my little blacksmith shop how to make axe

The properties of iron allowed much greater possibilities when I came to both the design and function of the axe, and heralded a new era of production and innovation.

The use of casting for axes lasted roughly up until 500BC when the practice was superseded by new techniques and the new material - Iron ! Bronze is cast into moulds, making it easier to manufacture and mass produce – it is also a far superior material for cutting and has the ability to be decorated, adding value and significance to the owner. These later, more complex axes were the pre-curser to the Bronze age axe and were used for much more complex functions such as boat building, warfare and ceremony up until around 2000 BC.Īs technology progressed stone gave way to bronze and to begin with these were often simple copies of early stone designs. Two types of handled axe began to develop – one was a solid piece of hewn stone fixed by cordage, sinew or resin to a smooth piece of wood, the other had a shaft-hole drilled through which the handle could be fitted more easily. Originally hand axes were used - roughly chipped, oval pieces of stone mainly for digging and butchering animals and not until much later was a handle attached. Mankind has been using axes since the early stone age, approximately 2.5 million years ago, and has been refining the design ever since.

My little blacksmith shop how to make axe