Wicked Weaponry

Axe

An

axe

is a tool that’s been used for thousands of years to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber and also used as a weapon. It comes in a variety of forms and specialised uses but in general, consists of a head with a handle that’s called a haft.

The stone-age

axe

without a handle was used for about 1.5 million years BP before the modern day axe. Hafted axes, date only from around 6,000 BC. The earliest examples of handled or hafted axes historians could find have heads made of stone with some form of wooden handle attached in a method to suit the available resources of the time. As technologies developed and resources grew, axes eventually could be made from copper, bronze, iron and steel.

The

axe

is a rather simple machine, as it is a type of wedge. It reduces the effort that is normally needed by a wood chopper as it splits the wood into two parts by the pressure concentrated at the blade. The handle also acts as a lever which allows the user to increase the force of the cutting edge. Cutting axes have a shallow wedge angle while splitting axes have a deeper wedge angle. Most axes are double bevelled (symmetrical about the axis of the blade) however, some specialist broadaxes have a single bevel blade instead.

Nowadays, in the modern world,

axe

s tend to have steal heads and wooden handles. However, you can also get ones with plastic of fibreglass handles. Modern axes are specialised by use, size and form. Hafted axes with shorter handles are designed for one handed use, often known as ‘hand axes’, but don’t forget the term ‘hand axe’ also refers to axes without handles. Hatchets are small hafted axes often with a hammer on the back side. It’s an easy to make tool, to the point that an axe has been frequently used in combat situations and it is one of humanity’s oldest weapons.

Examples of Axes
Examples of Axes that are designed to cut or shape wood:

• Broadaxe: Used with the grain of the wood in precision splitting. Most commonly chisel-shaped, giving more controlled work as the flat cheek passes along the square timber.
• Hatchet: A small, light axe designed for one handed use, more often used for camping or travelling.
• Carpenter’s Axe: A small axe that’s slightly larger than a hatchet. Typically used in traditional woodwork, joinery and log-building. Has a pronounced beard and finger notch to allow a ‘choked’ grip for precise control. The poll is designed for use as a hammer too.

Examples of Axes designed as weapons:

• Battle Axe: It is an arm-length weapon borne in one or both hands. Compared to a sword swing, it delivers a more cleaving power against a smaller target area. More effective against armour.
• Dane Axe: A long-handled weapon with a large flat blade, often associated to the Norsemen.
• Head Axe: A type of thin-bladed axe with a distinctive shape. It was specialised for headhunting from the Cordilleran peoples of the Philippines.

Examples of Axes designed as tools:

• Ice Axe / Climbing Axe: Styled for ice climbing and enlarging steps used by climbers.
• Pickaxe: An axe with a large pointed end. Does exist as a double-bladed tool with a pick on one side and axe or adze head on the other. Often used to break harder material, or for mining.
• Pulaski: An axe with a mattock blade built into the rear of the main blade of the axe. It is used to dig through and around roots as well chopping.

 

Despite the popularity of axes and the variety of uses, on site, World of Legends only has four axes, with one yet to be released into the shop as a purchasable item; the diamond pickaxe.

The Blacksmith The Collector

For more detailed sources of information, see the following links:
Shops - The Collector: Adez K’orgaz
Shops - The Blacksmith: Small Axe & Iron Pickaxe
Wikipedia - Axe

~ The Mystic, Hecate