A broadaxe is a large headed axe, with one side flat, the other side being beveled, with a handle curved away from the flat side. So shaped for its use for hewing wood, a rough-cut of a timber in order to make flat surfaces on it. The flat blade is to make the flat surface, the curved handle to enable the user to wrap their hand round the handle without damaging their knuckles by hitting them against the object being worked on. Since the introduction of sawmills and modern power tools, the use of this tool is now uncommon in manufacturing.