Head

The nape should be rectangular so that it can be used to drive stakes or wedges. It should be heavier or lighter depending on balance preference.

The eye should be D-shaped, teardrop-shaped or oval, in that order. The first facilitates correct alignment because of the already flat surface and makes work easier.
The length, width and height should be such that a long and secure fit is ensured. These dimensions depend on the wood of the handle, the strength of the user, the mass of the axe, the tree to be cut, the bending stress during work.

Extended attachments/lobes are advisable, they increase the contact area with less weight compared to simply extending the house; they reduce the lever and thus the torque.

The house encloses the eye. The wall thickness should be adapted to the intended application.

## The axe body

File:PartsOfTheAxe.jpg

The axe body of an axe is divided into *head* and *blade*.

* the head: it is the foundation of the axe, today's (Central European) axes have a width of 60-70 mm, it was found out that this allows a stable connection of the handle.
* The blade: The shape and dimensions of the blade depend very much on the intended use. Axes with long (~30 cm) blades were useful to "grind down" thick trees and to chop off roots. Only with these axes it was possible to penetrate deep into the wood without the handle becoming a hindrance (to cut down a tree only with an axe, without a saw).

On the head one distinguishes:

* The neck (striking plate): The neck is usually a flat, reinforced, unhardened rectangular striking plate. There are numerous axes with oval or round shapes. In Europe, until the 19th century, trees were cut close to the ground without saws, so the balance of the axe body was secondary to the more vertical strokes. In North America there was no incentive to use wood sparingly, all the land was covered with old large trees. The settlers needed farmland. The fastest method at that time was to set the felling notch at breast height. Therefore, the necks of the axes were made larger so that when chopping almost horizontally, the axe would remain horizontal.
* the house: The house encloses the axe-side end of the handle, which is fixed in the eye.
* the eye: Whereas on older axes the eye was made by forging around an oval iron, today it is pressed out with a press. Nowadays, "D" shaped ears are common in Central Europe. The flat surface in the ear and on the handle makes it easier to align the cutting edge when hafting. In Scandinavia, Southern Europe and North America, on the other hand, the teardrop-shaped eye is traditionally used.

The Mass point should be as close to the Head as Possible.

## Manufacture

1. The flat iron was bent over a mandrel that had the shape of the axe house, the two ends were then welded together, a cutting edge was forged out and hardened in the case-hardening or nitriding process (no longer in use).
2. A small piece of high carbon steel was inserted between the two ends of the flat iron bent to 1, welded to the iron and forged, hardened in water and then tempered (no longer in use).
3. The cutting piece was attached to the flat iron after 1 and 2 by overlap welding (no longer in use; was always rare)
4. A piece of flat steel was placed and forged around the iron blade bent together from a flat iron or perforated and forged from one piece (no longer in use)
5. A rectangular shaped piece of iron is pierced under a hammer or a forging press by means of a mandrel, creating the eye for the handle. The iron mass facing the future cutting edge is cut open with a chisel, a piece of high-carbon steel is inserted into the slot and this is forged. (still common in village forges)
6. A rectangular piece of steel is punched under the press, or the eye is pressed and then forged out under the hammer. Since it is an axe made entirely of steel, it is called an "all-steel axe" (common today).