What is an Adze?
An adze is a tool which is used to shape wood. It consists of a curved blade mounted perpendicularly on a long handle or haft. Depending on the type of adze, there are a number of ways to use the tool, ranging from hollowing out canoes to shaping wooden shingles. Many hardware stores carry adzes, along with plain adze blades which can be mounted on old handles or hand-made hafts. The adze is probably one of the earliest tools developed by humans. The first adzes were made from stone, and they were designed as hand tools. Users fitted the adze into their hands and used it for various shaping tasks; numerous archaeological sites across the world uncover adzes on a regular basis. Once humans began working in metals, metal adzes began to replace stone, because metal was easier to shape and it could be easily ground to create a sharp edge. Many cultures also independently realized that the adze blade could be fitted to a haft, creating leverage, and the modern form of the adze was born. One
