Stone ax: description of the tool and the way it was made.
In ancient times, this tool was manufactured using the upholstery method and consisted of two parts: a chopper and a handle. When making it is important to choose the right stone and wood, as this depends on the strength of the tool. The best are considered to be flint, granite, gabbro, quartzite, sandstone and some others. If you do not find them, then use any other, because everyone can, to some extent, be amenable to processing. However, sometimes you need a little more time.
Next, a suitable tree for the handle is selected. It must be strong, durable and reliable. It is chosen, of course, depending on where you are. As an example, you can use a bucket or African ebony. When making the handle, make sure that there are no knots and burrs on it. How to grind it off. This will protect you from the appearance of splinters on your hands and will allow you to hold the instrument with ease.
So, after you have picked up all the related materials, you will probably have a question, exactly how to make this tool? For this it is important to follow a simple instruction. It is important to put your stone( for the future ax) on a straight surface. For sharpening, take another sharp stone or any sharp tools( if you are in the city zone).
Start the turning process, gradually beating off the ax to a rectangular shape. To make a handle, you'll need a set of locksmith tools, in particular a hacksaw on wood( to cut it off).
In these last two phases, be patient, because the work is not going fast. However, with systematic and gradual approaches you will achieve the desired result.
Grinding ax
In Neolithic times, grinding was also used. For this, new stone rocks such as diorite, nephrite, serpentinite were used. It was a good tool for splitting the tree along the fibers, it served as something like wedges. The proportions and sizes were very different. The forms could be both round and flat-oval. There are also very miniature specimens.
By the way, many of them were used not only for cutting the solid wood, but also for processing clay vessels and leather( as a hollow).Some types of this instrument had a transverse groove. It is designed for easier fixing on the handle using raw leather or flexible rods. Such axes were popular mostly in North and South America, and also in the Far East. They were made not only from stone, but also from the shell and ivory.
Drilled axes
In the late Eneolithic, as well as in the Bronze Age, bored axes began to appear. They had very specific forms. Often their elegant outlines resembled bronze axes, on which, besides, there could be all kinds of ornaments and ornaments. They were intended to a greater extent for various combat battles or ceremonies. However, they were often used for cutting trees.
They also include cruciform, pistil, rhombic, clavate, wedge-shaped, shank, triangular, hammer-shaped axes. The latter did not even have a blade at all. By the way, they later turned into a tool known today - a hammer. Other types differ only in their form, which was made for convenience, depending on the work performed.