Different Types of Axes

The ax has been used by people across the globe for thousands of years. It has established its purpose in building, cutting, chopping, and shaping wood. Axes can also be used for fire making, and they are essential for outdoor use.

In this article, you will learn the most common types of axes, and what their purposes are.

1. Hatchet– The hatchet is a smaller sized axe used for smaller projects. They may not do well cutting down a large tree, but splitting firewood, removing branches, and other small applications they work great. Due to their small size they are easy to maneuver with one hand, so it is a great tool to have. 

2. Splitting Ax– A splitting axe is a tool with a narrow metal head that cuts wood in smaller pieces of fire. It is designed with a medium weight to be heavy enough to split the wood, but not too heavy it is extremely tiring to do.  For a long time they were the best option for splitting wood. But now, most people use Wedge and Hammer to split wood.

3. Felling Ax– This axe is used primarily to chop down trees, cut-off branches, and more. Due to the hardness and repeated abuse this axe suffers, it must have an extra strong head, and sturdy handle to handle the swings.

4. Carpenter’s Ax– This axe is used for general cutting and shaping of wood. It has many uses in traditional woodworking, log building, cutting, and  joinery. It is a versatile axe that doesn’t have any one specialty, but serves as a good multipurpose axe. 

5.  Hudson Bay Ax– This is another versatile ax  used for many purposes. It  is great for dellimbing and felling small trees, and some light wood splitting. The name Hudson Bay comes from French Sir Henry Hudson, who explored the Hudson Bay Area and prefered this style of axe. It is similar to a carpenter’s axe in that it is a good general use axe.

By now, you should know the different types of five of the most common axes and what each one can do. Hopefully you can decide which one is best for you, but if still confused then we recommend a general carpenter’s axe that can do a bit of everything.