Axe today, they were once an integral part of a joiner and carpenter's tool kit, not just a tool for use in forestry. A tool of similar origin is the billhook. Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles, typically hickory in the US and ash in Europe and Asia, although plastic or fibreglass handles are also common. Modern axes are specialised by use, size and form. Hafted axes with short handles designed for use with one hand are often called hand axes but the term hand axe refers to axes without handles as well. Hatchets tend to be small
Buxus sempervirens Merit:- Slow growth of box renders the wood ("boxwood") very hard (possibly the hardest in Europe) and heavy, and free of grain produced by growth rings, making it ideal for cabinet-making, the crafting of flutes and oboes, engraving, marquetry, woodturning, tool handles, mallet heads and as a substitute for ivory. The English engraver Thomas Bewick pioneered the use of boxwood blocks for engraving. The leaves were formerly used in place of quinine, and as a fever reducer. "Buxus sempervirens" is a medicinal plant used to treat many diseases. It contains steroidal alkaloids such as cyclobuxine. It also contains flavonoids. "B.