[QUOTE=A. G. Maisey;291371]I saw "poll axe", but the first thing I noticed when I looked at the pic was that eye was not round.
I always had a soft spot for axes as well.
I think that the poll refers to the back part of the axe head opposite the bit, not the shape of the eye. A round poll referred to the curve around the head not the eye. The axe pictured in 1 is a square poll. Square polls appeared in the early 1700's and were widely adopted because of the use that could be made of the flattened area as a hammer. Hammer polls are those where material is added to make a full hammer shape.
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