An axe (/æks/; sometimes spelled "ax" in American English) is a tool that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, and cut wood, to harvest timber, and as a weapon. Axes come in many forms and have different uses. Usually, they have a head with a sharp blade (also called a "bit") attached to a handle (also called a "haft" or "helve").

Before modern axes, people used a stone-age hand axe without a handle as far back as 1.5 million years ago. Hafted axes (those with handles) were used by Northern Indigenous Australians at least 46,000 years ago. The earliest handled axes had stone heads attached to wooden handles in ways that matched the materials and tasks available. Axes made of copper, bronze, iron, and steel appeared as these materials became available.

An axe is an example of a simple machine, as it acts like a wedge or two sloping surfaces. This design helps reduce the effort needed to cut wood. The axe splits wood by concentrating pressure at the blade and moving the head through the cut. The handle also works like a lever, helping the user apply more force at the cutting edge. Cutting axes, used for felling trees, limbing branches, and cutting logs, have blades with a narrow wedge angle. Splitting axes have blades with a wider wedge angle. Most axes have blades that are symmetrical on both sides, but some broadaxes have blades that are only angled on one side.

Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles, though plastic or fibreglass handles are also common. Today, axes are designed for specific tasks, sizes, and shapes. Hafted axes with short handles that are used with one hand are often called "hand axes," though the term can also describe axes without handles. Hatchets are small axes with short handles and often have a hammer-like part on the back. Axes are easy to make and use, which is why they have been used in combat for a long time. They are also important in the competitive sport of wood-chopping.

History

Hand axes made of stone and used without handles were the first axes. These tools had cutting edges shaped by chipping flint or other types of stone. Early hand axes are found in Southern Ethiopia from about 1.4 million years ago, in Olduvai Gorge from about 1.2 million years ago, and in other areas from around 1.6 million years ago. Stone axes with ground cutting edges were first made during the late Pleistocene in Australia, with evidence from Arnhem Land dating back at least 44,000 years. Later, similar axes were found in Japan around 38,000 years ago and in Upper Palaeolithic sites on Honshu and Kyushu. Hafted axes, which were attached to handles, first appeared during the Mesolithic period, around 6000 BC. Few wooden handles from this time have survived, but tools were likely attached by wedging the blade into the handle. Birch-tar and rawhide were used to secure the blade to the handle.

The spread of stone axes shows how people traded in ancient times. Scientists use thin slices of stone to determine where the stone came from. In Europe, Neolithic "axe factories" produced thousands of ground stone axes. Examples include:

• Great Langdale, England (tuff)
• Rathlin Island, Ireland (porcellanite)
• Krzemionki, Poland (flint)
• Spiennes, Belgium (flint)
• Plancher-les-Mines, France (pelite)
• Aosta Valley, Italy (omphacite).

Stone axes are still used today in parts of Papua, Indonesia. The Mount Hagen area in Papua New Guinea was an important place for making these tools.

From the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods onward, axes were made of copper or copper mixed with arsenic. These axes were flat and attached to handles like earlier stone axes. When bronze was introduced, axes were still made in this way. Over time, the method of attaching the blade changed, and flat axes evolved into flanged axes, then into palstaves, and later into winged and socketed axes.

Symbolism, ritual, and folklore

Since the late Neolithic period, elaborate axes, such as battle-axes and T-axes, were often used in religious practices and may have shown that their owners held a high or respected position. Some types of axes show little to no signs of use, suggesting they were not tools but possibly offerings to gods. For example, unshafted axe blades found in the middle Neolithic at the Somerset Levels in Britain may have been given as gifts to deities.

In Minoan Crete, the double axe, called a labrys, had special religious importance and was used by priestesses during ceremonies.

In 1998, a labrys with an intricately decorated handle was discovered in Cham-Eslen, Switzerland. The handle was 120 cm (47 inches) long and wrapped in decorated birch bark. The axe blade measured 17.4 cm (6.9 inches) and was made of antigorite, a type of rock mined near the Gotthard area. The handle passed through a hole in the blade and was secured with antler wedges and birch-tar. This axe is from the early Cortaillod culture.

The coat of arms of Norway includes a lion holding an axe, symbolizing King Olaf II of Norway, who was honored as the Eternal King of Norway.

In folklore, stone axes were sometimes thought to be thunderbolts and were placed near buildings to protect them from lightning, based on the belief that lightning would not strike the same place twice. This belief may have influenced where axes were found.

Steel axes also played roles in superstitions. Throwing an axe was believed to prevent hailstorms. Axes were sometimes placed in fields with their edges facing the sky to protect crops from bad weather. An axe buried upright under a house’s sill was thought to keep witches away, while an axe under a bed was believed to ensure a family would have male children.

In some regions, such as among the Basques, Australians, and New Zealanders, sports involving cutting logs with axes have been developed. Basque-style log-cutting, which includes splitting logs horizontally or vertically, is called aizkolaritza (from the word aizkora, meaning axe).

In Yorùbá mythology, the oshe (a double-headed axe) represents Shango, the Orisha (god) of thunder and lightning. It is said to symbolize quick and fair justice. Shango’s altars often include a carved image of a woman holding a gift for the god, with a double-bladed axe rising from her head.

The Hurrian and Hittite weather god Teshub is shown in a bas-relief at Ivriz holding both a thunderbolt and an axe.

The Arkalochori Axe is a bronze Minoan axe from around 2000 BCE, possibly used for religious purposes. Inscriptions on the axe have been compared to other ancient writing systems.

In Mark Masonry, the axe is a symbol of punishment, meant to remind Mark Master Masons to be honest and avoid dishonesty.

Types

• Broadaxe: A tool used to split wood along the grain, making it flat for building. It has a chisel-shaped head for better control.
• Adze: A tool with a head angled differently from an axe. It is used to create flat surfaces on horizontal wood and can also break rocks and clay.
• Hatchet: A small, lightweight axe used with one hand for cutting wood while camping or traveling.
• Carpenter's axe: A slightly larger axe than a hatchet, used in woodworking and building with logs. It has a special grip for control and a head that can also be used as a hammer.
• Hand axe: A small axe used for cutting wood, similar to a hatchet.
• Mortising axe: A tool used to cut holes in wood for joints. It removes wood between two drilled holes. Some versions have one blade, while others have two blades for cutting and removing wood.
• Battle axe: A long weapon held in one or both hands. It is strong for cutting through armor because its weight is focused on the blade.
• Dagger-axe (Ji or Ge): A Chinese weapon with two blades. One blade is used to stab, and the other is used to cut by pulling it backward. Some versions have only one blade.
• Dane axe: A long weapon with a large flat blade, often used by Norse people.
• Halberd: A spear-like weapon with a hooked end, used to fight mounted soldiers.
• Head axe: A thin-bladed axe with a unique shape, used by people in the Philippines for headhunting.
• Hurlbat: A metal throwing axe with sharp points on all sides, designed to damage targets.
• Ono: A Japanese weapon used by warrior monks.
• Panabas: A tool or weapon from the Philippines, resembling a mix of a sword and a battle axe.
• Parashu: An Indian battle-axe used with two hands. It is associated with a Hindu god.
• Poleaxe: A weapon designed to break armor. Its blade is narrow for better penetration.
• Sagaris: An ancient weapon used by Scythians.
• Shepherd's axe: A tool used by shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains, which can also be used as a walking stick.
• Throwing axe: A weapon thrown to hit wooden targets and stay in them for scoring points in competitions. It can be small and used with one hand or larger and used with two hands.
• Tomahawk: A tool used by Native Americans, originally made of stone. It was used for fighting and as a ceremonial object.
• Yue: A large Chinese axe used for fighting and as a ceremonial weapon.

• Ice axe or climbing axe: Tools used for climbing ice and creating steps for climbers.
• Mattock: A tool that combines an axe and adze blade or a pick and adze blade.
• Pickaxe: A tool with a pointed end, used to break hard materials. Some versions have two sides: one with a pick and one with an axe or adze.
• Pulaski: A tool with a mattock blade attached to an axe, used for digging around roots and cutting wood.
• Splitting maul: A tool used to split wood, developed from simple wedge designs.

• Throwing axe: A tool thrown to hit wooden targets and stay in them for scoring points in competitions. It can be small and used with one hand or larger and used with two hands.
• Racing axe: A tool used in wood-chopping competitions like the Stihl Timbersports Series.

Hammer axe

Hammer axes (or axe-hammers) usually have a long part opposite the blade, which is shaped and sometimes made strong for use as a hammer. The term "axe-hammer" is often used to describe a specific type of stone axe with holes, commonly found during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Iron axe-hammers have been discovered in Roman military areas, such as Cramond in Edinburgh and South Shields in Tyne and Wear.