Damascus Throwing Axe, Bearded Head with Carved Cover
Damascus Throwing Axe, Bearded Head with Carved Cover
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- Engraving adds 3 to 5 business days.
- We engrave your text exactly as typed, so double check the spelling.
- We send a proof image before we engrave.
- Engraved blades cannot be returned or exchanged unless the blade itself is defective.
Throwing is a repetitive business. You walk to the board, pull the axe out of the wood and walk back, and the one that gets picked up most is usually the one that belongs to a person rather than to the room. This axe is 16 inches overall, the head is Damascus over a high carbon core, and the handle is ash.
Specification
| Head length | 6 inches |
| Cutting edge | 4 inches |
| Overall length | 16 inches |
| Handle length | 16 inches |
| Handle wood | Ash |
| Head steel | Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core |
| Head finish | Etched raindrop pattern running the whole head, fine bright edge |
| Eye | Wedged, wooden wedge with a steel wedge across it |
| Head cover | Hand stitched leather, hand carved oak leaf and acorn face, snap strap |
| Engraving | Laser engraving, 20 dollars per piece |
| Made in | Forged and finished by hand in High Point, North Carolina. |
| Warranty | Lifetime warranty against defects, free sharpening for life. |
The head
The head is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core and etched so the raindrop figure runs across the whole face. The bevel is left bright and fine against that darker ground. It is a bearded head, meaning the edge hangs below the eye rather than stopping level with it, so 6 inches of head carries 4 inches of cutting edge. That low corner is usually what finds the wood first. Carbon steel sits under the pattern, so the head darkens with use and it will rust if you put it away wet.
The handle
Ash is a good axe wood for a plain reason. It bends under a shock instead of jarring back at your hand, and it runs straight in the grain. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up through it from below, a wooden wedge is driven into the top to spread the wood tight against the steel, and a steel wedge is set across that. At 16 inches there is length to swing and still enough to hang it by the board.
The leather head cover
The cover is cut to this head's own outline rather than pulled off a shelf. The leather is vegetable tanned, the edge is welted so the stitching sits clear of the steel, and it is all stitched by hand. The face is hand carved with an oak leaf and acorn, cut and shaded, not pressed with a stamp. Put it on dry. A cover over a damp head traps water against the steel.
Who it suits
Most axes in a throwing room are house axes, handed out and handed back. This one turns up because somebody was given it.
- Someone buying for a person who already throws
- Anyone who wants the cover to be half of the gift
- Buyers choosing a Damascus head over a plain one
- People giving something that gets used, not shelved
What comes in the box
- The Damascus throwing axe
- The hand carved leather head cover
- A care card
- A free laser engraving quote on request
Every piece is different
Every head is forged and etched by hand, so runs stay small. The raindrop pattern never falls in the same place twice, the carving on the cover is cut by hand, and ash varies in color board to board. Yours will not match the photographs exactly, which is rather the point.
Looking after it
Wipe the head dry after use and oil it before storage. The cover goes on dry, never over a wet bit. Feed the handle with boiled linseed oil, three to five coats over as many days, then once a year. Never varnish it. Lay linseed rags flat outdoors to dry, because one left screwed up indoors can catch fire on its own. Sharpening is a file first, then a stone, then a strop. More on our knife care and sharpening page.
Put a name on it
Engraving is 20 dollars per piece, added here at checkout. Around 30 characters fits, so a name and a date beats a sentence. On a present most people mark the handle and leave the head alone. A proof image comes before the laser runs, and it puts 3 to 5 business days on the order. Orders of 10 or more are engraved free. The engraving page has the rest.
Questions buyers ask
What is a bearded head? The edge hangs below the eye, so a 6 inch head carries 4 inches of cutting edge.
Is this a sensible present for somebody who already throws? That is who it was built for, and most leave here wrapped.
Is the carved cover only decoration? No. It is cut to this head and welted, so it guards the edge too.
How is the head held on? The handle goes up through the eye from below, a wooden wedge spreads it tight, and a steel wedge is set across that.
Will it rust? It can. Dry the head after use, oil it before storage, and keep the cover off a wet bit.
How long does delivery take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.
For the same head on a darker handle there is the Damascus throwing axe on walnut, and the Damascus throwing hatchet on rosewood is smaller in the hand at a 3.5 inch edge. The rest are in throwing axes, in Damascus axes, and in gifts for him.