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 it's 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 her hand round the handle without busting her knuckles upon the piece being worked on. This process is largely obsolete due to the introduction of sawmills and power tools.