Fighting Axes VS Tool Axes: NOT THE SAME

[@ColdHawk]

Hey Matt, why don’t you do an “axe and related” playlist for us? It might be a nice diversion for those of us with a fascination with them. Thank you for all the interesting and informative contest over these past years! Love the videos!

[@андрейкопылов-л6ъ]

Would be great to have an axe playlist

[@williamjudge4913]

As a woodworker I can tell you for certain there are several types of tool axes that all have different purposes. As you mentioned there are hewing axes with a wide offset blade that was often only had one tapered edge, then there's felling axes, and double bearded axes, splitting axes, hatchets, on and on each with its own purpose and optimized for it. So it of course makes sense that fighting axes are optimized for their own task, against flesh or armor etc.

[@thatoneguy7603]

I imagine a tool ax would be better weapon than combat ax would be a tool.

[@Barisdagame]

Which axe can do it all

[@TK8866275]

There are also many types of tool axes optimized for different tasks like forestry axe suits best for chopping down trees and splitting maul for processing firewood. However there are certain type of tool axes used for hewing timber, which have blades resembling the blades of battle axes.

[@jesperstoringgaard8367]

Just to add on to this point: I have what i refer to as a travel axe. I made it from a felling axe (for chopping down trees) that already has a thin-ish blade for a tool axe, i then made it even thinner, and turned it more into a bearded axe. And gave it a 90 CM shaft i think it was. As a camp axe it's a bit light, especially as a chopper, but it can still split 8-10 CM logs in a single hit, so it's quite fine. It's still quite heavy for a weapon axe, though, that can be offset by having a shield.

[@mrkiky]

From the profile maybe. Hewing axes have offset shafts and blades are beveled on one side only, so you can hit the log at the correct angle and not scrape your knuckles on it.

[@jesperstoringgaard8367]

@@mrkiky I don't think all hewing axes were made as side axes :) Though i might be wrong

[@andreweden9405]

I agree with Matt that tomahawks would've been primarily thought of as weapons, and even status symbols when it comes to the really bespoke ones. However, I've always liked this quote because it references tomahawk usage in my state! Landing at Vincennes Indiana among the assembled Indiana and Kentucky Militia prior to the Battle of Tippecanoe- “Many of these militia spoke the French language; their dress was a short frock of deer-skin, a belt around their bodies, with a tomahawk and scalping knife attached to it, and were nearly as destitute of discipline as the savages themselves. The militia from Kentucky and a few companies of Indiana were decent soldiers, yet the large knife and hatchet which constituted a part of their equipment, with their dress, gave them rather a savage appearance. The hatchet, however, was found to be a very useful article on the march - they had no tents but with their hatchets would in a short time form themselves a shelter from the weather, on encamping at night.” -Adam Walker, A Journal of Two Campaigns of the Fourth Regiment of U.S. Infantry in the Michigan and Indiana Territories Under the Command of Col. John P. Boyd and Lt. Col. James Miller During the Years 1811 and 12, (Keene, N.H.: Sentinel Press, 1816).

[@jonathanwessner3456]

Still might have been a utility hatchet, like the ones you use in camping, rather than a fighting Tomahawk. Remember, the Bowie knife was designed for wilderness survival, NOT fighting

[@andreweden9405]

@@jonathanwessner3456 , So, to your first point: During this period (200-300 years ago), there were indeed also purpose-built utility axes called "belt axes", and I guarantee they were also used as weapons when the need arose. However, I do believe that the writer here is just using "tomahawk" and "hatchet" interchangeably to refer to the same object. To your second point: I absolutely have to disagree. I have actually done quite a bit of research on the origins and history of the Bowie knife, I would argue that evidence suggests pretty clearly that it is almost exclusively a fighting knife. There wasn't much bushcrafting going on at the Sandbar Fight or the Battle of the Alamo, and I'll guarantee gentlemen like Cassius Clay didn't wear them for utility purposes!

[@toddellner]

@@jonathanwessner3456 It would be a rare person who would have a utility hatchet _AND_ a fighting hatchet _AND_ a utility knife _AND_ a fighting knife. A musket and bayonet (swords and pistols for officers) would be the primary weapons, but since the tools were literally at hand they could be used as backup at any time.

[@itsapittie]

I've occasionally read reports describing something similar. As others have pointed out, we don't really know whether the hatchet/tomahawk being described is designed primarily as a tool or a weapon. However, the cutting duties needed for a hasty shelter are pretty light and I've done it myself with a reproduction early American tomahawk and a Vietnam-era military tomahawk. For 1/2" to 1" green wood you don't need a very impressive chopper. Almost anything with a sharp edge and a little heft will do. IMO it's completely plausible that the militia men were using their fighting tomahawks in such a manner.

[@itsapittie]

@@jonathanwessner3456 I respectfully disagree about the Bowie knife. What we know about its origin and usage pretty clearly indicates that it was designed as a fighting weapon. Bowie knives vary, of course, but most of the ones I've handled are too long and beefy for a general-purpose camp knife. Contemporaneous art and a few surviving examples seem to indicate the more usual frontiersman's knife was more like what we think of as a butcher's knife. Certainly in my experience a butcher's knife is more useful as a general-purpose camp knife than a Bowie knife.

[@leppeppel]

I think the most generous interpretation of "tool axes, therefore fighting axes" is that if a culture is already au fait with axes as tools, it's less of leap to axes as a weapon of choice. They're not the same axes, but they're on the same branch of the family tree. I'm not 100% sold on that argument either, but I think it has more validity.

[@christopherrowley7506]

Maybe in a cultural way, but not in a practical way. As far as combat is concerned, boxing relates to fighting with an axe a lot more than chopping wood relates to fighting with an axe.

[@chstoney]

@@christopherrowley7506 I would argue that manufacturing a working axe requires about the same skills and tools as manufacturing a fighting one, so perhaps that was the reason. Forging a sword requires more steel and of higher quality than forging an axe, and also a bit different skillset on the part of the smith. Whereas in a culture where axes are ubiquitous tools, any blacksmith can make them. And as a consequence, any blacksmith can make fighting axes too.

[@alicelund147]

I think all cultures have used axes as tools.

[@rustagaz]

I think it’s more of a “blades are sharp, therefore they cut things such as humans or trees, and putting a blade on the end of a stick makes it cut those things even more” sort of thing. Started with sharp rocks in the neolithic

[@fattonyd232]

I think vikings and other fighting cultures when raiding away from home likely chose an axe that would suffice at both survival and battle. If everyone carried a useless survival implement they'd die on foreign shores from the weather instead of from battle. Tomahawks are one such tool that don't excel at survival tasks but may suffice. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKTPdoyQnLd3itU

[@fyzxnerd]

I feel like the message of "it can be used as a tool when necessary" has been overblown in so many ways. Axes are ubiquitous and as widespread a human creation as beer. Sure you could get the job done, but you might lose your axe in the process.

[@kallisto9166]

Of course part of that decision might rest upon whatever it is on the other side of that door. If stuff is worth stealing, it might well be worth losing an axe or two to break down a door and get at it. Carrying another, more suitable, axe would certainly be better, but in a pinch... Using them for actual carpentry though, that would be ridiculous.

[@toddellner]

It probably worked the other way more often "can be used as a weapon when necessary".

[@kallisto9166]

@@toddellner That is an excellent point.

[@haynesdevon0]

Yeah. The more likely situations is you'd have use a tool axe as a weapon cus you had nothing else. Not the other way around.

[@lunacorvus3585]

People would use whatever they have on hand when the need rises. Maybe fighting axes is a better tool than other hand weapons like swords?

[@Sb_747]

I’d just imagine it’s much easier for a person who makes tool axes to make a different type of axe head then it is for them to begin to make swords. They also just seem easier to make in general much like spears. Your actual edge, and all the issues associated with it, is just a smaller area and you have have a smaller chance of screwing it up.

[@jonathanwessner3456]

that is why they had different levels of smithing, tin smith, blacksmith, iron smith, whitesmith, goldsmith, armorer, swordsmith. Like an apprentice swordsmith might be an arrowsmith, bladesmith, or whitesmith, doing arrowheads, knives, and axes, or finishing the blades by polishing them. Whitesmiths were also the guys who did inlays of other types of metals in works by other smiths. A gunsmith knows how to create actual gun barrels (back when they were forged)

[@toddellner]

It is much easier. And more to the point it's cheaper. In many times and places iron was expensive. But being able to make a good axe that is optimized for its intended purpose - there are many kinds - is not trivial.

[@mrkiky]

As an aspiring knife maker, I have to say making a sword is easier than making an axe, with modern steel. But I can see how back in the day, you would need only a tiny bit of good quality steel for the axe edge an the rest can be made out of iron, while for a sword you need a great big chunk of high quality steel. Also the lack of modern grinders would make swords much harder to make since there's significantly more grinding. With high powered grinders, that starts to matter less.

[@toddellner]

@@mrkiky Cutlers spend more on abrasives than they ever do on steel. Imagine if it was all grindstone, files, and hand sanding...

[@mrkiky]

@@toddellner I agree, but it also depends on the finish you wanna end up with. And how good at forging you are. If you're very good, you have to do minimal grinding. Most smiths today are hobbyists that work with refined materials and power tools. Back in the day there was a lot more emphasis on forging and it required a lot more skill, working with wrought iron that tends to split, or heterogenous steel that needed to be folded and packed.

[@nanorider426]

Thank you! I have listened to that "answer" so many many times.

[@shmuckling]

Thank you so much for making this! I see this stated all the time, even at places where people are supposed to be relatively informed about the topic, and it drives me nuts. I'm going to be link-dropping dudes from here on LOL.

[@evilwelshman]

I feel the overlap between "fighting axes" and "tool axes" is one of form factor, and thus familiarity in handling. While not identical, a fighting axe would handle - and thus could be used - more similarly to a tool axe than a sword would; potentially making fighting axes more intuitive to learn to use than a sword.

[@SibylleLeon]

Came here to say this! So yeah, they're not the same thing, but a boat-building axe and a fighting axe are more similar than a boat-building axe and a sword.

[@michal1743]

Not necessarily. Trees generally does not move much hence you don't need to control distance, you don't need to care if it will hit you back etc. Lumberjacks probably have advantage of decent strength and stamina to swing axes for a long time, but this is as far as it gets useful. Fighting and cutting trees are distinctively different skillsets.

[@peeternomm]

@@michal1743 You do not learn combat tactiks and all fancy triks doing everyday choping and carving with an axe. But you will became a master in controlling the blade at every possible angle.

[@ColdHawk]

- I would love to see a comprehensive comparative review of commercially available tomahawks from tool companies like Eastwing as well as companies like Cold Steel and CKRT and specialized modern combat tomahawks produced by small scale operations and marketed to military personnel and survivalists

[@MadNumForce]

Solid steel tomahawks are actually more like crash axes than tools. For slip-through hatchets, manufacturers to look for are Rinaldi, Bellota, Wenzel, Daprile, Jauregui, etc...

[@peterwright4647]

Winkler knives has some beautiful axes/tomahawks.

[@ColdHawk]

@@MadNumForce - You know, that is a really nice distinction to make. I like the categorization of slip through versus solid steel, despite the fact that the single piece steel ones are often marketed simply as tomahawks, without separating them. There is often a distinction made between “tool” versus “tactical.” The latter seems to include solid steel tomahawks almost exclusively, with no slip through handles to be found, and the marketing concept for the latter is “weapon that doubles as ‘rugged’ tool in a pinch.” When I was younger, I thought about carrying a solid steel tomahawk in my trunk after an ice storm in central Texas. My 30 mile commute home from work turned into a nightmare of helping banged-up people out of flipped or wrecked cars, some light first aid, and dealing with a concussed, belligerent woman who seemed hell-bent on walking onto the highway. Every time I got back in my vehicle and headed to the next crash I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to try to extract someone from bent metal. I had a decent first aid kit but didn’t even have heavy gloves. It was a long day. I decided against the tomahawks and small steel axes I found in the hardware stores (this was long before internet shopping had taken off.) Although they would be great at puncturing, they wouldn’t be as good at prying as an axe (fireman’s axe) with a spike and curved top designed for that. I settled on a nice long crowbar instead. More than 30 years later there are still heavy protective gloves and a crowbar in the back of my car. Maybe I should revisit the crash axe idea just to see what’s out there. Cheers!

[@erminos8628]

I was anticipating for the word "weight" to come up the whole video

[@candowonpressup6962]

Well explained! The Mona Lisa could be used as a table cloth but it wasn’t made for that.

[@ColdHawk]

Not to be too pedantic about it, but the fact that the Mona Lisa is painted on wood, not canvas, slightly spoils what is otherwise a nice analogy here.

[@candowonpressup6962]

@@ColdHawk oh I didn’t know that. It should say cupboard door in that case 👍🏻

[@ColdHawk]

@@candowonpressup6962 - Hahaha! I would love to see the kitchen with that cupboard! I mean, I’m no interior decorator so I can’t conceive of what you would use for cupboard door pulls or handles. Perhaps a collection by Fabergé would do. And here’s a problem; what do you use for the countertops? Have me over for a cup of tea once you are done remodeling!

[@rschmitz40]

Amazing content, as usual! Perhaps, in the future, is it possible that you could speak to the curvature, in woodworking axes? All the ones I’ve used to split wood have a bit of a bend to them, in the haft/shaft, or what have you. Thanks again for the great video! Cheers!

[@Immopimmo]

The curvature is put there to aid with balancing the head, especially when working from the sides such as when felling trees. If you put a straight handle on a single bitted axe it will dip to one side in the cut unless the poll of the axe is heavy enough to act as a counterbalance and it will get tough on your arms to keep the axe head at the right angle. That's why double bitted axes have straight handles, because they're perfectly counterbalanced. Battle axes such as Dane axes suffer from the same problem, but the heads are lighter than on a felling axe and you're not expected to swing them around the whole day so it's much less of a bother. Then you have the battle axes with spikes or hammers counterbalancing the bit of the axe and those work just great with a straight handle. So to conclude; battle axes don't need curved handles, even if they're front heavy because you won't chop with them for 12 hours straight. Working axes on the other hand do. It's all a matter of ergonomics.

[@stormiewutzke4190]

If you are asking about why wood cutting axes have curved handles I can help a bit. From what I understand it's thought to be mostly a modern handle style. In the mid 1800s if memory serves one of the large companies started began to market what they called a whip handle. The heavy marketing made it popular. Axes were specialized to the work and local timber and custom. A bit made for hardwood is very different than one for softwood and large trees and small trees. In North America most axes are now similar to the Dayton pattern. The curved handle has stuck around as well. Some axe purist think that a straight handle is better. Curves cut in can cut grain and make a handle brake much easier especially if the wood wasn't carefully selected and the other angles also cut the grain. I personally really like them and don't think the style came from nowhere. The angle gives some extra advantages. For one it adds extra dimensions that add leverage for control like a french hilt on a sword. It also adds that forward angle that makes it more comfortable and I feel helps speed the cut like with a kukri. Axe handles were not built for strength and the right way to use one is to whip it into the cut and let the blade do it's work. When you look at old axe handles they are thin and light. To use one for any period of time is going to send shockwaves up a stiff handle so the handles were made thin to absorb the shock. If someone powers through the cut they are going to snap the handle. If you want to see it watch one of the lumberjack contest with the 7lb competition axes. The way they drive through the cut so hard they break handles on a regular basis. I like axes and have a small collection of old axes and have done a bit if research. Modern axes have handles that were the size of sledge handles in the past. I think it is the case of not being able to handpick and also aquire the high density and straight grained wood in a modern production environment as well as the modern users splitting firewood often not having the skill to not let handles impact the wood and handle breakage being a problem and that they look impressive and sell better is my opinion as the reason. When it comes to chopping in any sort of bladed items from knives to swords principles of rotating mass come into play. Anything will hit hardest if all the weight is at one end. Its amazing how much harder an axe will hit when you remove half the weight of the handle. Its less for your muscles to accelerate and less for to counter resist the rotation of the head. As a knife maker one of the things I take into account when trying to make a knife chop with as much power as possible but still be something I can control is to remove weight from the handle. If you want to know anything more about modern axes I can refer you to some sorces. [e-mail]

[@rschmitz40]

@@stormiewutzke4190 wow this is such an excellent and well thought out/well written answer! If only I had known about this whipping motion, when I was growing up, it surely would have made splitting wood easier! I just powered through it and never thought twice about it. Thank you!!

[@rschmitz40]

@@Immopimmo I see, thank you! Combined with the other person who replied, I feel that I no longer require a video to understand, at least, the basics of why certain axes (mostly wood axes) have curvature and others, such as battle bred axes do not.

[@mathewthomson3410]

Hi Matt, I really enjoy your videos. You raised some good points in regard to fighting axes. I just wanted to point out that an axe can be very useful as a tool but still be bad for felling trees, house, boat building etc. In a survival type situation where you are traveling across the land and need to cut down small trees and branches maybe up to max 6 inch thick - this could be for shelter building, fire lighting, timbers for sliding a boat, ladder building etc. For this kind of work tomahawk style axe would be ideal. I myself have a couple of cold steel tomahawks which I use for light tree work and I find them surprisingly good. I'd also like to point out that the Gransfors outdoor axe,(which is their survival axe) wouldn't be a whole world away from a tomahawk. The modern hatchet you are holding in the photo is designed mainly for splitting kindling and so is quite heavy for its size so not a very fast weapon but blacksmith made hewing axes are generally lighter and have thinner blades. I think you are 100% correct that the Dane Axe and a lot of axes are specific to fighting but I still think that tomahawk style/size axes are partly intended to be used as tools in the journey along the way. Cheers

[@joanignasi91]

In short Tool axe: chopping wood Battle axe: chopping people

[@MrUser324234]

wrong

[@DavidMann10k]

I'm confused

[@heitoraraujo3]

If you were to fight an Ent tho...

[@triskeldeian4989]

use fire :)

[@rikospostmodernlife]

@@triskeldeian4989 moss pubes, full of water

[@ColdHawk]

That sounds like a good way to end up stomped into a sticky paste or face down in flood waters floating past a couple of Hobbits enjoying an after-breakfast pipe.

[@seanpoore2428]

On the contrary, be ready for the wave of people who will die on the hill that there is NO OVERLAP between tools and weapons :3 you should know how the overcorrection game goes by now!

[@flamezombie1]

I had to explain to one of my HEMA students that no, just because the axe head isn't wafer thin doesn't mean it's useless for fighting lol. There are tons of compromise designs, especially in one-handed axes, that do double duty as 'ok tool axe ok fighting axe'. If you're not fighting 90% of the time, why carry a super specialized axe you're only going to use for combat and one you're only going to use for woodwork if it's not even your main weapon?

[@b.h.abbott-motley2427]

You can find various videos on here of folks using reproduction fighting axes for chopping branches, splitting smallish pieces of wood, other basic camping tasks, & even cutting down a modest tree. They seem to perform ok, even if they're worse than dedicated tool axes for any specific task. For light chopping of branches & so on, I suspect many fighting axes would be better than splitting axes. I have lots of experience splitting firewood, & the splitting axes & mauls I've used aren't great for trimming branches & the like. Brush axes look a lot like various medieval weapons for a reason.

[@ColdHawk]

That is a nice point. People seem to get stuck on heavy maul axes as representative.

[@404errorpagenotfound.6]

Tomahawk is the best all round camp tool imo.

[@adambielen8996]

Yes, it is a good point that in a camp situation soldiers or warriors wouldn't be felling large trees for firewood. At most they would be gathering brush and pruning off some branches and maybe some very small staff like trees. And in that situation you don't need a felling axe or splitting maul, as even a machete would do that job just fine.

[@mrkiky]

@@adambielen8996 You don't have to use your fighting weapon for other tasks either. Just like if you wanna prepare food, you can have a food knife, no need to use your sword or dagger. If a troop needed to build a barricade, or some sort of siege weapon, they don't have to use their swords or fighting axes, they can have tool axes with them.

[@adambielen8996]

@@mrkiky Its almost like you've entirely missed the point I made, which had nothing to do with palisades or siege weapons.

[@fergalomahony7716]

Great video as always. I think terms that are useful to describe the difference between fighting and tool axes are 'nimbleness' versus 'momentum'. A fighting axe must be nimble to attack and defend faster than your opponent. A tool axe is designed to deliberately deliver blows powerfully and accurately to a static object.

[@stevenkobb156]

Yes, and woodcutting axes have a sturdy edge sharpened at a more obtuse angle to prevent chipping, dulling, and as Matt mentioned, binding of the blade.

[@b.h.abbott-motley2427]

For splitting wood, does sharpness even matter? My family has never bothered to keep splitting axes & mauls sharp, & they work fine. I mean maybe someone sharpened them every once in a blue moon, but they were usually rather dull & also worn & nicked.

[@thcdreams654]

Always a good watch. Thanks.

[@MrValour]

Thanks for making this video! i actually made that point in a comment on one of your videos quite a while ago. so its great to see you making a whole video about it. i would also say that most tool axes have to be quite heavy to be effective. whereas fighting axes are just to light to cut or even split wood generally speaking. tool axes just have to be so sturdy because you want the piece youre working on not to move at all. also trees dont move when you hit them. a human body on the other hand, even in armour, will always give in a little, which i think is often underestimated.

[@orkstuff5635]

Got a little sharp hand-axe with a reinforced cutting edge, a friend broke a quarterstaff along a fairly short grain, there was enough left to make an 18" handle for my little axe but I'd worry about trying to cut even a balsa wood tree down with it.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Additionally, cross-cutting (chopping) with even a wood-cutting axe works best on green wood. Once the wood dries, a saw becomes a better tool for cutting across the grain.

[@daybertimagni4841]

Another great video! Thanks!!

[@andrewfournier8817]

It seems we have 2 lines of development in axes as weapons. It seems that stone axes developed as tools as far back as the "Boat Axe" (contributory neolithic culture to the vikings, I think.) were indeed used as weapons. I can't speak to the non-european history of this, but we might make some inferences looking at tomahawk use and development. This would, at least, create a cultural foundation of multipurpose (tool/weapon) axes. In this line we can see axes becoming more specialized by need as demand and tool making ability improve: we see more narrow use carpentry axes develop out of the basic tree lopper just as we see fighting axes do the same. I think this evolutionary foundation probably underlies the other strains of perspective on axe development- material efficiency (axes use less steel, and arguably require less powerful metallurgy than swords) and the use as impact weapons. Just a hunch, ofc.

[@franciscomoutinho1]

Everything can be a weapon is you're desperate enough. Everything can be a tool if you're needy enough. Early tools were rocks, and even a coin can perform the role of a screw driver. What would be interesting to find out through experimental archaeology (maybe Todd could chip in) is how do some weapons compare in performance to tools and vice-bersa- It's something I was really curious about for some time.

[@thethiccwarrior6675]

I understand exactly what you’re trying to say I would still make the statement that axes can be used as weapons and tools of course context matters and I’m only speaking from personal experience But I carry a hatchet regularly and it is sturdy enough to be used as a tool but light enough to work as a weapon furthermore I even commissioned an ax with the intention of having it be a compromise between a Combative and tool ax it starts with a large hammer that has a dramatic taper towards the edge And I use it fully aware of its strengths and weaknesses if I intend split wood I don’t expect the blade to do it all rather I just grab a wedge it works lovely for fine cutting and smashing And only weighs 2 pounds and before this ax I owned a cold steel steel Viking handaxe which was very thin and I use that thing ruthlessly Chopping Log splitting wood Chopping an smashing Furniture and that Ax is 1 pound And much thinner

[@paulpeterson4216]

The question of why fighting axes are bad tools was well covered here. A related question, which Matt has covered before, is why are tool axes bad fighting weapons. Also, whether it is the same axe or not; the guy that has built his musculature swinging and axe, may still find that, in combat, he's better with an axe than he would be with a spear.

[@NoNo-bw5cq]

spear is always better though, sword instead of axe would be better example. imho.

[@kpmathis71]

Where was that covered? I'm very jnterested. Seems weight & inertia are likely heavy factors (heh).

[@LuxTheSlav]

@@NoNo-bw5cq Obviously not always.

[@L_Monke]

@@NoNo-bw5cq Against an unarmored men-at-arms sword is very good. But when you face someone with a chainmail on you won't do much unless you stab him in an open area. With an axe tho, blunt force will be enought to break a bone. Even if you hold a longsword in both hands slashes won't do anything against chain mail. I know it for a fact because I tested it with my father. He slashed my back and front with a longsword while I was wearing a 2 cm padded shirt and chainmail. He started to hit me progressively harder and sparks were flying but I did not feel much pain. A stab from a longsword to the belly does hurt alot but it won't take you out of the fight.

[@Tommiart]

Todd sees this video => sets out to make Battlepin with historical sources for combat rolling pins 😁😁😁

[@edi9892]

I've seen a beautiful tomahawk that I believed to be more a tool than a weapon, but someone told me that it was horrible as a tool and that it really hurt the hand when using it because the shaft transferred the impact straight into the hand. Can someone tell me what's wrong with it, or how to fix it? PS: it was an axe with a small head, but a medium seized beard and a hammerhead on the other side. The blade had a gentle curve and was slightly angled downwards. The socket was just like the blade extended to give it more stability. It looked overall reasonably sturdy and was neither particularly light nor heavy. Thus, without actually using it, it appeared to be a fine axe...

[@jamesfrankiewicz5768]

Occasionally, you run across an axe, hammer, or bludgeon (including baseball/softball bats) that are maybe a bit too stiff and transfer a bit too much of the shock to the hand. Without handling said tomahawk myself, I can't definitively say that's the issue. It could also be bad technique by the user: gripping overly tightly will make any handle shock that much worse, and trying to use it well beyond the bounds of where it can be used as a tool will obviously also generate extra shock. You can probably get away with using tomahawks on softwoods (pine, fir, etc), maybe to split kindling into smaller kindling or to trim kindling-size branches off a log, but not much heavier work than those sorts of tasks.

[@soupordave]

I'm surprised Matt that you made no mention of the obvious exception of the ultimate super weapon the Katana, which as we know can cut through anything from machine gun barrels to 1000 year old oak trees and still maintain a razer sharp edge! 🤣

[@WMDTVIDS]

The above is an absolute scientific fact. Proven beyond a doubt in 1980's action documentaries.....🤣

[@dukefanshawe6815]

Maybe a machine gun barrel that was white hot from firing.

[@Salamandra40k]

Its really quite astonishing. There are accounts of samurais with katanas cutting down entire sections of forest with just one perfectly horizontal swing at stump-level. No wonder so much of japanese architecture was made with wood

[@AnotherDuck]

But while a katana can be many things, it is not an axe.

[@johan.ohgren]

Even among tool axes there are huge variety depending on usage. An axe used to split firewood are different from a felling axe which are different from a woodworking axe.

[@samuellee3729]

It's important to note that axes were also used for light woodworking as well. Personally, I think the pipe tomahawk and 14th century battle axes would definitely not be for cutting big trees, but would work perfectly fine for smaller trees and even better for light woodwork (eg, shaping a bow or spear shaft) compared to a typical work axe.

[@TheRomanRuler]

I remember how Lord of the Rings (book) had Gimli say that they do not work rock with their battle axes. Was really happy to hear that.

[@haynesdevon0]

Something you dont think about when talking about the axe. Rome, one of the first kit issued to a legion was a specific type of wood cutting axe. And tho they carried them in the city for defense, but stated it was a inadequate battle field weapons. More akin to a baton when used as a weapon.

[@MadNumForce]

Romans legionnaries made massive use of an ubiquitous tool called the Dolabra. It came in many types, but the most typical one was a relatively broad axe bit and a pick on the other side, though the pick was often replaced by a hoe blade. They remain a relatively common tool in Italy today under the name zappascure.

[@haynesdevon0]

@@MadNumForce yes. That thing.

[@neoaliphant]

very related, could you do a response video to Shad on his "falchion makes a good ranger sidearm for use as a machete and clearing flora" as its quite related to this video.

[@davidsachs4883]

Even if the axes are different the way they’re used are similar. As a parallel: baseballs are rounder and lighter then hand grenades, but baseball pitchers were better at throwing hand Grendel’s in ww2 and Korea

[@christopherrowley7506]

the way they are used isn't really similar at all though. Boxing is a lot more related to fighting with an axe than chopping wood is

[@holyknightthatpwns]

As someone who has done several hundred hours of swordfighting and at least nearly a hundred hours of wood chopping, I would argue that my wood cutting form gives almost no benefit to my ability to fight with an axe. The angles, the goal of repetition vs spontaneity, the weight differences, etc are all so different. Maybe my edge alignment is better, but that would apply to using any other edged weapon as well.

[@davidsachs4883]

The axes I was thinking of was less the two handed maul and more a longer handled one handed hatchet

[@holyknightthatpwns]

@@davidsachs4883 I was just in the backwoods yesterday chopping wood with my camp hatchet, and thought about the application. I think chopping wood would definitely benefit weapons work in terms of arm endurance and hang callous, but I still maintain that the types of cuts are so different that I don't think much technique carries over at all. Whatever does translate from wood chopping to axe fighting probably also translates to sword fighting, in my estimation.

[@sirdanielsmalley9657]

The beginning part sounds like Matt's opening remarks in court.

[@tiaretsnyheter6026]

Good points, thanks for the videos! Also: axes made for tree chopping take real beating, and need their own maintainance, repair and regular substitution. ( I do chop down 1cubic meter timber with just axes on self made ash handles).

[@townwitchdoctor5538]

What we think of as an archetypal "wood" axe is quite different from what was used historically, the drifted eye with a heavy poll axe that has taken over as the main tool axe in varying sizes. Historically there was a huge range of axes made for very specific purposes or regional variations with widely vaying dimensions and forms. It's also a mistake to think of wood axes as thick, many hewing or broad axes have incredibly thin blades and are more akin to a halberd or bardiche. Blade forms very similar to a broadaxe or "doloire" can appear as weapons, but I'd guess they're a specific version made for fighting as the one I have the haft is curved and the blade is offset to the hand at an angle. Were it mounted on a longer straight haft it would be very similar to the one in Durer's print of the Irish mercenaries.

[@EmptyTheaterMask]

even with all those wonderful weapons on the wall, it's Matt's Sweater i'm jealous of.

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Damn right. Even within tool axes, you get specialisations. I have a felling axe, a splitting axe, and a one handed GP axe. They bear only a passing visual resemblance to war axes, and although I wouldn't like to be hit with one, you'd be knackered in 15 seconds trying to fight with a felling axe, and quickly dead if you tried the splitting axe!

[@lavenderlilacproductions]

Someday the internet may give us Matt Easton and Buckin' Billy Ray Smith collab to talk all about fighting vs. woodsman's axes.

[@howitzer551]

I always thought, in the case of one-handed fighting axes, it was a cost benefit thing. If it is going to be a backup weapon anyway (probably main weapon is a spear/polearm) why have an expensive sword. Yes, I know the cost of a sword is way overstated but I would still assume a cheap axe is way cheaper than a cheap sword. Plus, as a backup weapon I would think the axe would be effective against more types of armor that a sword. I want to say I saw it from early Islamic sources but there is a suggestion that Georgian forces and even some of the Kievan Rus prefer axes because they fought peoples with a diverse range of armor and a hit from an axe could aways be expected to at least do some sort of damage no matter the target. Now was the guy making that up based of his own assumptions, did he even talk to these people, I don't know but at least it seems plausible. EDIT: Also, Matt I don't know if we know why certain people chose axes to use as weapons but speculating about that would not be a bad follow up, I would like to hear your opinions on that.

[@haynesdevon0]

Exactly, The commonality of some historical items are do to the popularity of those objects at the time. The axe compared to Republic Rome and Expanding Rus. One of the first kit in the Legion was a wood cutting axe not vary fancy didn't fit into the legions battle order so no surprise that never became a distinguished weapon. The Rus on the other hand, not only were axes used by they're forebears. That beside the fact of what you said being in practice true (axe will damage a hard target better then a sword) a long with being easily adaptable to the Rus battle order, comment as they we're to shock assaults and heavy fight ending hammer blow attacks. Making the axe as weapon not just popular for the Rus but the norm.

[@ivanharlokin]

It's worth pointing out that, in a backup weapon context, if you don't have a shield or buckler, a sword is a considerably preferable weapon.

[@JohnSmith-zk8xp]

@@ivanharlokin context. are you expected to be against good armour?

[@howitzer551]

@@ivanharlokin well if I could remember where I read it, I would give you better dates but because it mentions Georgians, we are talking very late 10th early 11th century at the earliest here. Now I am not an expert of armaments, but I would assume most of the infantry in this period in that part of the world would be using a shield. Also, I didn't mean the axe was the best weapon to use just that as a soldier your opponents could have from almost no armor besides a helmet to being fully encased in chain or scale and all the variations between. While a one handed back up sword is better against some of those than others a hit from and axe will be sure to do decent damage against any of them hence my point about more versatile back up weapon. That does not mean that is why they used them though. I am not sure we know why.

[@guyblew1733]

Those fighting axes you have very beautiful. Wouldn't mind owning them my self. Your information about the difference of tool and fighting axes was very good.👍👍👍

[@wompa70]

Look at all the differing axes. Short handles, long handles. Heads have all kinds of shapes / profiles. Some designed for combat are better with wood than others, some tool axes are better at combat than others.

[@christopherrowley7506]

I think a lot of the confusion with tomahawks is exactly this. A 'tomahawk' could spike tomahawk that weighs less than a pound, is extremely thin, and has a long spike on the back end--designed for war. Or it could be a lightweight trade axe worn on the belt, around a pound but more wedge shaped--designed for skinning, basic wood carving, and processing small amounts of wood for fire. But trade axes were sometimes called tomahawks and used as weapons at times, and spike tomahawks as tools at times. They weren't the best thing for the job, but nothing else was to hand. Definitely a thin 17th cent belt axe was a better weapon than a heavy splitting maul.

[@WhatIfBrigade]

I agree. Even in the modern era, a splitting axe (maul) and a chopping axe and a fireman's axe are all different. In ancient times a tree felling axe, woodworking axe, battle axe and boarding axe were probably all recognizably different tools with a wide variety even within the category. Although I will say that the vast majority of all soldier's time is spent non-combat so I suspect troops used all sorts of weapons as tools (and likely broke many of them).

[@MrKakemann1]

If you make another video on the subject, maybe you could show a couple of examples of axes that was suitable and designed for both.

[@tomhalla426]

Some current carpenters hatchets would work as a tomahawk, mostly shingling hatchets or the like. The handles are not quite right, though.

[@ColdHawk]

I agree. You know though it would be easy enough to do a small amount of forge work and re-shaft them if needed for zombies or what have you…

[@tomhalla426]

@@ColdHawk Ai wonder what English or French 1600’s carpenters hatchets looked like, and if they were the model for trade tomahawks.

[@mightyzeus1e]

Great vid! Would love a follow-up answering the question why people throughout history have used fighting axes. Sure, I think I know the answer, but I'd love to get your take.

[@cwmyr]

Overall agree but Tomahawks are extremely useful tools. Pipe ones maybe slightly less so but still. Similarly Naga axes/daos or most Mishmi, Dafla, Adi, Abor daos, which are used as swords but also as the main tool for cutting, butchering, bush clearing, chopping small trees etc. The same is true for many choppers/swords from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Most tomahawks photographed in the hands of 19th century American Indians, and pictured in the hands of 18th century American Indians, are not really well suited as tools at all. Spontoon tomahawks for obvious reasons, pipe tomahawks for obvious reasons, and indeed some of the larger hatchets had quite thin blades that would not last long at all if used for woodwork. Part of the misunderstanding comes from modern people being familiar with axes from Cold Steel and suchlike, but not the original antiques, which are generally more fragile and lighter in their construction.

[@ColdHawk]

@@scholagladiatoria - what is the steel quality like in those originals, I wonder?

[@AroundTheHouseWithDani]

@@scholagladiatoria living here in the land of the miami can say your wrong tomahawks were tools first weapon second. your not real knowledgeable on american history. i would refer you to maybe townsend here on youtube also a felling axe is thin bladed

[@Immopimmo]

I think we have to take survival bias into some account here. It's not inconceivable that the surviving examples of fancy tomahawks have survived just because they were fancy. Also when posing for photographs it makes sense that a native American would get his nicest tomahawk to pose with and not his everyday working tomahawk. At least that's my theory. Of course I could be completely wrong, but having used tomahawks for bushcrafting I've found them a useful tool and I would be surprised if the Native Americans didn't do the same.

[@jugsteve]

@@AroundTheHouseWithDani Living in Miami makes you an expert? Odd that you write in sweeping terms, while his video makes nuanced comments.

[@mattmoore1311]

I've been using axes for firewood regularly since I was 6. I've been using hewing axes infrequently for around 40 years. I don't know jack about fighting axes. I do know, all that time swinging an axe, none of that would train me for fighting with one. Whatever crossover between working axes and fighting axes probably happened in the neolithic age. Probably long before people started specializing as soldiers.As far as stone age goes, I'm most familiar with "northwest coast" Native American culture. They had many woodworking tools, they also had weapons and armor. They didn't fight with woodworking tools, they had weapons specific for fighting. I suspect woodworking, agricultural, and other plebian tools were only used as weapons when nothing better was available. I'd rather have a long sharp stick in a fight than my hewing axe. So I guess my hewing axe could be used in war to make pointy sticks. Splitting firewood trains you for splitting firewood. I couldn't agree more with your conclusions.

[@andrewburns3823]

Spot on old fellow. Keep it up.

[@acethesupervillain348]

I think when people say, "useful as a tool" they don't mean as a tree chopper, but in the sense of something more like a machete or utility knife, can't cut a tree, but maybe some branches for kindling, or butcher a squirrel or pig for dinner. In the Vinland Saga, they find what they think is a good axe on one of their dead companions and test it by striking it against stone, and then seem disappointed that it breaks. This might indicate that A) this axe was designed for battle and not for a tool, but also B) the Vinland colonizers had the expectation that it could double as a tool. Thus, this debate was going on even a thousand years ago.

[@tom_curtis]

It seems probable to me that if they struck an axe against stone to test it, they did it with the back of the axe rather than the blade - which would test the quality of the metal in the blade without damaging the blade itself.

[@haidner]

That was Natives testing the sxe when offered trade. They failed to understand the usefulness of steel. If they had tested the axe on wood, history might be very different today.

[@garethvila5108]

I've been defending this point for ages, sometimes even in the coments of your videos. The fact that people just assume vikings used axes because they used them as tools it's something that amazes me. I mean, this reasoning can be applied to any other culture that used wood as one of their main resources, and there's quite a lot of them. The people who say this seem to assume that the vikings were the only people ever that used wood in large quantities, or at least the only ones that needed it when they went on military actions. And, by the way, there's also the fact that using a woodchopping axe is quite different to using any kind of fighting axe. Not as different as using a spear or a sword, that's for sure, but it's still quite different.

[@christopherrowley7506]

I'd say fighting with a spear or sword, or even with your fists has a lot more in common with fighting with an axe than chopping wood does.

[@MadNumForce]

"wood chopping axe" is a term that makes no sense. It's like "people killing sword". Felling is an axe activity. Prunning is an axe actvity. Splitting. Coppicing. Squaring/hewing. Carving. They vary by trade, by region, by personnal preference. Light headed (250-700g) axes/hatchets are common in the Romance world, often with a slip-through handle by the way, and some patterns especially from southern Italy (scure Calabria) come by default with a 60cm handle, making formidable weapons in a pinch.

[@akodo1]

Also remember, fighters/soldiers tend to use weapons as tools and tools as weapons. Many a foxhole was dug with a knife or bayonet. Heck USA tried a shovel/bayonet thing in the 1800s. Many a skull has been bashed via a wrench used like a mace in the trenches of WWI, and of course shovel/entrenching tool served such dual purpose that many are now sold as dual purpose tactical etc.

[@b.h.abbott-motley2427]

This is very true. For example, in the era of English Civil War, George Monck recommended issuing pikers tucks rather than swords, claiming that common men would quickly break swords cutting boughs. Tucks were thrusting swords (or sword-like implements, depending on how you define a sword), probably without an edge at all in this case. So at least at times, soldiers would cut wood with whatever they had & didn't necessarily care if this damaged a weapon.

[@Traderjoe]

Can war screwdrivers be used to screw screws in? Or can war wrenches be used as spanners?

[@HeliophobicRiverman]

Matt holds up tomahawk - mat puts down tomahawk and shows Dane-axe... Getting some serious Crocodile Dundee vibes at that sequence.

[@calvinosaurus4514]

Hey Matt, could you make a video about dealing with the stop-hit in HEMA? Or perhaps you could name some sources that address it, please? Thank you

[@Fightosaurus]

There is interesting crossover. US special forces groups in Vietnam were issued tomahawks for both purposes, for instance.

[@macrendilysmir1876]

So my million-folded Damascus Dane-Axe wont magically cut through a forest and build me a dragon-prowed longship? I have been tricked, deceived and possibly bamboozled!

[@PurpleDracos]

I would think in at least the viking use of axes construction is a big factor in as much as making a viable sword blade takes more skill, time and possibly more and better starting materials. At other times with more organised groups those considerations come into play when equipping large numbers quickly, plus then shape and function and what they being deployed against

[@jonathanwessner3456]

Eh, not really. A good ax blade is easier to make, but takes almost as much iron/steel as a sword blade. I think speed and efficiency had more to do with the axes being used for woodworking. It gets ruddy cold up there between raiding seasons, and, if you have to work in the cold, you want to experience as little of it as possible. Where other countries craftsmen could take time to build, vikings needed to do it with some speed.

[@ColdHawk]

You are right about the level of skill and time involved. A Viking sword was made of different types of steel pattern welded together. To do that well, and consistently, without areas of weakness and delamination requires a high level of skill. Ask any amateur blacksmith who is trying to learn forge welding. Making a passable axe - tool or weapon- is a hell of a lot easier. With modern steels that can be forged as a single piece a sword is still more work; forging a taper, grinding or filing bevels, a complex (by comparison) hilt and pommel.

[@Underjordiskentitet]

are you assuming that viking age scandinavian societies were unorganized, because that has really been debunked again and again

[@masonlemons113]

Can you make a video about the Lohar please. Thank you sir

[@2TLJ]

This is one of the reasons I have always been interested in axes. You have a tool that started off as stone but is still useful in the 21 century. It’s been used for as many different jobs as you can think of from cutting down trees to fire fighting to warfare to many more. With in each of those you have different axes for different things. All of them are very different but if you handed all most all of them to the guy with a rock on the end of a stick he could say oh it’s an ax.

[@jamesroper4952]

Machetes are tools, they were originally made for chopping down sugar cane, and for chopping through thick jungle undergrowth. Which also makes them great weapons. Because if it can chop through a narrow tree branch, then a human arm or leg shouldn't be a problem.

[@ivoradev3008]

A wild guess here - the Scandinavian axes had the same role as the Greek and Roman short swords when fighting in shield(wall) formations, but with the ability to hook. The ease of manufacture, the familiarity in handling and the ability to hack at ropes and sticks were just catalysts.

[@randalthor741]

Fun fact: I actually *have* chopped a tree down with a sword. I used a replica cavalry sabre, and it was a very small tree. Probably about 3" in diameter only. It wasn't easy at all just because it was really inefficient.

[@m_d_c_t]

The only use of a tool that I can think of that fighting axes would excel pretty well at is whittling, which would be a relatively useful thing to do on campaign.

[@knulerabc]

I might be wrong, but I remember in the university we learned about that it was a big problem that many of the vikings used tools as axes for warfare. So much so that they made it a point to make a law that the free men had to have axes specifically made for fighting. Im basing this purely from memory, which is terrible, but at least it was a big problem that many used tool axes for fighting. I might have to do some digging in my old textbooks..

[@steffenjespersen247]

Yea if you had a fine Dane axe like that, you would only use it as a "work tool" if your life depended on it. Could you imagine if a Viking saw his son chopping away at a tree for fun, with it... By Odin you better run BOY!!

[@Dustypilgrim1]

Many of the 'tool/weapon' points of difference could find similar references in regard to the oft' beloved Kukhuri . The differences between a 'village' tool oriented Kukhuri and a military focused, weapon natured, kukhuri in dimensions, weights, and metal distribution in blades often reflect similar dynamics you to those refer to regarding axes.

[@jameswisegarver3120]

Did they choose axes as weapons because they were used to using them everyday and just develop special axes for it?

[@Riceball01]

I was thinking of something along the same lines. My thought was that maybe early on some people used or saw people use their tool aex as improvised weapons, liked what they saw and then had a smith make s dedicated weapon version for them.

[@davidfletcher6703]

The boat building axes that the Scandinavians used that look like bearded axes were called Broad axes

[@stuartmonteith7079]

Like you vids, very informative. Just out of curiosity is that a Patu hanging in the background next to the yellow and black shield?

[@rowanmcleod5576]

the thing that occurs to me is: if you already have a lot of smiths making axes as tools it was probably simpler to modify the process of making tool axes so they could make fighting axes if needed rather than completely change what they were doing and make swords, daggers, maces etc (not a blacksmith myself so not sure if this is a huge difference). maybe this accounts for the prolific use of axes as weapons in some areas?

[@ericmitchell985]

This is the internet, Matt... There will never be a slow dissemination towards sanity - one day you'll just wake up and find people saying that, if you hit a sapling with any kind of 'real' fighting axe, the entire blade would shatter and the haft would explode in a hail of deadly splinters, savaging anyone within ten yards. And then it will be onto the 'yes, you can use a tomahawk for light brushwork' videos.

[@benjaminwright5936]

Matt, what did they use for forced entry when bringing in the siege engines wasn't practical.

[@pensmith]

Whenever you see a person using a knife via batoning to split wood, and then the knife breaks... I feel it's similar to the idea of using a much thinner combat axe to try and do woodwork. It's not that you couldn't have a relatively thinner tool for things like trimming, or removing bark, but if you're going to fell a tree or split wood a thinner more fragile edge and blade body will get damaged easier. I mean you could peel an apple with a butter knife, but odds are it won't go well. That said in horror films a logging axe going through a door leaves an impact.

[@skjaldulfr]

Regarding viking axes: I've read that Dane-axes came about in the latter half of the Viking Age, but in the earlier raids the vikings were using small one-handed axes. Might those have been utility hatchets?

[@Underjordiskentitet]

some of them probably, all of the naaah.. also, dane-axes didnt replace small fighting axes ... they were used along side in the latter viking age

[@emamag6455]

What's that sword hanged on the door at your left side? I never notice it before.

[@hamishjames908]

great talk, thank you.. now to throw a curve ball at you, look at early europeian new zealand. our native warriors addapted tool axes into fighting axes immediatly,, putting long handles on hatchets, and carrying shipwhrites axes as tomohawks.. my great great uncle, an very efective warrior, carryied a ship whrites axe as a side arm, useing a thumb cord to control it

[@mattmoore1311]

The tomahawk is about the only axe I'm familiar with that'd fill that dual roll of tool and weapon. A tomahawk is not a woodworking tool however, it's a general use tool for a trapper/hunter. Thousands were imported from Europe during the fur trade era in North America. The northern parts of the fur trade was most dedicated to beaver trapping, the cash crop, and buffalo hunting for pemican, the food for the industry. The southern part of North American fur trade was mostly deer hunting, for buckskin, a heavily traded item at one time. It's no accident a dollar is called a "buck" in America. Probably over half of the people employed in the industry were porters and handlers. Getting goods into the into the wilderness, and getting the furs, hides, and pemican back out. The rest were mostly employed in trading, trapping, or shooting for fur, meat and skins. The tomahawk was all a hunter needed. He could make trap stakes, tent stakes, hide stretchers, and do a zillion other small tasks, and still have a back up weapon if he didn't have time to reload. Just about every historic reference to them is usually doubled up with a skinning knife. If you look at what these men carried, and what their skill set was, they were woodsmen. I don't see a lot of reference for professional soldiers carrying tomahawks. I think they worked well as improvised weapons because they were light. The majority were just a wrought iron, wrapped eye axe. Cheap to make, light to carry, and enough tool for the job. You won't make a cabin with it, but you can easily cut willow shoots for stretching beaver skins with it. I suggest anyone interested in this era to read "Firearms traps, & tools of the Mountain Men" by Carl P Russell. A very good reference book.

[@garethtudor836]

Roskilde Vikingskibsmuseet has videos that show the specialisation of axes used for crafting, as well as videos that show these axes being used. Well worth a look

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Well, now that we've established that you 'could' cut down a tree with a fighting axe, or a machete or a sword, how about... with a herring!

[@ManuTheGreat79]

Hello Matt, Talking about axes ... Is there anything interesting to say about the Bardiche? I'd love to hear it. They're quite mysterious to me.

[@droneracer]

Which axe came first then, fighting or tool, or if the first axes were multi purpose when did the specialization take place.

[@overlordmarkus]

While the inaptitude of fighting axes as tools is interesting, I would have loved if you went deeper into the aptitude of utility axes as fighting axes. Why couldn't utility axes be used as is, what effects did the changes from utility to fighting axe have in battle? This deserves a follow up video!

[@edwardphillips8460]

I agree Matt the battle axe and the tool/wood cutting/chopping axes are two completely different things in size, weight. While maintaining the same basic form. Yet I suggest the “tool” in all it’s forms are/were excellent training “weapons” Consider all the different strokes necessary to harvest a single tree. If you take a “work” axe and limb the tree as far up as you can comfortably reach all the way to the ground it wouldn’t take many trees to have your edge alignment perfected. Anyone who’s harvested a tree with an axe will tell you removing limbs is a must to take down a tree. With limbs done it’s time chop it down. More edge alignment training done at full force. Give a person very little time actually working with a “tool” axe. And then put a battle axe in his hands, his weapons basic training is already done. Point them in the direction of the enemy and get out of the road!

[@kliyo]

Have you ever found an example that struck an ok compromise between both functions?

[@andieslandies]

I really enjoyed the video, as always, and it left me thinking, as always, about a lot of things. First and foremost, I feel that differentiating weapons from tools actually makes it more difficult to appreciate the fundamental truth of what Matt is saying. If we recognise that weapons are just tools designed for a specific purpose, it is easier to see how increasing specialisation makes them less and less useful for other purposes. Someone whose trade is working with wood is just as unlikely to risk the tools of their trade by felling a tree with their carpenter's hatchet as a warrior would be to risk felling it with their Dane axe. Causes of cultural preference for specialised axe use in warfare is a question that only leaves me asking more questions; do societies with a higher prevalence of non-warfare axe use demonstrate a greater preference for the axe in warfare? Does non-warfare proficiency in axe use translate to warfare axe use proficiency more easily than other non-warfare skills? Do societies with faster tool-axe specialisation development develop specialised fighting axes faster? Is there a correlation between axe use in warfare and the specialisation of the professional warrior or the range of peacetime employments of non-professional warriors that is independent of the efficacy of the axe against contemporary armour?

[@erikgranqvist3680]

My twin brother use an axe on an almost daily basis in his work. He is thw closest thing you get to a professional user. And he claims that his different Gränsfors or Hultafors woodworking axes would be almost useless as weapons. They are simply not made for fighting and has the balance, weight etcetera all wrong.

[@dmill6103]

Matt hows your Czech Arms and Armor warhammer? Have you done any tests with it against plate or have you noticed if the head is particularly soft at all?

[@spot1401]

nice one. the war axes seem to me much closer to "sharp force" whereas the "mixing in of blunt force" is more prominent with the tool-axes. In modern forensics you almost never see the clean cut bones as can be found in ancient battlefields. With the tool axes it is much more crushing action going on. However, most modern tools are not kept in good order and are often blunt and are used not in combat but in a heated argument as a tool of chance rather than choice.

[@martinspalding374]

i think mainly why they chose axes and spears for most weapons is you get a vary reliable weapon without to must costly steal having to be involved

[@UtahSustainGardening]

So, is your next video going to be on combat rolling pins?

[@BrickDBlack]

Could you do a similar video about the kukri? The kukri seems to be a kind of compromise between weapon and tool.

[@Kochie11]

Native American Tomahawks I confidently feel like they could be utilized as both tools and weapons safely. Same as extremely primitive stone or flint axes. Maybe not chopping down trees, but chopping and shaping sticks or thin logs would be easy tasks for them

[@michal1743]

Quick question on Dane Axe, so would it perform well against armour/shields? Wouldn't there be issues with bending/breaking?

[@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard]

I have some really old axes. I know that’s you wouldn’t want a heavy head for an axe. If it is too heavy you you can’t control it. It make you very squishy in the field. Many of the tool axe are heavy for a reason and that to let the weight do the work. Which is more energy efficient. You don’t need a heavy axe to fight with as it about speed and effective delivery.