Axe Heaven Fender Stratocaster Miniature Replica – Classic Sunburst Finish

Overview

Axe Heaven Fender Stratocaster Miniature Replica – Classic Sunburst Finish — Axe Heaven

An axe ( / æ k s / ; 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"). 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. 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 cuts and splits the wood into two parts by the pressure concentration at the blade and then the movement of the head in behind the initial cut. The handle of the axe also acts as a lever allowing the user to increase the force at the cutting edge.

Generally, the blades of 'cutting axes', which are used for felling , limbing , and bucking , have a shallow (acute) wedge angle, whereas 'splitting axes' have a deeper (more obtuse) angle. Most axes are double bevelled (i.e. symmetrical about the axis of the blade), but some specialist broadaxes have a single bevel blade. Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles, 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" can also refer to an axe without a handle. Hatchets tend to be short-, small-hafted axes often with a hammer on the back side (the poll, or butt).

Relatively easy to make and use, the axe has frequently been used in combat, and is one of humanity's oldest weapons. Axes are also linchpins to the competitive sport of wood-chopping . 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, [ 1 ] in Southern Ethiopia around 1.4 mya, [ 2 ] and in 1.2 mya deposits in Olduvai Gorge . [ 3 ] Stone axes made with ground cutting edges were first developed in the late Pleistocene in Australia .

Ground-edge axe heads have been recovered from the earliest occupation layers at Madjedbebe , on the western edge of the Arnhem Land plateau in Kakadu National Park , dated to around 65,000 years ago. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] A fragment of a ground-edge axe from the Kimberley has been dated to 44,000–49,000 years ago, [ 6 ] and one from Jawoyn Country in Arnhem Land to about 35,400 years ago. [ 7 ] Ground-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 . [ 8 ] 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 the axe was normally hafted by wedging .

Birch-tar and rawhide lashings were used to fix the blade. [ citation needed ] The distribution of stone axes is an important indication of prehistoric trade . [ 9 ] 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: [ citation needed ] Stone axes are still produced and in use today in parts of Papua , Indonesia . The Mount Hagen area of Papua New Guinea was an important production centre. [ citation needed ] 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. [ citation needed ] Key Features: – Rathlin Island , Ireland ( porcellanite ) – Krzemionki , Poland (flint) – Neolithic flint mines of Spiennes , Belgium (flint) – Plancher-les-Mines , France ( pelite ) – Aosta Valley , Italy ( omphacite ). – Adze : A variation featuring a head perpendicular to that of an axe. Rather than splitting wood side-by-side, it is used to rip a level surface into a horizontal piece of wood.

It can also be used as a pickaxe for breaking up rocks and clay . – Hatchet : A small, light axe designed for use in one hand specifically while camping or travelling . – Carpenter's axe : A small axe, usually slightly larger than a hatchet, used in traditional woodwork , joinery and log-building . It has a pronounced beard and finger notch to allow a "choked" grip for precise control. The poll is designed for use as a hammer. – Hand axe : A small axe used for intermediate chopping, similar to hatchets. – Battle axe : In its most common form, an arm-length weapon borne in one or both hands.

Compared to a sword swing, it delivers more cleaving power against a smaller target area, making it more effective against armour, due to concentrating more of its weight in the axehead. [ 16 ] [ original research? ] – Dagger-axe (Ji or Ge): A variant of Chinese polearm -like weapon with a divided two-part head, comprising the usual straight blade and a scythe -like blade. The straight blade is used to stab or feint, then the foe's body or head may be cut by pulling the scythe-like horizontal blade backwards.

Ge has the horizontal blade but sometimes does not have the straight spear. – Dane axe : a long-handled weapon with a large flat blade, often attributed to the Norsemen . – Halberd : a spear-like weapon with a hooked poll, effective against mounted cavalry . – Head axe : a type of thin-bladed axe with a distinctive shape specialized for headhunting from the Cordilleran peoples of the Philippines. – Hurlbat : An entirely metal throwing axe sharpened on every auxiliary end to a point or blade, practically guaranteeing some form of damage against its target.