Axe vs. Blade — What's the Difference?

A tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle.

A leaf of grass or similar plant.

A device for chopping or splitting by a sharp blow.

The cutting part of a knife, sword, or other tool.

A metaphor for termination or dismissal.

A flat piece of metal with a sharp edge for cutting.

An instrument for felling trees or combat.

Part of a machine that cuts or slices.

A symbol of power or authority in some cultures.

A metaphor for sharpness or cutting ability.

An axe (sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialised uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve.

A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on.

A tool used for chopping wood, typically of iron with a steel edge and wooden handle

The flat cutting part of a sharpened weapon or tool.

A musical instrument used in popular music or jazz, especially a guitar or (originally) a saxophone.

A sword.

End, cancel, or dismiss suddenly and ruthlessly

A swordsman.

Cut or strike with an axe, especially violently or destructively

(Archaeology) A slender, sharp-edged flake that is at least twice as long as it is wide.

A tool with a bladed, usually heavy head mounted crosswise on a handle, used for felling trees or chopping wood.

A dashing youth.

Any of various bladed, handheld implements used as a cutting tool or weapon.

A flat thin part or section, especially one that makes contact to perform a desired action

(Informal) A sudden termination of employment

An arm of a rotating mechanism

(Slang) A musical instrument, especially a guitar.

A long, thin, often curved piece, as of metal or rubber, used for plowing, clearing, or wiping.

To chop or fell with or as if with an axe

The metal runner of an ice skate.

(Informal) To remove ruthlessly or suddenly

A wide flat bone or bony part.

Variant of ax2.

The flat upper surface of the tongue just behind the tip.

A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc. consisting of a heavy head flattened to a blade on one side, and a handle attached to it.

The expanded part of a leaf or petal.

An ancient weapon consisting of a head that has one or two blades and a long handle.

The leaf of grasses or similar plants.

(informal) A dismissal or rejection.

To skate on in-line skates.

(figurative) A drastic reduction or cutback.

The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.

A gigging musician's particular instrument, especially a guitar in rock music or a saxophone in jazz.

(metonymy) A sword or knife.

(finance) A position, interest, or reason in buying and selling stock, often with ulterior motives.

The flat functional end or piece of a propeller, oar, hockey stick, chisel, screwdriver, skate, etc.

(archaic) The axle of a wheel.

The narrow leaf of a grass or cereal.

(transitive) To fell or chop with an axe.

(botany) The thin, flat part of a plant leaf, attached to a stem (petiole). The lamina.

To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel.

A flat bone, especially the shoulder blade.

To furnish with an axle.

A cut of beef from near the shoulder blade (part of the chuck).

Alternative form of ask

The part of the tongue just behind the tip, used to make laminal consonants. Body parts

See Ax, Axman.

(archaeology) A piece of prepared, sharp-edged stone, often flint, at least twice as long as it is wide; a long flake of ground-edge stone or knapped vitreous stone.

An edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle

(ultimate frisbee) A throw characterized by a tight parabolic trajectory due to a steep lateral attitude.

Chop or split with an ax;

(sailing) The rudder, daggerboard, or centerboard of a vessel.

Terminate;

A bulldozer or surface-grading machine with mechanically adjustable blade that is nominally perpendicular to the forward motion of the vehicle.

(dated) A dashing young man.

Thin plate, foil.

(photography) One of a series of small plates that make up the aperture or the shutter of a camera.

The principal rafters of a roof.

(biology) The four large shell plates on the sides, and the five large ones of the middle, of the carapace of the sea turtle, which yield the best tortoise shell.

(computing) A blade server.

(climbing) knifeblade

(mathematics) An exterior product of vectors. (The product may have more than two factors. Also, a scalar counts as a 0-blade, a vector as a 1-blade; an exterior product of k vectors may be called a k-blade.)

The part of a key that is inserted into the lock.

An artificial foot used by amputee athletes, shaped like an upside-down interrogation mark.

(informal) To skate on rollerblades.

(transitive) To furnish with a blade.

To put forth or have a blade.

(transitive) To stab with a blade

To cut (a person) so as to provoke bleeding.

Properly, the leaf, or flat part of the leaf, of any plant, especially of gramineous plants. The term is sometimes applied to the spire of grasses.

The cutting part of an instrument; as, the blade of a knife or a sword.

The broad part of an oar; also, one of the projecting arms of a screw propeller.

The scapula or shoulder blade.

The principal rafters of a roof.

The four large shell plates on the sides, and the five large ones of the middle, of the carapace of the sea turtle, which yield the best tortoise shell.

A sharp-witted, dashing, wild, or reckless, fellow; - a word of somewhat indefinite meaning.

The flat part of the tongue immediately behind the tip, or point.

To furnish with a blade.

To put forth or have a blade.

Especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole

A dashing young man;

Something long and thin resembling a blade of grass;

A cutting or thrusting weapon with a long blade

A cut of beef from the shoulder blade

A broad flat body part (as of the shoulder or tongue)

The part of the skate that slides on the ice

Flat surface that rotates and pushes against air or water

The flat part of a tool or weapon that (usually) has a cutting edge

Yes, historically, axes have been used both as tools and weapons.

Axes should be stored with a sheath on the blade, ideally in a dry place to prevent rust.

The size of a blade can vary widely from a few centimeters in a scalpel to several feet in a sword.

Environmental conditions like humidity and exposure to elements can cause rust and deterioration in metal. Regular maintenance, such as oiling the metal parts and storing them in dry conditions, is crucial for both axes and blades.

Always cut away from your body, use a stable surface, and keep the blade sharp to avoid accidents.

Axes are often made from steel and wood, while blades can be made from various metals, including steel, ceramic, or titanium.

An axe is best sharpened with a file or a whetstone at an appropriate angle, focusing on maintaining the wedge shape of the edge. Blades are typically sharpened with finer whetstones or honing tools to achieve a precise, razor-sharp edge.

Yes, there are many types of blades designed for specific tasks, such as serrated blades for cutting bread, straight blades for smooth slicing, and scalloped blades for cutting through tough exteriors like sausage skins.

Historically, axes have been used for a variety of purposes including as tools for woodcutting, as weapons in battle, and even as symbols in religious and ceremonial contexts.

Yes, blades can also be made from ceramics, which are often used in kitchen knives because they do not rust and can hold a sharp edge for a long time, though they are more brittle than metal blades.