Encyclopedia
The
axe is an ancient and ubiquitous
tool that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood,
harvest timber, as a
weapon and a
ceremonial or
heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve.
The earliest examples of axes have heads of stone with some form of wooden handle attached 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 with the axe being a type of wedge. This reduces the effort needed by the wood chopper.
Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles although
plastic or
fibreglass handles are not uncommon. Modern axes are specialized 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. Hatchets tend to be small hafted axes often with a
hammer on the back side.
History
Early stone tools like the
hand axe were probably not hafted. The first true hafted axes are known from the Mesolithic period , where axes made from antler were used that continued to be utilized in the
Neolithic in some areas. Chopping tools made from
flint were hafted as
adzes.
Axes made from ground stone are known since the Neolithic. They were used to fell
trees and for woodworking. Few wooden hafts have been found, but it seems that the axe was normally hafted by wedging. Birch-tar and raw-hide lashings were used to fix the blade. Since the late Neolithic very small axe blades of a rectangular shape became common. They were hafted with an antler sleeve. This prevented both the splitting of the haft and softened the impact on the stone blade itself.
The earlier Neolithic axe blades were made by first knapping and then grinding a stone. By late Neolithic times, sawing became common. This allowed a more efficient use of the raw material. In
Scandinavia, Northern
Germany and
Poland axe blades made from knapped and polished
flint were common.
Stone axes are quite efficient tools; using one, it takes about 10 minutes to fell a
hardwood ash tree of 10 cm diameter, one to two hours for an ash of 30 cm diameter.
From the late Neolithic onwards flat axes were made of
copper or copper mixed with
Arsenic. Bronze axes are found since the early
Bronze Age . The flat axe developed into palstaves, flanged axes and later winged and socketed axes. The so-called "
Battle-axe people" of 3rd millennium BC Europe has been suggested to correspond to early
Proto-Indo-Europeans, ancestors of the later
Celtic and
Germanic tribes. Axes also were an important part in the Chinese weaponry.
The
Proto-Indo-European word for "axe" may have been
pelek'u- , but the word was probably a loan, or a neolithic wanderwort, ultimately related to
Sumerian balag,
Akkadian pilaku- .
Late Neolithic 'axe
factories', where thousands of ground stone axes were roughed out are known from
Great Britain ,
Ireland Poland ,
France and
ItalyStone axes are still produced and in use today in parts of
Irian Jaya,
New Guinea. The
Mount Hagen area was an important production centre.
Symbolism, ritual and folklore
At least since the late Neolithic, elaborate axes had a
religious significance as well and probably indicated the exalted status of their owner. Certain types almost never show traces of wear; deposits of unshafted axe blades from the middle Neolithic may have been gifts to the
gods.
In Minoan Crete, the
double axe had a special meaning. Double axes date back to the Neolithic as well. In 1998, a
double axe, complete with an elaborately embellished haft, has been found at Cham-Eslen, Canton of Zug,
Switzerland. The haft was 120 cm long and wrapped in ornamented birch-bark. The axe blade is 17,4 cm long and made of
antigorite, mined in the Gotthard-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.
In the
Roman fasces, the axe symbolized the authority to
decapitate.
In folklore, stone axes were sometimes believed to be
thunderbolts and were used to guard buildings against
lightning, as it was believed 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 thrown axe could keep off a
hailstorm, 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 of a house would keep off
witches, while an axe under the bed would assure
male offspring.
Parts of the Axe
The axe is comprised of two primary components, the axe
head, and the
haft.
The
Axe Head is typically bounded by the
bit at one end, and the
poll at the other, though some designs feature two bits opposite each other. The top corner of the bit where the cutting edge begins is called the
toe, and the bottom corner is known as the
heel. Either side of the head is called the
cheek, which is sometimes supplemented by
lugs where the head meets the haft, and the hole where the haft is mounted is called the
eye. The part of the bit that descends below the rest of the axe-head is called the beard, and a
bearded axe is an antiquated axe head with an exaggerated beard that can sometimes extend the cutting edge twice the height of the rest of the head.
The
Axe Haft is sometimes called the handle. Traditionally, it was made of a resilient hardwood like hickory or ash, but modern axes often have hafts made of durable synthetic materials. Antique axes and their modern reproductions, like the tomahawk, often had a simple, straight haft with a circular cross-section that wedged onto the axe-head without the aid of wedges or pins. Modern hafts are curved for better grip and to aid in the swinging motion, and are mounted securely to the head. The
shoulder is where the head mounts onto the haft, and this is either a long oval or rectangular cross-section of the haft that's secured to the axe head with small metal or wooden wedges. The
belly of the haft is the longest part, where it bows in gently, and the throat is where it curves sharply down into to the short
grip, just before end of the haft, which is known as the
knob.
Forms of Axes
Axes designed to cut or shape wood
- Felling axe - Cuts across the grain of wood, as in the felling of trees. In single or double bit forms and many different weights, shapes, handle types and cutting geometries to match the characteristics of the material being cut.
- Splitting Axe - Used to split with the grain of the wood. Splitting axe bits are more wedge shaped. This shape causes the axe to rend the fibres of the wood apart, without having to cut through them, especially if the blow is delivered with a twisting action at impact.
- Broad axe - Used with the grain of the wood in precision splitting. Broad axe bits are chisel-shaped facilitating more controlled work.
Axes as weapons
Axes for other uses
- Firefighter's Axe, Fire Axe- Head has a pick-shaped pointed poll .
- Pulaski, an axe with a mattock
[i] ...
blade built into the rear of the main axe blade, used for digging through and around roots as well as chopping. In addition to the
McCloud, the pulaski is an indispensable tool used in fighting
forest fires, as well as trail-building, brush clearance and similar functions.
- Mauls, splitting implements that have evolved from the simple 'wedge' design to more complex designs, some of which are mauls with a conical 'axehead' and compound mauls with swivelling 'sub-wedges', among other types; have a heavy wedge-shaped head, with a sledge-hammer face opposite.
- Climbing or Ice Axe -A number of different styles of ice axe are designed for ice climbing, and, though less used today than in previous times, for rock work, especially in enlarging steps used by climbers.
- In the illustration to the right, from an 1872 "Art of Travel" publication, figure 1 represents a light axe or pick
...
which has the great advantage of lightness and handiness, with a single blade, or
adze, suited to step-cutting and with a small hammer-head at the back which balances the pick, and is useful in inserting pegs into rock and ice. Figure 2 represents a travellers' axe, slightly heavier than the first, and which, at least at the time, was recommended as adapted for mountain work of all kinds.
See also
...
Literature
Neolithic axes
- W. Borkowski, Krzemionki mining complex
- P. Pétrequin, La hache de pierre: carrières vosgiennes et échanges de lames polies pendant le néolithique .
- R. Bradley/M. Edmonds, Interpreting the axe trade: production and exchange in Neolithic Britain .
- P. Pétrequin/A.M. Pétrequin, Écologie d'un outil: la hache de pierre en Irian Jaya . CNRS Éditions, Mongr. du Centre Rech. Arch. 12 .
Superstition
H. Bächtold-Stäubli, Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens .
Axe Manufacturers
Other Web Resources
"An Axe to Grind" Practical axe manual
Sources
- Section about types of axes is based on a Quicksilver Wiki article at under the terms of the .
Notes
