In Minecraft, the axe is the most effective tool for breaking wooden blocks. Logs, planks, wood blocks, doors, trapdoors, fences, chests, crafting tables, and many other wood-based blocks can be broken by hand, but an axe breaks them substantially faster.
The axe is Minecraft’s dedicated wood-cutting tool, much as the pickaxe is associated with stone and the shovel with soil. Its material affects both speed and durability: wooden axes are the weakest, while diamond and netherite axes are durable high-tier choices. Golden axes break applicable blocks fastest, but they wear out quickly.
A common mix-up is assuming that every block made from a natural resource uses the same tool. Pickaxes are generally intended for stone-based blocks, shovels for dirt-like blocks, and hoes for certain plant or foliage blocks. An axe can also be used as a weapon, and in modern Minecraft it can strip logs and other wood by using the interact action on them. The axe speeds up harvesting, but it is not strictly required: wooden blocks still drop normally when broken without one.