Axes

Take the effort out of chopping wood and felling trees with our range of axes online. We stock a wide selection of axes for forestry work, firewood and getting through hard ground.

Made with high-quality materials, we choose only the best products for our customers, from market-leading brands, like Spear & Jackson®, Sitesafe® and Kennedy®.

What is an axe?

An extremely versatile tool, axes originate from the stone age (around 30,000 BC) and are widely used for chopping and splitting wood and piercing the ground. Modern axes retain the original design, with a steel blade attached to a wooden or fibreglass handle.

Axe types

There are a variety of axe types, with a modified shape and handle length allowing for varied applications. Some models still retain the separation between the head and handle, while other variants have combined these to create one strong hand tool.

• Campers axe   -   Designed for a range of camping tasks, this style of axe features a sharp edge for cutting wood and a flat back for tapping in tent pegs. Some models feature a notch to pull out tent stakes

• Chopping axe   -   Similar to a campers axe, this type is designed for chopping wood

• Firefighters axe   -   The clue's in the name, these axes are available with short or long handles to allow for varied swing requirements. The axe head features a wide blade at one end, and a pickaxe shape at the other to allow for a range of chopping and cutting requirements

• Hatchet   -   This type of axe is designed for heavy use and is frequently used to chop down trees. The slimline blade allows for deep cuts, while the medium length handle allows for good balance on each swing

• Kindling splitter   -   Featuring a very short, sharp blade, the kindling splitter is intended to be used with one hand for chopping small bits of kindling for the fire

• Log splitter   -   Available with handles of varied length, these axes feature a standard shaped head for splitting dry logs for the fire

• Mattock   -   similar to a pickaxe, the mattock is designed to dig, pry and chop. It can feature varying head designs, including a combination of a pick and a diagonal axe blade, two diagonal axe blades or a pick and a vertical axe blade

• Pickaxe   -   This t-shaped axe features two sharp ends for prying and digging and is widely used in mining applications

• Splitting maul   -   Designed for log splitting, this type of axe features a long handle that's typically threaded through the head for strength. The head is shaped with a short blade at the end of a thicker, hammer-sized body to allow for quick work

Considerations when choosing an axe

• Application - its important to use the right axe for the job, so whether you're felling trees or splitting kindling, choose the tool to suit the application and avoid injury.

• Handle - the length of an axe handle can make a difference to the swing you use. For small, one-handed applications, like splitting kindling, a short handle provides a quick and precise hit. Taking down trees on the other hand, will require a medium to long handle depending on the size of the tree and the swing required to fell it.

• Head material - choose from forged steel to heat treated carbon to provide strength and longevity.

FAQs

What's the difference between a mattock and an axe?

An axe is designed to chop vertically through wood, while a mattock cuts on the horizontal, and is used for digging hard ground and chopping out large roots in the soil.

Why do some axes have two blades?

A dual function or double bit axe is designed to carry out a range of tasks, including the felling of trees, hacking off tree limbs or branches and chopping wood for the fire. Using a single tool for several different jobs prevents the need for multiple tools and allows the user to adapt quickly to different requirements.