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Axe

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Engineering

   Axe
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   Axe

   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 (hafted) 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 spilts the wood into two parts by the pression.

   Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles (typically
   hickory) 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

   Iron age axe head from Gotland
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   Iron age axe head from Gotland
   Godfrey of Bouillon holds a Pollaxe
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   Godfrey of Bouillon holds a Pollaxe
   A collection of old Australian axes
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   A collection of old Australian axes

   Early stone tools like the hand axe were probably not hafted. The first
   true hafted axes are known from the Mesolithic period (ca. 6000 BC),
   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 ( Michelsberg culture, Cortaillod culture) 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 (wooden saws and
   sand) 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. (Modern comparison: 25 cm softwood white
   pine, standing chop, under two minutes with a 3.5 kg competition
   felling axe.)

   From the late Neolithic onwards ( Pfyn-Altheim cultures) flat axes were
   made of copper or copper mixed with Arsenic. Bronze axes are found
   since the early Bronze Age (A2). 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- ( Greek
   pelekus πέλεκυς, Sanskrit parashu, see also Parashurama), but the word
   was probably a loan, or a neolithic wanderwort, ultimately related to
   Sumerian balag, Akkadian pilaku- (see also Labrys).

   Late Neolithic 'axe factories', where thousands of ground stone axes
   were roughed out are known from Great Britain (for example Great
   Langdale in Cumbria), Ireland ( Lambay Island, Porphyry, Rathlin Island
   and Tievebulliagh, porcellanite) Poland ( Krzemionki, flint), France (
   Plancher-les-Mines, Vosges, pelite, Plussulien, Brittany, meta-
   dolerite) and Italy (Val de'Aoste, omphacite. The distribution of stone
   axes is an important indication of prehistoric trade. thin sectioning
   is used to determine the provenance of ground stone axe blades.

   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.

Symbolism, ritual and folklore

   At least since the late Neolithic, elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes,
   etc.) 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
   (such as Somerset Levels in Great Britain) may have been gifts to the
   gods. In Minoan Crete, the double axe (labrys) 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 and
   were often used as symbols for Fascist Italy under Moussilini.

   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.

   Basques and Australians 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).

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 (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
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   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.
       Broad axe bits are chisel-shaped (one flat and one bevelled edge)
       facilitating more controlled work.
     * 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.

Axes as weapons

Melée

   Replicas of battle axes
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   Replicas of battle axes
     * 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.
     * Tomahawk — practically synonymous with the Native American, 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.
     * Valaška — used by Slovak shepherds, it could double as a walking
       stick.
     * Ono — a Japanese weapon wielded by sōhei warrior monks.

Pole Arm

     * Halberd — a spearlike weapon with a hooked poll, effective against
       mounted cavalry.
     * Pole axe — designed to defeat plate armor. 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 thin, wide blade, often
       attributed to the Vikings.
     * Urgrosh — a fictional weapon wielded by the dwarves of Dungeons &
       Dragons lore. The shaft of the axe terminates into a spear, making
       it dual-headed.

Ranged

     * Throwing axe — Any of a number of ranged weapons designed to strike
       with a similar splitting action as their melée counterparts. These
       are often small in profile and useable 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 shaftless throwing weapon, the name
       of which became that of its people and its nation, France.

Axes for other uses

   Firefighter with a fire axe
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   Firefighter with a fire axe
     * Firefighter's Axe/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.
     * 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.
     * 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 swivelling 'sub-wedges', among other
       types; others have a heavy wedge-shaped head, with a sledgehammer
       face opposite.

   Climbing axes from circa 1872
   Climbing axes from circa 1872
     * Climbing/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 left, 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.

Literature

Neolithic axes

     * W. Borkowski, Krzemionki mining complex (Warszawa 1995)
     * P. Pétrequin, 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, 1995).
     * R. Bradley/M. Edmonds, Interpreting the axe trade: production and
       exchange in Neolithic Britain (1993).
     * P. Pétrequin/A.M. Pétrequin, Écologie d'un outil: la hache de
       pierre en Irian Jaya (Indonésie). CNRS Éditions, Mongr. du Centre
       Rech. Arch. 12 (Paris 1993).

Superstition

   H. Bächtold-Stäubli, Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens (Berlin,
   De Gruyter 1987).

Axe Manufacturers

     * Muller-Hammerwerk
     * World of Axes
     * Oxhead
     * Hultafors
     * Snow and Neally
     * Council Tool
     * Ames
     * Peavy Maufacturing
     * Vaughan Manufacturing
     * Country Workshops
     * Gransfors
     * Fiskars

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