axe (n.)
"edged instrument for hewing timber and chopping wood," also a battle weapon, Old English ces (Northumbrian acas) "axe, pickaxe, hatchet," later x, from Proto-Germanic *akusjo (source also of Old Saxon accus, Old Norse ex, Old Frisian axe, German Axt, Gothic aqizi), from PIE *agw(e)si- "axe" (source also of Greek axine, Latin ascia).1

axe (v.)
1670s, "to shape or cut with an axe," from axe (n.). Figurative meaning "to remove" (a person, from a position), "severely reduce" (expenses) is recorded by 1922. The axe in figurative sense of cutting of anything (expenses, workers, etc.), especially as a cost-saving measure, is from 1922, probably from the notion of the headman's literal axe (attested from mid-15c.). Related: Axed; axing.1

English:

2 The axe has been around for a long time, being one of the oldest tools used by mankind as far back as 1.6 million years ago. The first known man to use the axe were Homo ergastar. These axes had no shaft, or any means to hold an axe other than by the axe head itself. These axes would be classified as hand axes for obvious reasons.

The axe is an ancient and ubiquitous tool that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber, as a weapon and a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve.

• Felling - 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 - Used to split with the grain of the wood. Splitting axe bits are more wedge shaped. This shape causes the axe to rend the fibres of the wood apart, without having to cut through them, especially if the blow is delivered with a twisting action at impact.
• Broad - 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.

Axe head types

Gransfor Broad Axe

Gransfor Carving Axe

Gransfor Mortise Axe

Felling axe

Gransfor splitting axe

• 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.

Additional reading, please install links here directing your readers to more information about this subject.

• American Axes (Oxford Academic)
• Woodworking Tools and Axes (Clutch Axes)
• David Fisher (Bowl Carver)
• History of the Axe (Gransors Bruk)

• Gransfors Bruk Sweden (https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/) Bergsjo, Sweden (2018)