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How were stone blades used as both adzes and axes in Pacific Island societies?

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dilly bag; Aboriginal Australian art, Northern Territory, Australia — Oceanic art and architecture An Aboriginal Australian decorating a tightly woven dilly bag with white, yellow, and ochre (red) paints, Northern Territory, Australia, 1948.

In Pacific Island societies, the stone blade served as the fundamental tool for woodworking, with its function determined primarily by how it was hafted to a handle.1

The distinction between an ax and an adz lies in the orientation of the cutting edge relative to the handle:
* Ax: The cutting edge is parallel to the handle, typically used for felling trees or cutting through wood.2
* Adz: The cutting edge is set at a right angle to the handle, used for shaping, smoothing, and leveling timber.32

In many parts of Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia, the same stone blade was often hafted interchangeably as both an ax and an adz depending on the specific task at hand. These blades were frequently fashioned from stone, though in regions where stone was scarce, such as parts of Micronesia and the Solomon Islands, Tridacna shell was used as a substitute. The versatility of these tools allowed Pacific Islanders to master complex woodworking, including the construction of large-scale architecture and the hollowing of logs for canoes.142