Damascus Bushcraft Axe, Curved Hickory Handle, Raindrop Pattern

Green wood does not wait. You limb a pole, you split kindling by the fire, and most of that happens with one hand while the other holds the wood. This one is set up for that work. The head is Damascus over a high carbon core, the haft is hickory with a curve in it, and the axe is 19 inches long.

Specification

The head

The head is Damascus over a high carbon core, etched so the raindrop pattern stands up in the light, rings of it one inside the next. The etch is carried down to the edge, so the pattern does not break at the grind. The head is 6 inches long and the cutting edge is 3.5 inches with a curve in it, so the corner enters the cut first and the rest follows. Damascus is carbon steel under the pattern. It darkens with use and it will rust if you put it away wet.

The handle

Hickory is springy without being soft, so a bad hit goes into the wood and not your wrist. This one is curved. The swell sits into the heel of your palm and the wrist arrives at the same angle every swing. The eye is wedged. The handle goes up through the head from below, a wooden wedge spreads the top against the steel, then a steel wedge across that. At 19 inches it swings one handed and takes two when the wood is thick.

The leather head cover

The cover is vegetable tanned leather, cut to this head's own outline, so it sits over the bit without slack. It is hand stitched with a welt in the seam, so the edge rides on leather instead of stitching. The face is stamped basket weave, worked in with a stamp and a mallet. A snap strap holds it shut. Put it on dry. Leather over a wet bit holds water against the steel.

Who it suits

Swing a straight hatchet all afternoon and the wrist starts arguing back. A curved haft takes that argument out.

• Campers working green wood one handed
• Anyone whose wrist objects to a straight haft
• Buyers who want a patterned head they will use
• People who find a felling axe too much

What comes in the box

• The Damascus bushcraft axe
• The hand stitched leather head cover
• A care card
• An engraving card

Every piece is different

Every head is forged and etched by hand, so the raindrop pattern lands where it lands. Rings sit tight on one and open up on the next. Hickory does the same. The grain runs differently through every haft and the color moves from pale straw to brown. Yours will not match the photographs.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry after use. Oil the steel before it goes away. The handle takes boiled linseed oil, three to five coats over as many days, then once a year. Never varnish it. Oily rags can catch fire on their own if you screw them up indoors, so lay them flat outside. To sharpen, a file first, then a stone, then a strop. More on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name and a date, or a short line. We send a proof image before the laser runs, so read it properly. It adds 3 to 5 business days. Order 10 or more and the engraving is free. The engraving page has the detail.

Questions buyers ask

Why is this haft curved when a throwing axe is straight? A curve earns its keep on a longer handle swung from the shoulder, lining the wrist up at the bottom of the arc. A short axe has no arc, so a straight haft is right there.

Does the curve change how I hold it? Bottom hand into the swell and leave it. You stop thinking about the angle.

How is the head fixed on? The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up from below, a wooden wedge spreads the top against the steel, and a steel wedge across that.

Will a Damascus head rust? Yes. There is carbon steel under the pattern. Dry it and oil it before the cover goes on.

Is the pattern only skin deep? No. The layers run through the head, so the etch shows again after sharpening.

How long does delivery take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

If the pattern is not the point, the oak handled bushcraft axe does the same work on a straight haft, as does the shorter olive wood throwing hatchet. The rest sit in bushcraft axes, the patterned heads in Damascus axes, and the whole lot in axes and hatchets.