B rief History of the Ax Brief History of the Ax

I
’ve always had a passion for axes. I received
my first ax—a toy—when I was 8 years old,
and my first real ax not long afterwards.
Since that time, for over 45 years, I’ve used
and collected all kinds of axes and adzes in my
professional work restoring historic buildings
and structures.

We cannot explore everything there is to know

about axes in this publication. What I would
like to share with you is a brief background
on the development of axes, the hanging and
sharpening of axes, how to use an ax, and
detailed information on certain ax patterns.
I’ve tried to place the discussion within the
context of working with axes today and from a
historical perspective of their use within the
USDA Forest Service.

In An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual, you’ll

find:
• A brief look at the history of the ax,
especially its evolution in America
• Types and patterns of axes and adzes,
showcasing some examples from my
personal collection and some from old
catalogs Figure 1—The video program, An Ax to Grind (99-01-MTDC),
is a companion to this manual. The video is available from
• How to hang and sharpen an ax, two Missoula Technology and Development Center.
essential skills for anyone using an ax
• Various examples of using axes,
incorporating historical material
• Where to buy a good ax
Evolution of
• Some other good references about axes that the Ax in America
you may find useful.

This manual is intended to be a companion

...having an ax to grind
to my video program, An Ax to Grind (99-01- Getting even for a perceived
MTDC). The video (Figure 1) was produced by wrongdoing.
the Missoula Technology and Development
Center (MTDC). Copies are available from the ...barking your knuckles
center. I hope you’ll take a look at it. Scraping your knuckles on the side of
a log while hewing it.

...can’t get the hang of it

Can’t get it right, originally referring to
the way an ax handle was mounted to
the ax head.

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 Brief History of the Ax

Although we still make references to axes

in our daily speech, most Americans have
a limited knowledge about them (Figure 2),
Parts of the Axe
including how to use and properly maintain Axe-eye
them. But the ax, in one form or another, has Upper corner,
toe of bit Poll, butt
been around for over 10,000 years—even longer Axe-blade, bit
Axe-head
if you consider some of the crude stone tools Cutting edge,
edge curvature Axe-lip, or lug, gives
used as axes by early man. more wood-to-metal
Sharpening bevel, contact and extra
bevel face steady and durable
fitting of the handle
Lower corner, in the axe-head
heel of bit
Shoulder
Axe-side, of axe-handle
cheek
Belly of axe-handle
Back of
axe-handle

Throat of axe-handle
Grip
End knob, swell-knob,
caulked, prevents the
axe from slipping out of
the hands of the cutter.

Figure 3—Parts of the ax. (Courtesy of Gränsfors Bruks AB,

Sweden.)

egories. As a matter of fact, the object was

really a European-American axe. Because
iron, unlike wood, is similar regardless of
Figure 2—Barking your knuckles comes with the territory the place it was made, the essential sub-
when you choose to hew logs with a broad ax. stance of an axe does not help to identify
its origin. Short of some identifiable mak-
er’s mark, the manufacturers of most of our
While the ax has gone through transformations early axes must remain anonymous.
from stone, copper, bronze, and iron to steel,
its overall shape and function have remained It seems certain that most of the first axes
consistent (Figure 3). The ax was the first real made in North America were made and used
woodworking tool, one of only a few available on the Atlantic seaboard, a few exceptions
for a long period. For centuries the ax was one occurring when trading companies brought
of mankind’s most useful tools. in blacksmiths to their centers of exchange
to repair and resharpen axes. As settlers
The early iron and steel axes used in America moved westward and southward, their
had European roots. Henry J. Kauffman, in his needs were supplied by smiths who went
introduction to American Axes (1994), wrote: with them and were responsive to individual
needs. This procedure was the beginning
Part of the problem of focusing attention on of very high specialization in the forms of
the American axe arises from the fact that axes, a differentiation which was picked up
the earliest ones used here were made in by the big manufacturers in the nineteenth
Europe, and certainly the first ones made century. The axes were mostly of the felling
here were European in character. Thus, in variety, but there were other purposes for
the earliest colonial times a dividing line which an axe was needed.
could not be drawn between the two cat-

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 Brief History of the Ax

The pace of specialization increased; as Figure 6—

evidence of this trend, one manufacturer An 18th-
century
informed the writer that at one time the mortising
company manufactured about three hun- ax or twibil
dred different types. The president of the gives an
Mann Edge Tool Company, in Lewistown, idea of the
Pennsylvania, reported that in 1969 they special-
ization
were producing seventy different patterns; apparent
however, the bulk of their production in- even in
volved only about twenty. early axes.
Length,
The ax became quite specialized in Europe 4 feet.
during the Middle Ages and afterward. When
European colonists dispersed throughout the
New World, they brought their tools and their
knowledge with them. It is not surprising to
see the appearance of trade axes (Figures Figure 7—An
4 and 5) and Germanic goose-wing hewing 18th-century
shingling
axes. We also see examples of older European-
hatchet is
style specialized axes (Figures 6, 7, and 8) in another
America. specialized ax.
Ax head is 51/ 2
Figure 4— A inches long by
17th-century 4 inches wide.
trade ax, typically
made in northern
Spain and traded
by the French
with American
Indians.

Figure 8—An 18th-century splitting ax, with straight

handle typical of early axes.

Americans modified European axes for two

principal reasons (Kauffman 1994). First, the
European axes were not as well suited to the
virgin stands of huge trees found in America
as they were for the smaller timber stands
of Europe. The European axes were good
tools for hewing, but less adequate for felling.
Figure 5—An early 20th-century Collins ax manufactured The second reason, Kauffman suggests, is
for the South American market. Note the similarity in that many of the Europeans who left their
design of the two ax heads.
homelands for an uncertain future in America

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 Brief History of the Ax

were prepared to adapt to survive. Their Ax Types, Patterns, and Uses

pioneering spirit bred ingenuity.
During the 19th century, America’s agrarian
The need for a better felling ax, the need society was not as mobile as our society is
to process huge amounts of timber during today. People lived their lives in relatively small
America’s settlement, and American ingenuity geographic areas. This is one explanation of
made development of the American felling ax the hundreds of different ax-head patterns that
inevitable. developed over the last 150 years.

The individual skills of local blacksmiths and

their view of what an ax needed were important
factors in the development of ax-head patterns.
W e no sooner got started on this
book than confusion over
terminology set in. The simplest term
Ax patterns became a matter of regional
preference.
to decide was “ax” instead of “axe.”
Although most historical sources Around the turn of the 19th century, more
go with axe, we chose ax because than 300 different ax-head patterns were being
that spelling is preferred in the manufactured in the United States. Many were
Government’s style manual. More nearly identical. To simplify identification and
problematic was the correct term for a eliminate unnecessary or duplicate patterns,
single-bit ax. We found single-bit axes the Ax Manufacturers’ Association agreed to set
described as a single-bit ax, felling ax, a standard, which resulted in a standard chart
American ax, and pole ax. Although of ax patterns (Figure 9).
woods workers commonly refer to a
single-bit ax as a pole ax, dictionaries Certain ax patterns become popular within
refer to the pole ax as a medieval a given geographic area, such as the Jersey
battle ax, an ax that’s quite a bit (my particular favorite), the Long Island, the
different than the axes we are writing Connecticut, and the Baltimore Kentucky
about. Pole ax probably refers to the (Figure 10). At times, ax head patterns included
poll (steel counterweight) on the a name that related to their use. For example,
back of the head of a modern single- the rafting ax pattern originated in the day
bit ax. The trade axes that preceded when logs were rafted down rivers.
the single-bit ax did not have a poll.
The American ax and felling ax have Ax-head patterns were also adapted to the
slightly different meanings to me, timber that was available in the local area.
so we compromised on single-bit ax The double-bit ax was originally developed in
throughout most of the text. Whether Pennsylvania (Figure 11). But the double-bit
or not single-bit axes should be axes with a long, narrow, heavy ax head and a
hyphenated is yet another story. We long handle, were developed for cutting large
chose to rely on a modern dictionary trees in the Pacific Northwest. Some of the
for the spelling. patterns from this area were the Puget Sound,
the Young’s felling pattern, the Redwood
pattern, and the Humboldt pattern.

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 Brief History of the Ax

Figure 9—Some standard patterns manufactured by True Temper Kelly in 1925.

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 Brief History of the Ax

Figure 10—Some Collins Company “American axes” from the company’s

1921 catalog.

Figure 11—A 19th-century “Hand Made” double-bit ax.

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 Brief History of the Ax

American Felling Ax a high-carbon-steel single-bit ax appears in an

advertisement in the October 29, 1859, issue of
During the period in which the trade ax was Scientific American (Kauffman 1994).
being introduced to the North American
Indians, the felling ax was brought to America The addition of the poll by an unknown North
by settlers from England, France, and Spain. American blacksmith is what makes the
American felling ax unique. Late 18th-century
The 17th-century felling ax was made of two iron axes often had steel insert cutting edges.
pieces of iron that were hammer welded down Earlier European axes with their long blades
the center of the poll surface. Later axes had were awkward to use. When North Americans
a thin poll with a flat surface. When North ground down the blades after sharpening
American blacksmiths began making the felling them many times, they discovered that they
axes, they forged the poll side of the pattern could use them to cut more accurately. These
longer in order to make a lap weld, which axes had better balance and geometry. The
gave more welding surface. This produced blade wobbled less during the swing. After
a heavier poll with more weight behind the this discovery, American axes were made with
handle, providing better balance. In essence, shorter, wider blades.
this design is the modern ax that we use today
(Kauffman 1994) (Figure 12). In the late 18th century, some axes became
almost square. These axes are often referred to
as the American ax (Figure 13). Introduction of

Figure 12—Winchester ax and hatchet, Michigan pattern,

typical of the American felling ax.

An edge tool maker’s advertisement in the

Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser on
July 7, 1789, shows that the American felling
ax was fully developed then. The illustration
closely resembles the Kentucky pattern made
by the Douglas Ax Company and illustrated
in its 1863 catalog. The Jersey pattern, my
personal favorite, is very similar to the model
of 1789. It is still available. In the mid-19th Figure 13—My favorite American felling ax, a True Temper
century, some of the American axes were still Kelly Perfect with a Jersey head and 32-inch straight
made of both iron and steel. An iron poll and hickory handle. The scabbard is also shown.

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 Brief History of the Ax

the Bessemer process for making steel in the The double-bit ax weighed from about 21/ 2 to
late 19th century made steel affordable. The 5 pounds and had a handle that was 26 to 42
entire ax blade could be made of steel. Polished inches long (Figure 15).
steel axes reduce the friction between the blade
and the log. The ax blade can be made even
thinner, allowing size and weight to be reduced
while maintaining cutting efficiency. Making
the entire ax wider with a heavier poll gave it
more balance than the narrow, long-bladed
English or European ax with little or no poll
(Kauffman 1994).

The head of a full-size single-bit ax or poll ax

weighed 3 to 6 pounds. The handle was 30 to 36
inches long.

The single-bit felling ax, or American ax,

became the international standard for quality
axes.

Double-Bit Ax
The first double-bit ax was probably made by
William Mann in Pennsylvania at about 1850.
The Mann Edge Tool Company is one of the
few American companies still in the business
of making axes. By 1860 the double-bit ax was
very common in the Northeast. The double-bit
was not widely popular until the last quarter of
the 19th century when it came into its own in
the Pacific Northwest (Figure 14).

Figure 15—Three representative double-bit patterns:

Bluegrass Western pattern double-bit ax (top); True Temper
Kelly Perfect Michigan pattern double-bit ax (middle); and
Figure 14—Three double-bit patterns available from Collins a 21/ 2 -pound reversible cruiser ax, sometimes used for ax
in 1921. throwing (bottom).

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 Brief History of the Ax

Which is better, a single-bit or double-bit ax? These axes were first used in Bucks County,
No other question is likely to raise as much PA. An earlier pattern of hewing ax known as
controversy among ax enthusiasts as this one. the medieval goose-wing ax occasionally shows
Although the single-bit or poll ax was developed up (Figure 17). Goose-wing broad axes were
first and has remained popular, the double- made in both left- and right-handed models. The
bit developed a strong following because of its goose-wing handle was offset to the left or right
balanced feel and versatility. Typically, one by fitting it into a bent metal tube forged to the
blade was sharpened to a finely honed, narrow bit. Later hewing axes, known as American
“felling edge,” while the second blade was broad axes, had a handle that allowed the head
ground slightly blunter, and used for knots, to be taken off and reversed for use by right-
cutting near the ground, or in other instances handers or left-handers.
where a finely sharpened blade was more likely
to be damaged.

The double-bit ax remains a popular utility

ax in the Western United States, especially
among agencies like the USDA Forest Service.
The single-bit ax also remains popular. All of
the competition axes are single-bit axes. In
my opinion, a single-bit ax is a more efficient
cutting tool; the double-bit is more versatile.

Figure 17—A medieval goose-wing ax that differs from the

Broad Ax Germanic goose-wing axes brought into the United States
by early settlers.

Other special-purpose axes helped develop

America. The hewing ax (also called broad ax
Some American broad ax patterns had
or side ax) was used to square timber or flatten
geographic names. The most popular were
the sides of logs. It was used primarily for log
the Pennsylvania, New Orleans, Western,
buildings and timber framing, either in house
and Canadian patterns. Until the 1930’s the
or barn construction. Hewn timber was also
Western and Canadian patterns were used to
used for railroad ties and trestle bridges.
hack railroad ties (Figures 18a, b, c, d, and e).
The slang expression for a person who made
The goose-wing broad axes (Figure 16) brought
railroad ties was a “tie hacker.”
to America by German settlers were the earliest
hewing axes commonly used in this country.
The hewing ax is the preferred tool for
flattening the surface of round logs. In past
centuries, wood beams were often made by
splitting the logs with some type of mallet and
wedge, or glut. Then they were surfaced with
an adz or a hewing ax. When iron axes became
available, the hewing ax almost replaced the
adz. Hewing axes were frequently used to
roughly square the logs before they were sawn
into boards with a pit saw.

Even after the sawmill became common, the

Figure 16—An 18th-century Germanic goose-wing hewing
hewing ax was still used for hewing beams and
ax. The maker’s marks are hammered into the blade. planks in the Northwest. It was often easier to

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 Brief History of the Ax

Figure 18a—Beatty
Pennsylvania broad ax. Figure 18b—Early 20th-
century Douglas New
Orleans broad ax—my
favorite.

Figure 18c—Early 20th-

century Beatty knife-edge tie
hacker’s broad ax.

Figure 18d—Kelly 20th-century Canadian

broad ax.

Figure 18e—A 19th-century shipwright’s mast broad ax.

Other Axes and Hatchets

Axes have other uses besides felling timber
fell the tree, hew it square into cants, and skid and building houses. Splitting axes are used
the cants to the building site rather than to for splitting firewood or rails. Hatchets, with
load and transport round logs to the sawmill their short heads and handles, are used in the
where they would be sawn before being brought building trades, and for camping and hunting
back to the building site. The hewing ax has (Figure 19). Some axes and hatchets are used
been used in the same manner for about 2,000 specifically for mortising (Figure 20), wood
years. carving, flooring, shingling, and carpentry
(Figures 21a and 21b). Special competition axes
are also used in logging contests where people
chop while racing the clock and each other
(Figure 22).

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 Brief History of the Ax

Figure 19—Plumb 21/ 2 -lb boy’s ax with 19-inch handle—my Figure 20—An 18th-century mortising ax.
favorite for log cabin work.

Figure 21a—Some
20th-century Plumb
hatchets and hand
axes.

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 Brief History of the Ax

Some axes weren’t used for

cutting wood. Ice axes were
used to cut ice from lakes in
the winter so the ice could be
used for refrigeration during the
summer (Figure 23). Sod or turf
axes were used to chop sod for
sod houses (Figure 24). People
have used axes as a weapon for
centuries. Fire axes are used
to break down doors to enter
burning buildings. The Pulaski
is an ax tool used to fight
wildland fires (Figure 25). An ax
known as a butchering ax was
used to kill cattle (Figure 26).
Axes called “salesman samples”
were miniature versions of
full-size axes. Salesmen would
carry them to hardware stores to
demonstrate their wares.

Figure 23—
A 19th-
century
ice ax for
harvesting
pond ice.

Figure 21b—More 20th-century Plumb hatchets and hand axes.

Figure 22—A Tuatahi competition ax. This New Zealand Figure 24—A 19th-century sod ax for building sod houses.
company specializes in custom-made axes and competition
crosscut saws.

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 Brief History of the Ax

Figure 25—The Pulaski is a popular wildland firefighting

tool that combines an ax with a grubbing hoe.

Figure 27a—
Collins lipped
shipwright’s adz.

Figure 26—A 19th-century butchering ax.

Adzes
Figure 27b—Plumb
railroad adz.
The adz is another hewing or
dressing tool (Figures 27a, b, c,
and d). It has a head that gives it
the appearance of a hoe, but it is
tempered and sharpened to cut
wood. The adz is primarily used for
dressing or planing timber that has
been hewn by a broad ax. An adz is
used for the final dressing in some
of our finer hand-built structures.

Figure 27c—Modern carving ax or adz.

Figure 27d—Douglas carpenter’s
adz.

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 Brief History of the Ax

Decline of the American Ax The introduction of the power saw was the
death knell of the ax and the crosscut saw. By
Some of the leading American ax companies the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, lightweight,
have included: Collins Company, Mann Edge efficient chain saws had taken over almost
Tool, Kelly Axe or True Temper Kelly, Plumb all of the work that previously had been
Axes, and American Axe and Tool Company. accomplished with an ax—felling, bucking, and
When factory production first began, axes were limbing.
produced by individual blacksmiths hired to
make a complete ax. Gradually an assembly If you search the Internet for ax, axe, or axes,
line was introduced. Improved steels and you will probably find more sites related to
more efficient forging processes took most guitars (referred to as “ax”) than you will to
of the hand labor out of ax manufacture. The those dealing with cold, hard steel. But if you
manufacturing process and materials evolved focus on work in the woods rather than on the
from individual blacksmiths hammering out Internet, you will see that the ax still occupies
axes one at a time to the giant drop hammers an important place as a woodworking tool.
used today to stamp out fully formed ax heads.
A Swedish company, Gränsfors Bruks AB, still
During the 19th century, axes provided the best manufactures hand-forged axes (Figure 29).
technology to meet the needs of the burgeoning Gabriel Brånby of Gränsfors Bruks provides
forest products industry. Manufacturers a good summary of the modern role of the ax
produced hundreds of patterns for both general (Gränsfors Bruks 1997):
utility and specialized uses.
In a certain way we are back at the time
The use of American axes and their quality before the entry of the booming forest
were probably at their peak during the period industry. There are no axe-using forest
from 1850 to 1950 (Figure 28). Beginning about workers any longer. The millions of cubic
1870, ax production began to drop due to the feet of pulpwood and timber that today
increased use of the crosscut saw as a felling arrive at the forest industries have never
tool. The ax continued to play an important role been grazed by an axe. The chain saws,
for swamping and limbing trees, but its role was harvesters and logging machines have
diminished. taken over completely. Today most axes
are used in small-scale activity by people
like homeowners, firewood cutters, camp-
ers, hunters, joiners, woodworkers, log
builders.

Figure 28—During the heyday of American axes, Figure 29—Modern hand-forged broad ax made by the
companies went to great lengths to promote their axes, like Swedish Company, Gränsfors Bruks AB.
this Kelly “Best Axe Made” broad ax.

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 Brief History of the Ax

Thousands of new axes are sold every year,

mostly for the activities Brånby describes.
Some historic axes are sold or traded by
collectors (Figure 30). In the Forest Service,
axes still play a critical role in designated
wilderness areas where mechanized or
motorized equipment is prohibited by law. In
these areas, axes, adzes, and crosscut saws
are needed for clearing trails, cutting firewood,
managing forest fires, and maintaining or
restoring administrative buildings.

Outside wilderness, axes and adzes are used for

historic building restoration and as lightweight,
convenient, affordable alternatives to chain
saws. To at least a few recreational wood cutters
and craftsmen, the rhythmic sound and motion
of chopping are more appealing than the whine
and exhaust of a chain saw.

This look at the history of the ax and its

evolution in North America is not complete.
Four excellent references for more detailed
study are: Henry J. Kauffman’s American
Axes (1994); Charles A. Heavrin’s The Ax and
Man (1997); Alan Klenman’s Ax Makers of
Figure 30—This modern blacksmith-made trade hatchet North America, and Henry Mercer’s Ancient
might be just the right gift for your sweetheart on Carpenter’s Tools (1960). Full citations for
Valentine’s Day. these sources are in Selected References.

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 Brief History of the Ax

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