An adz (also spelled adze) is a hand tool for shaping wood, with a blade set perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel to it. That blade orientation is what distinguishes it from an axe and gives the adz its unique ability to scoop, smooth, and carve wood surfaces with precision. It’s one of the oldest woodworking tools in existence, used for thousands of years to shape everything from dugout canoes to timber-frame beams.
How an Adz Differs From an Axe
The easiest way to understand an adz is to compare it to the tool most people already know: the axe. An axe blade is mounted parallel to the handle, so the cutting edge swings in the same plane as the shaft. An adz blade is mounted at a right angle to the handle, so the cutting edge faces the user rather than pointing forward. This means an axe chops into wood, while an adz scoops across the surface.
Think of it like the difference between a hoe and a pickaxe. The adz swings in an arc toward your body (or between your legs), shaving material away in controlled passes. In the hands of a skilled user, it works like a huge chisel, rapidly removing material to leave a flat or curved surface. That makes it ideal for tasks where you’re shaping a surface rather than splitting or felling.
Parts of an Adz
An adz has two main components: the handle and the blade. The handle is typically made of wood and features a distinctive elbow shape, with a bend or platform at the top where the blade attaches. This angled design positions the cutting edge at the correct orientation for a downward swinging motion. Historical handles recovered from archaeological sites range from about 30 to 40 centimeters long, with a platform of 6 to 8 centimeters where the blade seats.
The blade itself can be made from a range of materials depending on the era. Ancient versions used stone (often polished schist or flint), Egyptian-era adzes used copper or bronze, and modern versions use hardened steel. The blade fits into or onto the handle’s platform to form a T-shape, with the sharp edge facing the user when the tool is held upright.
Common Types of Adzes
Adzes come in several styles, each built for a different scale of work.
- Foot adz: The largest and most powerful type, with a long handle designed to be swung between your feet using both hands. It’s built for heavy jobs like rough-shaping logs and removing large sections of timber. The long handle lets you leverage your full body weight into each swing.
- Hand adz: A shorter, lighter tool designed for one-handed use, offering much more control and precision. Hand adzes are the choice for detailed shaping, tight spaces, and finishing work.
- Carving adz (bowl adz): A variation of the hand adz with a deeply curved blade, specifically designed for hollowing out concave shapes. It’s commonly used for carving wooden bowls, seats, and other objects that need a scooped interior.
- Carpenter’s adz: A general-purpose adz well suited to shaping timbers for log construction, smoothing wooden floorboards, and flattening beams. This is the type most often seen in timber framing.
What People Use Adzes For Today
Despite being ancient, adzes remain practical tools. Timber framers use carpenter’s adzes to hand-hew beams, creating the textured, slightly irregular surfaces prized in traditional log construction. The tool excels at flattening a round log into a beam because each swing shaves a controlled layer of wood, leaving a surface that’s flat but still shows hand-tool character.
Woodworkers and sculptors use hand adzes and bowl adzes for carving furniture, seats, dough bowls, and art pieces. A skilled user can make chips half an inch thick and nine inches long with a sharp adz, which makes quick work of rough shaping before switching to finer tools. Chair makers, in particular, rely on curved adzes to hollow out seat blanks efficiently.
Sharpening and Bevel Angles
An adz needs to be sharp to work well, and the ideal bevel angle depends on the wood you’re cutting. For softer woods or finishing cuts, a bevel angle of about 25 degrees gives the sharpest, thinnest edge for clean shaving. For hardwoods or roughing cuts, a steeper angle around 30 degrees holds up better against the denser grain. The usable range for most work falls between 25 and 35 degrees.
Going below 20 degrees creates an edge that’s too fragile for anything but the softest woods. If you’re working dry hardwood, err toward the higher end of the range to prevent the edge from chipping or rolling over.
Safety Basics
Because a foot adz swings between your legs and toward your body, it demands more safety awareness than most woodworking tools. The single most important rule is to wear heavy boots. This isn’t optional. Experienced adz users are emphatic on this point, with good reason: even seasoned woodworkers report cutting themselves when wearing sandals or thin footwear.
If you’re new to the tool, keep your feet outside the path the blade is traveling. Beginners should not place their feet in the line the adz follows until they’ve built up enough muscle memory to control the swing consistently. Start with light, controlled strokes rather than full-power swings, and work your way up as you develop a feel for how the blade bites into the wood.