Adze

A cutting tool, similar to an ax, in which the blade is set at right angles to the handle or haft. One of the earliest tools, it was widely distributed in Stone Age cultures in the form of a handheld stone chipped to form a blade. By Egyptian times, it was made of stone, metal, or shell and had acquired the handle. It is distinguished from the ax (working edge parallel with haft) by its asymmetrical cross-section. This carpenter's tool was used for rough dressing of timber and possibly for tree felling and for hollowing out a dugout canoe. The adz also was used in the ritual ceremony Opening of the Mouth in Egypt; touching it to the mouth of the mummy or statue of the deceased was thought to restore the senses.