The broadaxe is a tool consisting of a metal head, equipped with a sharp blade, fixed on a sturdy wooden handle that is held by the woodcutter with both hands. In the broadaxe, unlike the axe, the edge of the blade is placed parallel to the length of the handle, even if in common usage the two terms are used as synonyms.
The broadaxe was used to fell trees and divide the trunks into pieces of the shape suitable for the intended use (firewood, construction wood).
When felling large trees, the broadaxe could only be used to make the notch that determined the direction of the tree's fall and then make the cut with the two-handled saw.