Æcs
{{otheruses}}

Sēo '''æcs''' is ealdorlic and eallic tōl þe ƿæs gebrȳced þūsendum gēara tō scieppenne, tō clēofenne and snīðenne ƿudu, tō gadrienne [[timber]], sƿā ƿǣpen, and sƿā geƿuna and mǣrsiende tācen. Sēo æcs hæfþ fela andƿlitena and betǣhtena brȳca, ac gemǣnelīce is æcs on æcshēafod mid handlan, oþþe helfe.

Þā ǣrestan bisena æcsa habbaþ stǣnenu hēafodu mid sumum cynne trīeƿenre handlan, þe is gefēged in behēfum ƿege mid gehendum timbrum and brȳcum. Æcsa þe sind cyperena, īsena, stīela, ƿǣron gesegen sƿā þā ƿeorccræftas grēoƿon.

Mǣst gengra æcsa habbaþ stīelenu hēafodu and ƿuduhandlan (oft [[wealhhnututrēow|ƿealhhnututrēoƿ]]), þēah plastisca oþþe strengglæsena handlan ne sind ungemǣne. Genga æcsa sind gesealda æfter brȳce, micelnesse, and andƿlitan. Geclofena æcsa mid sceortum handlum, þe ƿǣron gemacod tō brūcenne mid ānre handa, oft handæcsa gehāten, ac þæt ƿord ''handæcs'' ēac spricþ ymbe æcsa būtan handlum ēac. [[Handæcs]]a ƿillaþ oft bēon smalla mid hamore on hindeman sīdan.

[[Biliþ:Axe cutting wood.jpg|thumb|300px|Clēofung stoc mid æcse]]
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==Stǣr==
[[Image:Axe of iron from Swedish Iron Age, found at Gotland, Sweden.jpg|thumb|Īsenielde æcshēafod of [[Gotland]]e]]
[[Image:Old axes.jpg|thumb|Samnung ealdra Australiscra æcsa]]

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  [[adze]]s.
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 [[saw]]s 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 culture]]s) 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 [[Indo-European]] peoples, ancestors of the later [[Celt]]ic and [[Germanic tribes]]. Axes also were a important part in the Chinese weaponry.

The [[PIE|Proto-Indo-European]] word for "axe" may have been ''pelek'u-'' ([[Greek language|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 language|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-section|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 unhafted 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, [[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]].

[[Image:ETA.jpg|thumb|100px|In the [[ETA]] symbol, the axe symbolizes strength.]]

In the Roman ''[[fasces]]'', the axe symbolized the authority to decapitate.

In folklore, stone axes were sometimes believed to be [[thunderbolt]]s and were used to guard buildings against lightning, as, mythically, lightning never hits the same place twice (now known to not be true). 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]].

==Forms of Axes==
 
===Axes designed to cut or shape wood===
*'''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.
*'''[[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.

===[[Axes as Weapons]]===
*'''[[battle-axe]]'''
*'''Hurlbat'''
*'''Throwing-axe'''
*'''[[Frankish]] axe''' or '''[[francisca]]'''
*'''[[Tomahawk (axe)|Tomahawk]]'''
*'''[[Halberd]]'''

===Axes for other uses===
[[Image:Firefighter with axe.jpg|thumb|Firefighter with a fire-axe]]
*'''Fireman's Axe, Fire Axe-''' Head has a pick-shaped pointed poll (area of the head opposite the cutting edge)
*'''[[Pulaski (tool)|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 fire]]s, as well as trail-building, brush clearance, and similar functions.
*'''[[Maul]]s''', splitting implements that have evolved from the simple 'wedge' design to more complex designs, some of which are mauls with a conical 'axehead' and compound mauls with swivelling 'sub-wedges', among other types; have a heavy wedge-shaped head, with a sledge-hammer face opposite.
*[[Halligan bar]] and flat-head axe can be joined together to form what is known as a married set or set of irons, used for forcible entry to structures.

[[Image:Travellers' Axe - Project Gutenberg eText 14861.jpg|frame|right|Climbing axes from circa 1872]]

*'''Climbing or 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 right, 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.

==Sēo ēac==

*[[bill]] - gūþ-æcs
*[[Labrys]]
*[[Sagaris]]
*[[Francisca]]
*[[Fasces]]
*[[Battle-axe people]]

==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 ==
* [http://www.mueller-hammerwerk.at/ Muller-Hammerwerk]
* [http://www.world-of-axes.com/index_ie.htm World of Axes]
* [http://www.ochsenkopf-werkzeuge.de/e/habero/index.html Oxhead]
* [http://www.hultafors.co.uk/default.asp?LanguageID=2 Hultafors]
* [http://www.snowandnealley.com/ Snow and Neally]
* [http://www.counciltool.com/category.asp?cat=AW Council Tool]
* [http://www.ames.com/ Ames]
* [http://www.peaveymfg.com/PRODUCTS.html Peavy Maufacturing]
* [http://www.vaughanmfg.com/ Vaughan Manufacturing]
* [http://www.countryworkshops.org/toolhewing.html Country Workshops]
* [http://www.gransfors.com/ Gransfors]

== Other Web Resources ==
"An Axe to Grind" Practical axe manual
[http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/99232823/toc.htm]

==Fruman==

* Section about types of axes is based on [[Metaweb]] article at [http://www.metaweb.com/wiki/wiki.phtml?title=A_Glossary_of_Terms_For_Traditional_Timber_Framing_(Timberbee)] under the terms of the [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License|GNU Free Documentation License]].
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[[Flocc:Tōl]]
[[Flocc:Æcsa|*]]
[[Flocc:Stānweorctōl]]
[[Flocc:Ealdtīdcræftlicu cræftþingcynn]]
[[Flocc:Wuduweorces handtōl]]
[[Flocc:Billwǣpen]]
[[Flocc:Oferlibbungcræftas]]
Sēo æcs is ealdorlic and eallic tōl þe ƿæs gebrȳced þūsendum gēara tō scieppenne, tō clēofenne and snīðenne ƿudu, tō gadrienne timber, sƿā ƿǣpen, and sƿā geƿuna and mǣrsiende tācen. Sēo æcs hæfþ fela andƿlitena and betǣhtena brȳca, ac gemǣnelīce is æcs on æcshēafod mid handlan, oþþe helfe.

Þā ǣrestan bisena æcsa habbaþ stǣnenu hēafodu mid sumum cynne trīeƿenre handlan, þe is gefēged in behēfum ƿege mid gehendum timbrum and brȳcum. Æcsa þe sind cyperena, īsena, stīela, ƿǣron gesegen sƿā þā ƿeorccræftas grēoƿon.

Mǣst gengra æcsa habbaþ stīelenu hēafodu and ƿuduhandlan (oft ƿealhhnututrēoƿ), þēah plastisca oþþe strengglæsena handlan ne sind ungemǣne. Genga æcsa sind gesealda æfter brȳce, micelnesse, and andƿlitan. Geclofena æcsa mid sceortum handlum, þe ƿǣron gemacod tō brūcenne mid ānre handa, oft handæcsa gehāten, ac þæt ƿord handæcs ēac spricþ ymbe æcsa būtan handlum ēac. Handæcsa ƿillaþ oft bēon smalla mid hamore on hindeman sīdan.

thumb|300px|Clēofung stoc mid æcse

Flocc:Tōl
*
Flocc:Stānweorctōl
Flocc:Ealdtīdcræftlicu cræftþingcynn
Flocc:Wuduweorces handtōl
Flocc:Billwǣpen
Flocc:Oferlibbungcræftas