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60-506: A battle axe (also battle-axe , battle ax , or battle-ax ) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were designed differently to utility axes, with blades more akin to cleavers than to wood axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-handed. Axes designed for warfare ranged in weight from just over 0.5 to 3 kg (1 to 7 lb), and in length from just over 30 cm (1 ft) to upwards of 150 cm (5 ft), as in

120-428: A lever allowing the user to increase the force at the cutting edge—not using the full length of the handle is known as choking the axe. For fine chopping using a side axe this sometimes is a positive effect, but for felling with a double bitted axe it reduces efficiency. Generally, cutting axes have a shallow wedge angle, whereas splitting axes have a deeper angle. Most axes are double bevelled (i.e. symmetrical about

180-468: A weapon , and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol . The axe has many forms and specialised uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle , also called a haft or a helve. 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 only from 6,000 BC. The earliest examples of handled axes have heads of stone with some form of wooden handle attached ( hafted ) in

240-477: A biconical drilled hole and is fastened by wedges of antler and by birch-tar. It belongs to the early Cortaillod culture . The coat of arms of Norway features a lion rampant carrying an axe which represents King Olaf II of Norway , who was honoured as the Eternal King of Norway . In folklore , stone axes were sometimes believed to be thunderbolts and were used to guard buildings against lightning , as it

300-409: 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 splits the wood into two parts by the pressure concentration at the blade. The handle of the axe also acts as

360-408: A single edge or double edge, with a hole for fixing a shaft. The haft is often tied with a leather sheet to provide a good grip. The cutting edge is invariably broad and the length of the haft could be about three to four feet. The parashu is often depicted in religious art as one of the weapons of Hindu deities such as Shiva and Durga . The sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu , Parashurama , is named after

420-622: A single hand. The battle axe is one of the most common type of weapons found in Vietnamese ancient cultures, particularly the Dong Son culture . [REDACTED] Media related to Battle axes at Wikimedia Commons Axe (tool) An axe ( / æ k s / ; sometimes spelled ax in American English ; see spelling differences ) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape , split , and cut wood , to harvest timber , as

480-454: A special significance, used by priestesses 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 120 cm (47 in) long and wrapped in ornamented birch-bark . The axe blade is 17.4 cm (6.9 in) long and made of antigorite , mined in the Gotthard -area. The haft goes through

540-458: A wide variety of tough rocks such as picrite and other igneous or metamorphic rocks, and were widespread in the Neolithic period. Many axe heads found were probably used primarily as mauls to split wood beams, and as sledgehammers for construction purposes (such hammering stakes into the ground, for example). Narrow axe heads made of cast metals were subsequently manufactured by artisans in

600-545: Is one of humanity's oldest melee weapons. Hand axes , of stone , and used without handles (hafts) were the first axes. They had knapped (chipped) cutting edges of flint or other stone. Early examples of hand axes date back to 1.6 mya in the later Oldowan, in Southern Ethiopia around 1.4 mya, and in 1.2 mya deposits in Olduvai Gorge . Stone axes made with ground cutting edges were first developed sometime in

660-549: 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. The Hurrian and Hittite weather god Teshub is depicted on a bas-relief at Ivriz wielding a thunderbolt and an axe. The Arkalochori Axe is a bronze, Minoan, axe from the second millennium BC thought to be used for religious purposes. Inscriptions on this axe have been compared with other ancient writing systems. The axe has two primary components:

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720-592: Is the traditional battle axe of Persia . It bears one or two crescent-shaped blades. The long form of the tabar was about seven feet long, while a shorter version was about three feet long. What made the Persian axe unique is the very thin handle, which is very light and always metallic . The tabar became one of the main weapons throughout the Middle East, and was always carried at a soldier's waist not only in Persia but Egypt, and

780-440: Is traditionally 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

840-528: The English Civil War —is pictured carrying a battle axe, and this was not merely a decorative symbol of authority: the "short pole-axe" was adopted by Royalist cavalry officers to penetrate Roundhead troopers' helmets and cuirasses in close-quarters fighting, and it was also used by their opponents: Sir Bevil Grenville was slain by a Parliamentarian pole-axe at the Battle of Lansdowne , and Sir Richard Bulstrode

900-597: The Mesolithic period. Technological development continued in the Neolithic period with the much wider usage of hard stones in addition to flint and chert and the widespread use of polishing to improve axe properties. The axes proved critical in wood working and became cult objects (for example, the entry for the Battle-axe people of Scandinavia, treated their axes as high-status cultural objects). Such stone axes were made from

960-644: The Middle East and then Europe during the Copper Age and the Bronze Age . The earliest specimens were socket-less. More specifically, bronze battle-axe heads are attested in the archaeological record from ancient China and the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt . Some of them were suited for practical use as infantry weapons while others were clearly intended to be brandished as symbols of status and authority, judging by

1020-820: The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) knows as the Outlaws of the Marsh (or the Water Margin - Shui Hu Zhuan 水浒传 ) features a character known as Li Kui, the Black Whirlwind who wields two axes and fights naked . In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, axes retained their use in the army. In the Qing dynasty new types of axes emerge among the Eight Banners Army with straight edges. The Green Standard Army among

1080-533: The Roman and post-Roman periods were usually made of wrought iron with a carbon steel edge or, as time elapsed across the many centuries of the medieval era, steel. The hardwood handles of military axes came to be reinforced with metal bands called langets, so that an enemy warrior could not cut the shaft. Some later specimens had all-metal handles. Battle axes are particularly associated in Western popular imagination with

1140-485: The Vikings . Certainly, Scandinavian foot soldiers and maritime marauders employed them as a stock weapon during their heyday, which extended from the beginning of the 8th century to the end of the 11th century. They produced several varieties, including specialized throwing axes (see francisca ) and "bearded" axes or "skeggox" (so named for their trailing lower blade edge which increased cleaving power and could be used to catch

1200-448: The bed would assure male offspring . 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 Yorùbá mythology , the oshe (double-headed axe) symbolises Shango , Orisha (god) of thunder and lightning. It

1260-420: The estoc . A sharp, sometimes curved pick was often fitted to the rear of the battle axe's blade to provide the user with a secondary weapon of penetration. A stabbing spike could be added, too, as a finial. Similarly, the war hammer evolved in late-medieval times with fluted or spiked heads, which would help a strike to "bite" into the armour and deliver its energy through to the wearer, rather than glance off

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1320-542: The francisca for an example). Axes were often cheaper than swords and considerably more available. Battle axes generally weigh far less than modern splitting axes, especially mauls , because they were designed to cut legs and arms rather than wood; consequently, slightly narrow slicing blades are the norm. This facilitates deep, devastating wounds. Moreover, a lighter weapon is much quicker to bring to bear in combat and manipulate for repeated strikes against an adversary. The crescent-shaped heads of European battle axes of

1380-413: The halberd and the pollaxe were variants of the basic battle-axe form. Steel plate-armor covering almost all of a knight's body, and incorporating features specifically designed to defeat axe and sword blades, become more common in the late 14th and early 15th century. Its development led to a generation of hafted weapons with points that concentrated impact, either to penetrate steel plate or to damage

1440-586: The knob . Hammer axes (or axe-hammers) typically feature an extended poll, 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 . Related forestry terms Neolithic axes Medieval axes Modern axes Superstition Epsilon axe The axe head

1500-440: The pike or halberd and yet effective against mounted enemies, was a popular choice. Many such weapons were ornately decorated, and yet their functionality shows in the way that the axe head was mounted tilting upwards slightly, with a significant forward curve in the shaft, with the intent of making them more effective against armoured opponents by concentrating force onto a narrower spot. During Napoleonic times , and later on in

1560-536: The 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. King Stephen of England famously used a ' Dane axe ' at the Battle of Lincoln 1141 . One account says that he used it after his sword broke. Another says he used his sword only after his axe broke. Richard the Lionheart was often recorded in Victorian times wielding a large war axe, though references are sometimes wildly exaggerated as befitted a national hero: "Long and long after he

1620-544: The 19th century, farriers in army service carried long and heavy axes as part of their kit. Although these could be used in an emergency for fighting, their primary use was logistical: the branded hooves of deceased military horses needed to be removed in order to prove that they had indeed died (and had not been stolen). Napoleon's Pioneer Corps also carried axes that were used for clearing vegetation—a practice employed by similar units in other armies. The tabarzin ( Persian : تبرزین , lit. "saddle axe" or "saddle hatchet")

1680-639: The Arab world from the time of the Crusades. Mamluk bodyguards were known as tabardiyya after the weapon. The tabarzin is sometimes carried as a symbolic weapon by wandering dervishes (Muslim ascetic worshippers). Different types of battleaxes may be found in ancient China. In Chinese mythology, Xingtian ( 刑天 ), a deity, uses a battle axe against other gods. The qi ( 鏚 ) and yue ( 鉞 ) are heavy axes. They were common in Zhou dynasty but fell out of favor with users due to

1740-605: The Eight Banners used double axes weighing 0.54 kg (1.2 lb) each, with a length of 50 cm (20 in). In modern Chinese wushu and Chinese opera there are many depictions of the axe. Many of these axes look thick and heavy, however, the axe heads are hollow. The battle axe of ancient India was known as a parashu (or farasa in some dialects). Made from iron, bamboo, wood, or wootz steel, it usually measures 90–150 cm (3.0–4.9 ft) though some are as long as 210 cm (7 ft). A typical parashu could have

1800-626: The Iberian peninsula also used battle axes. Battle axes were very common in Europe in the Migration Period and the subsequent Viking Age , and they famously figure on the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry , which depicts Norman mounted knights pitted against Anglo-Saxon infantrymen. They continued to be employed throughout the rest of the Middle Ages, with significant combatants being noted axe wielders in

1860-505: The US and ash in Europe and Asia, although plastic or fibreglass handles are also common. Modern axes are specialised 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 (the poll). As easy-to-make weapons, axes have frequently been used in combat, and

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1920-591: The Yue was also a symbol of power, the bigger the Yue, the greater the power. There are a few rare examples of Yue with a round blade and a hole in the middle. The Chinese Fu appeared in the Stone Age as a tool. In the Shang dynasty ( c.  1600 – c.  1060 BCE ) the Fu began to be made from bronze, and began to be used as a weapon. However, the prominence of the Fu waned on

1980-520: The armor's surface. Strikes from these armour penetrating picks were not always fatal. There are many accounts of plate armored knights being struck with said weapons and while the armour was damaged, the individual underneath survived and in some cases completely unharmed. It eventually became common for these various kinds of impact weapons to be made entirely from metal, thus doing away with reinforced wooden shafts. A useful visual guide to high-medieval battle axes, contemporary with their employment, are

2040-421: 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

2100-529: The axe was normally hafted by wedging . Birch-tar and rawhide lashings were used to fix the blade. 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: Metal axes are still produced and in use today in parts of Papua , Indonesia . The Mount Hagen area of Papua New Guinea

2160-462: The axis of the blade), but some specialist broadaxes have a single bevel blade, and usually an offset handle that allows them to be used for finishing work without putting the user's knuckles at risk of injury. Less common today, they were once an integral part of a joiner and carpenter's tool kit, not just a tool for use in forestry. A tool of similar origin is the billhook . Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles, typically hickory in

2220-970: The battlefield as the Zhou dynasty came to power. In the Warring States era iron axes started to appear. Up until the Han and Jin dynasty, after having lost its importance on the battle-field, the Fu once again appeared as the cavalry was used more often. In the Sui and Tang dynasties there is evidence of the subdivision of the Fu. During the Song dynasty axes were popularized and many types of axes began to exist. The types include Phoenix Head Axes ( Feng Tou Fu 凤头斧 ), Invincible Axe ( Wu Di Fu 无敌斧 ), Opening Mountain Axe ( Kai Shan Fu 开山斧 ), Emei Axe ( E Mei Fu 峨眉斧 ) and Chisel Head Axes ( Cuo Tou Fu 锉头斧 ). A well known novel from

2280-505: The case of the Danish axe or the sparth axe . Cleaving weapons longer than 150 cm (5 ft) would arguably fall into the category of polearms . Through the course of human history, commonplace objects have been pressed into service as weapons . Axes, by virtue of their ubiquity, are no exception. Besides axes designed for combat, there were many battle axes that doubled as tools. Axes could be modified into deadly projectiles as well (see

2340-477: The edge of an opponent's shield and pull it down, leaving the shield-bearer vulnerable to a follow-up blow). Viking axes may have been wielded with one hand or two, depending on the length of the plain wooden haft. See Viking Age arms and armor . Stone hand axes were in use in the Paleolithic period for hundreds of thousands of years. The first hafted stone axes appear to have been produced about 6000 BCE during

2400-435: The grooves of the heft. Then they would be lashed down to ensure a sturdy fit. The epsilon axe is somewhat more limited than the bardiche axe in that while sharing the same basic design it lacks a point that extends beyond the reach of the haft. This makes it unable to be used as a thrusting weapon, instead only relying on the power of the swing from the combatant. The edge of blade has taken on many different types of shape but

2460-403: The head by wedging. 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 is 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 to the short grip , just before the end of the haft, which is known as

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2520-403: 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 , sometimes called the handle or the helve ,

2580-617: The heavy infantry of ancient Greece , especially when confronted with thickly-armored opponents. The sagaris —described as either single bitted or double bitted—became associated by the Greeks with the mythological Amazons , though these were generally ceremonial axes rather than practical implements. The Barbarian tribes that the Romans encountered north of the Alps did include iron war axes in their armories, alongside swords and spears. The Cantabri from

2640-428: The joints of articulated plate. Increasingly daggers called misericords were carried which enabled a sharp point to be thrust though gaps in armour if an opponent was disabled or being grappled with. Swords styles became more diverse – from the two-handed zweihänders to more narrow thrusting instruments with sharply pointed tips, capable of penetrating any "chinks in the armour" of a fully encased opponent: for example,

2700-460: The lack of mobility. The eventually became used only for ceremonial purposes and such battleaxes made of bronze and jade have been found. The dagger axe (ge) is another form used in ancient times. Chinese battleaxes can be divided in three subgroups: Fu ( 斧 ), Yue ( 钺 ) and Ge ( 戈 ). The distinction between a Yue and a Fu is that a Yue is, as a general rule, broader than a Fu. In the Shang dynasty

2760-512: 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

2820-606: The late Pleistocene in Australia , where grind-edge axe fragments from sites in Arnhem Land date back at least 44,000 years; grind-edge axes were later present in Japan some time around 38,000 BP, and are known from several Upper Palaeolithic sites on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu . Hafted axes are first known from the Mesolithic period ( c.  6000 BC ). Few wooden hafts have been found from this period, but it seems that

2880-527: The proto-pollaxe - is not recorded. Most medieval European battle axes had a socketed head (meaning that the thicker, butt-end of the blade contained an opening into which a wooden haft was inserted), and some included langets—long strips of metal affixed to the faces of the haft to prevent it from being damaged during combat. Occasionally the cheeks of the axehead bore engraved, etched, punched, or inlaid decorative patterns. Late-period battle axes tended to be of all-metal construction. Such medieval polearms as

2940-507: The quality of their decoration. The epsilon axe was widely used during the Bronze Age by irregular infantry unable to afford better weapons. Its use was limited to Europe and the Middle East. In the eastern Mediterranean Basin during the Iron Age , the double-bladed labrys axe was prevalent, and a hafted, single-bitted axe made of bronze or later iron was sometimes used as a weapon of war by

3000-417: The rise of professional and mercenary armies in the 14th century. King John II is recorded as using one at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 and Sir James Douglas at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388. Bretons were apparently noted axe users, with noted mercenaries Bertrand du Guesclin and Olivier de Clisson both wielding axes in battle. In these instances the type of battle axe - whether a Danish axe , or

3060-521: The scenes of warfare depicted in the Maciejowski Bible (Morgan Bible) of c. 1250. Battle axes also came to figure as heraldic devices on the coats of arms of several English and mainland European families. Battle axes were eventually phased out at the end of the 16th century as military tactics began to revolve increasingly around the use of gunpowder . However, as late as the 1640s, Prince Rupert —a Royalist general and cavalry commander during

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3120-424: The start of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Given that Bruce was wielding the axe on horseback, it is likely that it was a one handed horseman's axe. They enjoyed a sustained revival among heavily armored equestrian combatants in the 15th century. In the 14th century, the use of axes is increasingly noted by Froissart in his Chronicle, which records the engagements between the kingdoms of France and England and

3180-722: The weapon. Parashu are still used as domestic tools in Indian households, particularly in the villages, as well as being carried by certain sects of eremitic sadhu . The panabas (also known as nawi among some ethnic groups) is a traditional battle axe favored by the Moro and Lumad tribes of Mindanao , Philippines . It was also used as an agricultural or chopping tool. It ranges in size from 60 to 120 cm (2 to 4 ft) and usually 85 cm (33 in) long and can be held with one or two hands. Hilts were often wrapped in rattan bindings or had metal collars. Due to its clean cutting capabilities it

3240-550: Was also sometimes used as an execution weapon. It is said that the Moro warriors wielding panabas would follow the main group of warriors up front and would immediately charge in on any American survivors of the first wave of attack during the Philippine–American War . Among the various Cordilleran peoples of the northern Philippines, another type of traditional battle axe, the head axe , was favored for headhunting raids. It

3300-465: 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 "flanged axe", then palstaves , and later winged and socketed axes. At least since

3360-451: 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

3420-481: Was made out of either bronze or copper and it was then fitted on to the haft using tangs . The structure of the weapon made its ability to penetrate armour very weak so it would mainly be used against weakly armoured opponents. Like the bardiche , the head of the axe is usually affixed to the haft near the middle or bottom, however in almost all versions of the epsilon axe the blade is attached at three different points: top, middle, bottom. These tangs would be wedged into

3480-472: Was quiet in his grave, his terrible battle-axe, with twenty English pounds of English steel in its mighty head..." – A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens . Richard is, however, recorded as using a Danish Axe at the relief of Jaffa . Geoffrey of Lusignan is another famous crusader associated with the axe. Robert the Bruce , King of Scotland, used an axe to defeat Henry de Bohun in single combat at

3540-521: Was specialized for beheading enemy combatants but was also used as an agricultural tool. They were banned, along with headhunting practices, during the American colonial period of the Philippines in the early 20th century. The keteriya was a type of battle axe that was used in ancient Sri Lanka. A keteriya consisted of a single edge and a short handle made of wood. This would allow the user to wield it with

3600-441: Was wounded by one at the Battle of Edgehill . In Scandinavia, however, the battle axe continued in use alongside the halberd, crossbow and pole-axe until the start of the 18th century. The nature of Norwegian terrain in particular made pike and shot tactics impracticable in many cases. A law instituted in 1604 required all farmers to own weaponry to serve in the militia. The Norwegian peasant militia battle axe, much more wieldy than

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