axe

Also known as ax

thumb|Double- and single-bit felling axesFile:An axe labelled-2edit.svg|thumb|upright|A diagram showing the main points on an axe 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 sharpened blade (also called a "bit") attached to a handle (also called "haft" or "helve").

AI overview

An axe is a tool with a sharpened blade attached to a handle that has been used for thousands of years to cut and split wood, harvest timber, and serve as a weapon. It matters because it has been one of humanity's most fundamental and versatile implements across many cultures and time periods.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~15 min read

Encyclopedic overview

11 sections

Contents

History
Symbolism, ritual, and folklore
Types
Axes designed to cut or shape wood
Axes as weapons
Axes for sport
Hammer axe
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Before the modern axe, the stone-age hand axe without a handle was used from 1.5 million years BP. Hafted axes (those with a handle) date from at least 46,000 years BP by Northern Indigenous Australians. The earliest examples of handled 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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “axe” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.