{"id":52644,"date":"2015-12-08T21:15:35","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T03:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=52644"},"modified":"2021-06-02T14:28:03","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T19:28:03","slug":"a-primer-on-the-ax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/leisure\/gear\/a-primer-on-the-ax\/","title":{"rendered":"A Primer on the Ax: History, Types, and Anatomy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Primer<\/a><\/p>\n

If you were going to be stranded somewhere in the wild or were facing an impending apocalypse, and could only outfit yourself with one implement, you would be wise to choose the axe. Part tool, part weapon, it\u2019s no mystery as to why men have felt a primal attraction towards axes for thousands of years. It\u2019s an allure that manifests itself beginning at a young age.<\/p>\n

When I was three years old I remember watching Disney\u2019s Paul Bunyan<\/em> and being completely captivated by the giant lumberjack and his mighty ax that could fell entire forests in one swing. Inspired by this gigantic lumberjack, I immediately grabbed the most ax-like thing in the living room — the fireplace shovel — and headed outside to chop down the most forest-like thing in my backyard — my mom\u2019s newly planted tulips. I rested my elbow on the knob of my mighty fireplace shovel-ax and surveyed my work with satisfaction, just like old Paul Bunyan did in the cartoon. I had done such a good job that the sight even brought my mother to tears. For some reason, though, she gave me a spanking and sent me to my room.<\/p>\n

My love affair with the ax continued throughout my boyhood. When I was a Boy Scout I did whatever I could to get my hands on an ax so I could fell or split wood. Whenever I did service projects that involved cleaning up yards or property, you bet there was an ax in my hand. Today, I love to split wood<\/a> when I get a chance and enjoy bucking logs with my trusty American felling ax.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve certainly enjoyed using axes for most of my life, I\u2019ve never really known much about them except for what I picked up while earning my Totin\u2019 Chip in Boy Scouts. So I decided to learn all I could and put together a series on this quintessential tool and symbol of masculinity. Today we\u2019ll offer an overview on the history of the ax and its construction. Then we\u2019ll cover how to choose an ax for yourself and how to safely and effectively use it to chop wood.<\/p>\n

A Brief History of the Ax<\/h3>\n

\"vintage<\/a><\/p>\n

The ax is one of humanity\u2019s oldest tools, and arguably its greatest and most versatile. Archaeologists estimate that our early ancestors were using simple chipped stone wedges as hand axes over 1.5 million years ago. Around 6,000 BC, Mesolithic humans started fastening their stone wedges to a handle — often made from antler or bone — with rawhide lashings. Adding a lever increased the cutting power of the early ax and turned it into a jack-of-all-trades tool. Our human ancestors used these implements to dig up roots, cut wood, butcher animals, and even kill each other in battles.<\/p>\n

By 4,000 BC, humans were grinding edges on their stones for more efficient cutting. In the late Neolithic era, the first metal ax heads were hewn from copper or copper mixed with arsenic. While these copper heads were flatter than the stone variety, they were still fastened, or hafted, to the handle with birch tar and leather lashings.<\/p>\n

As advances in metallurgy were made, the ax continued to evolve. While axes have always doubled as both weapon and tool, in the Bronze Age, blacksmiths began creating versions especially for war. For example, double-bitted (meaning it has blades on both sides of the head) battle-axes have been found in Crete that date back to 2,000 BC, and the Egyptians wielded a unique battlefield weapon called the Epsilon Ax. One of the more significant and field-expedient changes made to the ax\u2019s design during this time was how the head was hafted to the handle. Artisans and blacksmiths designed a metal ax head that could be inserted snugly into the handle, rather than tied on, thus creating a stronger, more secure weapon.<\/p>\n

While different trades developed different axes for their various needs, and warriors refined their weapons for better lethality, the design of woodcutting axes hit a slump from about medieval times until the late Renaissance. During this period, Europeans had the \u201ctrade ax\u201d that they used for pretty much anything and everything — felling trees, splitting wood, butchering animals, etc. But the trade ax wasn\u2019t very efficient in the woodcutting department. It would take Europeans migrating to North America for the ax to make another leap forward.<\/p>\n

The first European settlers in America needed land for farming. Standing in the way of their crops, however, were dense forests that covered the virgin landscape. The trade ax that settlers had brought with them just wasn\u2019t going to cut it (see what I did there?), so these early pioneers started experimenting with and modifying its head to create a more efficient felling tool. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, different locations in America began producing various types of heads for felling axes. While the designs differed from state to state (at one point in the 19th century there were more than 300 different ax head patterns being sold), what they all had in common was that they were shorter and broader than their European progenitors. This stouter head was much more efficient for felling trees and became characteristic of what came to be known as the American ax — a tool that now serves as the Platonic ideal of axes the world over.<\/p>\n

With this new ax head design, farmers and pioneers were able to clear entire forests in a (relatively) short amount of time. In areas that required substantial tree felling, the double-bitted ax rose in popularity. As noted above, double-bitted battle-axes had been around since 2,000 BC, but it wasn\u2019t until the 19th century in Pennsylvania that the tool was used as a felling device. Having two cutting edges on a single ax head made for much more productive woodsmen. While some kept both edges sharp and began the day cutting with one edge and then flipping to the other once the first dulled, others used the two bits for different purposes. One edge was made sharp for felling, while the other was kept blunt and rounded for limbing.<\/p>\n

Farmers were reluctant to adopt the double-bitted ax, though, primarily out of safety concerns. Because its head had cutting edges on both ends, the chances of injuring oneself or another significantly increased. In many areas, the tool was called a \u201cbackstabber\u201d due to people literally stabbing themselves while carrying it over their shoulder. Consequently, the double-bitted ax largely remained in the realm of the professional lumberjack.<\/p>\n

Axes remained vital tools for loggers and all manner of rural residents alike up through the beginning of the 20th<\/sup> century. It was then that the portable chainsaw was developed, which slowly replaced the trusty ax for most woodcutting jobs. When Dudley Cook published The<\/em> Ax Book<\/em><\/a> in 1999, he could confidently say: \u201cIf you want to be fashionable, buy a chainsaw. They are in.\u201d His argument for the ax had a kind of wistful, quixotic tone, as chainsaws were then seen as status symbols for the suburban set, and axes had largely been forgotten.<\/p>\n

A decade and a half later, things have swung the other way; because of the recent revival in all things \u201cheritage\u201d related, axes are now very much \u201cin.\u201d But they tend to be bought by urban and suburban dwellers more as decorative and conversation pieces than tools. The utilitarian ax still has a place in the modern man\u2019s shed, however, and does in fact offer some advantages over the chainsaw.<\/p>\n

Advantages of the Ax<\/h3>\n

Chainsaws vs. axes isn\u2019t an either\/or question; each tool works best for different tasks, and most folks who do a good amount of woodcutting employ both. But discussing the advantages of axes over chainsaws is an effective way to highlight exactly what an ax is good for and how it can be used.<\/p>\n

When it comes to felling and bucking large trees, the chainsaw will get the job done much faster and with less effort. Cutting with a chainsaw also wastes less wood than chopping with an axe. But for lighter work, like limbing small firewood with a 4\u201d diameter or less — using an axe can be just as fast. Even for slightly larger woodcutting, you might consider using an axe rather than a chainsaw for these reasons:<\/p>\n