Broadaxe

There are two categories of cutting edge on broadaxes, both are used for shaping logs into beams by hewing.

The double bevel axe has a straight handle and can be swung with either side against the wood.

When used for hewing, notches are chopped in the side of the log down to a marked line, a process called scoring.

Broad axes have been used since ancient times until the end of the 19th century in Europe and North America.

Broadaxes were commonly used in manufacture of square timbers for wooden shipbuilding, log building, timber framing, and railroad ties sometimes called axe ties.