Answer:
As a whole, I am both safe and secure. Behead me, I become a place of meeting. Behead me again, I am the partner of ready. Restore me, I become the domain of beasts.
What do you use to hoe a row, slay a foe, and wring with woe?
What dress does everyone have, but no one wears?
What always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?
Sharp and long, flag of the world. What is it?
Almost everyone needs it, asks for it, gives it. But almost nobody takes it.