Iron axe-hammers are found in Roman military contexts, e.g.
Cramond,
Edinburgh, and
South Shields, Tyne and Wear.
See also
Related forestry terms
Further reading
Neolithic axes
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Borkowski, W. (1995). Krzemionki mining complex. Warsaw.
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Bradley, R.; Edmonds, M. (1993). Interpreting the axe trade: production and exchange in Neolithic Britain.
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Pétrequin, P. (1995). La hache de pierre: carrières vosgiennes et échanges de lames polies pendant le néolithique (5400 – 2100 av. J.-C.). ( exposition musées d'Auxerre Musée d'Art et d'Histoire). Paris: Ed. Errance .
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Pétrequin P.; Pétrequin, A.M. (1993). Écologie d'un outil: la hache de pierre en Irian Jaya (Indonésie). Paris: CNRS Éditions, Mongr. du Centre Rech. Arch. 12 .
Medieval axes
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Schulze, André (editor) (2007). Mittelalterliche Kampfesweisen. Band 2: Kriegshammer, Schild und Kolben. Mainz am Rhein: Zabern. .
Modern axes
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Kauffman, Henry J. (1994). American Axes: A Survey of their Development and their Makers. Elverson, Pennsylvania: Olde Springfield Shoppe. 152 pp. .
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160 pp.
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McLeod, Brett (2020). American Axe: The Tool That Shaped A Continent. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. 192 pp. .
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Reissinger, Gottfried (1959). Die Konstruktionsgrundlagen der Axt. Hamburg: Parey. .
Superstition
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H. Bächtold-Stäubli, H. (1987). Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens. Berlin: De Gruyter .
External links
