Damascus Camp Axe, Hand Forged Hatchet with Hickory Handle

A camp axe is the one that goes in the pack when you are only taking one. Short enough to swing in one hand, heavy enough to split kindling and limb a branch, and flat at the back so it drives tent pegs. This one is a hand forged Damascus head with a 4 inch cutting edge on an American hickory handle, 16 inches overall, with a lanyard hole and a tooled head cover.

Specification

The head

The steel is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core and etched so the light and dark layers show across the cheek, and the bevel is mirror bright. The head is 5 inches long with 4 inches of cutting edge, the compact shape a camp axe wants for kindling and limbing. The back is a squared poll, flat and blunt, for driving tent pegs and tapping a splitting wedge. A 4 inch edge will not fell standing timber, and the carbon core darkens and rusts if it goes away wet.

The handle

American hickory is the working axe wood here, denser than ash and stiff enough to keep the head going where you pointed it. That density earns its place on a short axe, where 11 inches of handle gives you less leverage. The handle is driven through the eye and a wedge is driven into the top of it, spreading the wood tight against the steel. A lanyard hole through the butt takes a wrist cord or hangs the axe at camp.

The leather head cover

The cover is cut for this head, so the bevel goes in snug. The leather is vegetable tanned. A belt loop is stitched to the back, a strap with a snap closes over the top, and a welt is sewn into the edge so the stitching sits clear of the bevel. The stitching is done by hand. The face is hand tooled with a carved leaf pattern inside a stamped border, cut and shaded rather than printed. Most sellers stop at the words genuine leather. This is the rest of it.

Who it suits

This is the axe for people who camp with what they can carry on their back, and the Damascus makes it a piece that gets passed around the fire.

• Campers who want one axe for firewood and pegs
• Bushcraft and green wood workers
• Anyone building a pack kit around a short axe
• Someone shopping for a gift for an outdoors buyer

What comes in the box

• The Damascus camp axe
• The tooled leather head cover
• A care card
• A free laser engraving quote on request

Every piece is different

Each axe is forged, ground and finished by hand in small runs, so no two come out alike. The Damascus pattern, the hickory grain and the depth of the tooling will differ from the photographs. Yours will be its own piece.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry after use and never put it away wet. The gray patina that comes with use is normal and protects the steel. Sharpen with a file and a puck or a stone, following the bevel already there. Oil the handle too, since dry wood shrinks and a loose head is dangerous. Check the head is tight before every use. More in our 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 on a head or along the handle, and clean line art comes out sharp where a photograph does not. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page for the details.

Questions buyers ask

What is a camp axe? A compact working axe with a squared poll, sized for firewood and camp chores.

What is the squared poll for? Driving tent pegs and tapping a splitting wedge.

What is the lanyard hole for? A cord through the butt, looped over your wrist or hung at camp.

Will this steel rust? It can, since the core is carbon steel. Dry it and oil it.

How sharp is it out of the box? Sharpened by hand and ready to cut on arrival.

Will my axe look exactly like the photo? No, the pattern and the tooling differ on every one.

For a lighter head on the same hickory try the hand forged throwing axe in hickory, and in carbon steel the viking hatchet with the charred handle. More sits in bushcraft axes, in Damascus axes, and in axes and hatchets.