subject: Axe - Disposable Vaginal Speculum - Gifts& Health Care Products Manufacturer [print this page] History History
Roman axe in an ancient Roman relief in Brescia, Italy
A bronze axe from the Chinese Shang Dynasty, 12th to 11th centuries BC
Initially axes were probably not hafted. The first true hafted axes are known from the Mesolithic period (ca. 6000 BC). Axes made from ground stone are known since the Neolithic. Few wooden hafts have been found from this period, but it seems that the axe was normally hafted by wedging. Birch-tar and raw-hide lashings were used to fix the blade.
Sometimes a short section of deer antler (an "antler sleeve") was used, which prevented the splitting of the haft and softened the impact on the stone blade itself, helping absorb the impact of each axe blow and lessening the chances of breaking the handle. The antler was hollowed out at one end to create a socket for the axehead. The antler sheath was then either perforated and a handle inserted into it or set in a hole made in the handle instead.
The distribution of stone axes is an important indication of prehistoric trade. thin sectioning is used to determine the provenance of the stone blades. In Europe, Neolithic 'axe factories', where thousands of ground stone axes were roughed out are known from many places, such as:
Great Langdale, Great Britain (tuff)
Rathlin Island, Ireland (porcellanite)
Krzemionki, Poland (flint)
Plancher-les-Mines, France (pelite)
Val de'Aoste, Italy (omphacite).
Stone axes are still produced and in use today in parts of Irian Jaya, New Guinea. The Mount Hagen area 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 langed axe, then palstaves, and later winged and socketed axes.
The Proto-Indo-European word for "axe" may have been pelek'u- (Greek pelekus , Sanskrit parashu, see also Parashurama), but the word was probably a loan, or a Neolithic wanderwort, ultimately related to Sumerian balag, Akkadian pilaku- .[citation needed]
Symbolism, ritual, and folklore
At least since the late Neolithic, elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes, etc.) had a religious significance 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 (such as at the Somerset Levels in Britain) may have been gifts to the deities.
In Minoan Crete, the double axe (labrys) had a special significance, used by women priests 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 120cm long and wrapped in ornamented birch-bark. The axe blade is 17.4cm 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 execute and were often used as symbols for Fascist Italy under Mussolini.
In folklore, stone axes were sometimes believed to be thunderbolts and were used to guard buildings against lightning, as it was believed (mythically) 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.
A collection of old Australian axes
Basques, Australians and New Zealanders have developed variants of rural sports that perpetuate the traditions of log cutting with axe. The Basque variants, splitting horizontally or vertically disposed logs, are generically called aizkolaritza (from aizkora: axe).
In Yorb mythology, the oshe (double-headed axe) symbolizes 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.
Parts of the axe
A diagram showing the main points on an axe.
The axe has two primary components: the axe head, and the haft.
The axe head is typically bounded by the bit (or blade) at one end, and the poll (or butt) 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
Splitting axe
Felling axe Cuts across the grain of wood, as in the felling of trees. In single or double bit (the bit is the cutting edge of the head) 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 or "hewing" (i.e. the squaring-off of round timbers usually for use in construction). Broad axe bits are chisel-shaped (i.e. one flat and one beveled edge) facilitating more controlled work as the flat cheek passes across the squared timber.
Adze A variation featuring a head perpendicular to that of an axe. Rather than splitting wood side-by-side, it is used to rip a level surface into a horizontal piece of wood.
Hatchet A small, light axe designed for use in one hand specifically while camping or travelling.
Chopper A small hand axe.
Axes as weapons
Mle
Main article: List of Mle weapons
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 armor, due to concentrating more of its weight in the axehead. However, it allows much less precision than a sword does.
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. A similar type of axe is the African nzappa zap. It has traditionally been a favorite of marines since Vietnam.
Spontoon Tomahawk A French trapper and Iroquois collaboration, this was an axe with a knife-like stabbing blade instead of the familiar wedged shape.
Valaka used by Slovak shepherds, it could double as a walking stick.
Ono a Japanese weapon wielded by shei warrior monks.
Pole Arm
Halberd a spearlike weapon with a hooked poll, effective against mounted cavalry.
Pole axe designed to defeat plate armour. Its axe (or hammer) head is much narrower than other axes, which accounts for its penetrating power.
Danish axe A long-handled weapon with a large flat blade, often attributed to the Vikings.
Ranged
Throwing axe Any of a number of ranged weapons designed to strike with a similar splitting action as their Mle counterparts. These are often small in profile and usable with one hand.
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.
Francisca or Frankish axe a short throwing weapon of the European Migration Period, the name of which may have become attached to the Germanic tribe associated with it: the Franks (see France).
Axes for other uses
Firefighter with a fire axe
Climbing axes from circa 1872
Firefighter's axe or fire axe It has a pick-shaped pointed poll (area of the head opposite the cutting edge). It is often decorated in vivid colors to make it easily visible during an emergency. Its primary use is for breaking down doors and windows.
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. In addition to the McCloud (a tool similar to a hoe/rake combination), the pulaski is an indispensable tool used in fighting forest fires, as well as trail-building, brush clearance and similar functions.
Splitting maul A splitting implement that has evolved from the simple 'wedge' design to more complex designs. Some mauls have a conical 'axehead'; compound mauls have swiveling 'sub-wedges', among other types; others have a heavy wedge-shaped head, with a sledgehammer face opposite.
Slater's axe or ax An axe for cutting roofing slate, with a long point on the poll for punching nail holes, and with the blade offset laterally from the handle to protect the worker's hand from flying slate chips.
Climbing axe or ice axe A number of different styles of ice axe are designed for ice climbing and 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.
Hammer axe
The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (October 2008)
Hammer axes (or axe-hammers) typically feature an extended pole, 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 Bronze Ages. Iron axe-hammers are found in Roman military contexts, e.g. Cramond, Edinburgh and South Shields, Tyne and Wear.
Today they are used in many different fields of work, completing all jobs from splitting wood to removing engines from vans. Tungsten is often added for weight as an upgrade, as well as six foot handles for the heavier jobs that require added force and "massive blows" such as cutting automobile frames, slicing brake rotors, rough body work, home construction, home de-construction, etc.
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Axe
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopdia Britannica article Axe.
Sagaris
Fasces
Battle axe people Corded Ware culture
Nzappa zap
Related Forestry Terms:
Chain saw
Felling
Hewing
Limbing
Logging
Log bucking
Splitting maul
Wood splitter
Literature
Neolithic axes
W. Borkowski, Krzemionki mining complex (Warszawa 1995)
P. Ptrequin, La hache de pierre: carrires vosgiennes et changes de lames polies pendant le nolithique (5400 - 2100 av. J.-C.) (exposition muses d'Auxerre Muse d'Art et d'Histoire) (Paris, Ed. Errance, 1995).
R. Bradley/M. Edmonds, Interpreting the axe trade: production and exchange in Neolithic Britain (1993).
P. Ptrequin/A.M. Ptrequin, cologie d'un outil: la hache de pierre en Irian Jaya (Indonsie). CNRS ditions, Mongr. du Centre Rech. Arch. 12 (Paris 1993).
Medieval axes
Schulze, Andr(Hrsg.): Mittelalterliche Kampfesweisen. Band 2: Kriegshammer, Schild und Kolben. - Mainz am Rhein.: Zabern, 2007. - ISBN 3-8053-3736-1
Superstition
H. Bchtold-Stubli, Handwrterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens (Berlin, De Gruyter 1987).
References
Section about types of axes is based on a Quicksilver Wiki article at under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
External links
U.S. Forest Service Ax Manual
vde
Types of tools
Cutting tools
Blade Bolt cutter Broach Ceramic tile cutter Chisel Coping saw Countersink Diamond blade Diamond tool Drill bit Endmill File Fretsaw Froe Glass cutter Grater Hacksaw Hand saw Knife Milling cutter Miter saw Pipecutter Plane Razor Reamer Saw Scalpel Scissors Slasher Surform Switchblade Tap and die Tool bit Utility knife Water jet cutter Wire cutter Wire stripper
