Hacha . (From the French hache , and this from the frank hapja ). Manual actuation tool, composed of a thick steel blade, with a somewhat convex edge, and an eye to place it on the handle, usually intended for cutting wood.
Summary
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- 1 Use
- 2 History
- 3 Component parts
- 4 Sources
Use
The typical use for axes is to cut firewood and cut down trees, but in the past they were used as weapons for hunting and war . The firefighters used axes to break through doors and windows in fires. They are also used in some regional sports , especially in precision pitch demonstrations.
History
Primitive axes, made of stone.
Prehistory . The origin of the ax must be located in prehistory . In the beginning axes were work tools used to cut wood or trees. Silica stones carved in an amygdaloid shape, and diorite or basalt stones polished at one or two ends, and sometimes with a notch in the middle, were held with strong ligatures to a stick, forming a right angle with it, and served as an offensive weapon in fights between men or against wild animals. Due to their weight and mass, axes were an excellent weapon for close combat. The indigenous Cubans, like others on our continent, used a type of stone ax tied with fibers.
Bronze age . In the Bronze Age, axes similar to the Neolithic were made of this metal or copper, casting them into stone molds . They were attached to a stick that acted as a handle, tying it through grooves and a handle, or through a kind of tube (eye). Both the Persians and the Egyptians used bronze or iron axes as combat weapons, and some have been found in Pharaonic tombs and others are depicted in paintings. Likewise, the pre-Hellenic peoples also used them.
Classical age . The Greeks hardly used them. The Romans used them a lot for the auxiliary troops and as a distinctive of the lictors, who carried the double-edged ax inside their fasces. It was also the weapon of the Germans and the Franks
Middle ages . In the Middle Ages it was very much in vogue in the European armies, keeping much resemblance with the tool of the same name. A well-skilled Viking warrior could cut off his opponent’s head, break a wooden shield, or pierce through a protective metal mesh. The Viking ax was composed of a heavy, broad-bladed head, about 2 kg in weight, attached to a handle that was between 90 cm and 1 m long. The Danish and Norwegian ax was one of the weapons that penetrated the most in the history of the medieval world due to the terror that the Nordic peoples caused to the European kingdoms in their historical incursions and looting.
This weapon, large and powerful, was in the hands of an infantry troop , like that of the peoples of northern Europe, a formidable weapon. But from the end of the 14th century it took the double form of spear and ax, later being confused with the halberd. Towards the middle or end of the 17th century it ceased to be a popular combat weapon in Europe , except in the Navy, with the so-called boarding ax.
Component parts
Head . It is the fundamental part, made of wrought iron. It consists of an eye , which is a hole where the handle is placed, and a concave cutting edge , with two pointed sides.
Mango . It is generally made of wood, with an ovoid section, and can be straight or curved. It is inserted firmly into the ax’s eye, usually driving metal wedges into it to prevent it from coming out, which is very dangerous.
