Axes

The axe was the working weapon of the north for a thousand years, and it is the tool every household owned before it was ever a weapon. This collection gathers every axe Battling Blades makes: bearded Viking axes, the long Dane axe, the double-bit labrys, tomahawks and throwing axes, hatchets, a hooked axe and a tactical axe, from a 12-inch hatchet to the 50-inch Dane axe, with heads in pattern-welded Damascus, 1095 high carbon or stainless steel on hardwood hafts.

Choosing an axe

Patterns

The Viking axe is the bearded pattern, with the lower edge of the head drawn down below the socket so the hand can choke up behind it; ours run 18 to 23 inches in Damascus and 1095, with a 34-inch long-hafted bearded axe, a 38-inch bearded battle axe with a forged iron head and a 30-inch stainless hand axe. The Dane axe is the two-handed Viking battle axe, here as a 50-inch double-bit in Damascus. The labrys is the double-bit axe of the ancient Aegean. The tomahawks, 17 inches and under, include a pipe tomahawk, a heavy 1095 pattern and a tomahawk with a matching punch knife; the full range is in tomahawks and throwing axes. The hatchets at 12 and 16.5 inches are the camp tools. The hooked axe at 40 inches and the tactical axe in stainless are the odd ones out and worth a look. The axe bundles pair heads with a stand, kit and sharpener, and the seven-axe bundle is the whole rack.

Length

Under 18 inches is a hand axe or tomahawk, one-handed and belt-carried. 18 to 24 inches is the classic Viking fighting axe and the size that fits a wall like a sword. 30 inches and up is a two-handed axe that needs a full mount or a corner. The axe holder is sized for the hand axes and tomahawks.

Steel and haft

Damascus heads are layered high carbon steel with a visible pattern; 1095 heads are plain high carbon, harder and simpler to maintain; stainless heads need the least care. Hafts are hardwood, wrapped or plain, and the head is fitted and pinned. Each product page states the steel, the edge and the haft. Keep carbon steel dry and oiled; the cleaning kit covers it. An axe can also be built to your own head shape, size and haft in the axe builder.

Related

The Viking axes sit beside the swords, seax and shields in Viking weapons and armor and have their own collection at Viking axes. The halberd and poleaxe, the axe on a pole, are in halberds and poleaxes.

Frequently asked questions

What is a bearded axe?
An axe whose blade extends downward below the socket, forming a beard. It gives more edge for the weight and lets the hand grip just behind the head for close work. It is the characteristic Viking pattern.

What is a Dane axe?
The long-hafted two-handed axe of the late Viking age, with a broad thin blade. It was the weapon of the Anglo-Saxon huscarls at Hastings as much as of the Danes.

What is a labrys?
The double-bitted axe of Minoan Crete and the ancient Aegean, a symbol as much as a tool, and the axe of the Amazons in Greek legend.

What is the difference between a tomahawk and a hatchet?
The tomahawk has a straight haft and a lighter head, historically fitted from the top, and was as much a weapon and a throwing tool as a chopper. The hatchet is the heavier one-hand chopping tool.

Do they come sharp?
Most Damascus and 1095 axes are supplied with an edge. The product page states the finish and how the head is fitted.