what is axe

斧，又稱斧頭，是一種武器或者伐木工具。是由一根木棍把手接著一塊梯形刀片所構成。
原理
斧是利用槓桿原理和衝量等於動量的改變數原理來運作的。
歷史
自石器時代就已有斧。
http://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E6%96%A7&variant=zh-hk
Axe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Have questions? Find out how to ask questions and get answers. •Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(June 2007)

AxeFor other uses, see Axe (disambiguation).
The axe or ax 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. It is considered a simple machine.

The earliest examples of axes have heads of stone with some form of wooden handle attached (hafted) in a method to suit the available materials and use. Axes made of copper, bronze, iron and steel appeared as these technologies developed.

The axe is an example of a simple machine, as it is a type of wedge, or dual inclined plane. This reduces the effort needed by the wood chopper. It splits the wood into two parts by the pression. The handle of the axe also acts as a lever allowing the user to increase the force at the cutting edge (try using an axe head without a handle and you will see what is meant) - not using the full length of the handle is known as choking the axe. For fine chopping using a side axe this sometimes a positive effect, for felling with a double bitted axe it reduces efficiency.

Generally cutting axes have a shallow wedge angle, whereas splitting axes have a deeper angle. Most axes are double beveled, i.e. symmetrical about the axis of the blade, but some specialist axes have a single bevel blade, and (usually) an offset handle that allows them to be used for finishing work without putting the user's knuckles at risk of injury. Less common today they were once an integral part of a joiner and carpenter's tool kit - not just a tool for use in forestry. A tool of similar origin is the billhook with short handle and long blade it can be used for tasks where an axe is unsuitable. However in France and Holland the billhook often replaced the axe as a joiner's bench tool.

Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles (typically hickory) in the USA and ash in the UK and the rest of Europe - although plastic or fiberglass handles are common. Modern axes are specialized by use, size and form. Hafted axes with short handles designed for use with one hand are often called hand axes but the term hand axe refers to axes without handles as well. Hatchets tend to be small hafted axes often with a hammer on the back side ( the poll).

Axes were frequently used in combat as they were easy to make, and the village edge tool makers were frequently the armourers to the lord of the manor in times of war.
[edit] History
Early stone tools like the hand axe were probably not hafted. The first true hafted axes are known from the Mesolithic period (ca. 6000 BC). Axes made from ground stone are known since the Neolithic. Few wooden hafts have been found from this period, but it seems that the axe was normally hafted by wedging. Birch-tar and raw-hide lashings were used to fix the blade. Sometimes antler sleeves were used. This prevented both the splitting of the haft and softened the impact on the stone blade itself.

2007-10-12 19:07:37 補充：
Axe=斧，又稱斧頭

釋義
n.[C]
1. (長柄)斧;斧形錘
2. 【口】解雇;退學[the S]
3. 樂器(尤指吉他)
vt.
1. 用斧劈;用斧修整
2. 【口】解雇
3. 削減;撤銷
After several months the project was axed by the government.
數月後政府中止了該項工程。

n.[C]
1. (長柄)斧;斧形錘
2. 【口】解雇;退學[the S]
3. 樂器(尤指吉他)
vt.
1. 用斧劈;用斧修整
2. 【口】解雇
3. 削減;撤銷
After several months the project was axed by the government.
數月後政府中止了該項工程。

ax
同義參見:
hatchet

變化形
ax
名複: axes
動變: axed; axed; axing

斧頭,用來砍樹或其他物品.

axe is 斧，又稱斧頭，是一種武器或者伐木工具。是由一根木棍把手接著一塊梯形刀片所構成

http://linux.about.com/cs/linux101/g/axe.htm

Axe is 斧頭.