Damascus Throwing Axe, 16 Inch Walnut Handle, Twist Pattern

Most throwing gets done with whatever hangs on the wall where you throw. Those axes belong to the room. This one belongs to you. Sixteen inches overall, a head in Damascus pattern welded over a high carbon core, and a walnut handle sanded and oiled instead of left raw. The throw does not change. What changes is the axe you pull out of the board.

Specification

The head

The steel is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core, so the layers sit in the outer skin and the core carries the edge. Etching brings the twist pattern up across the whole head, with the bevel left fine and bright against it. The head runs 6 inches with a cutting edge of 4 inches. The bit is ground slim behind that edge, so it enters wood rather than skating off, and stays narrow through the shoulders. Under the pattern this is carbon steel. It darkens with handling and rusts if it goes away wet.

The handle

Walnut is softer than hickory and better looking, dark brown with open grain you can feel through the oil. It takes the shock of a throw without going dead in the hand. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up through the head from below, a wooden wedge is driven into the top to spread it tight, and a steel wedge is set across that. Handle length is 16 inches, short enough for one hand and long enough to keep the rotation steady.

The leather head cover

The cover is vegetable tanned leather, cut to this head's own outline. It is hand stitched, with a welt sewn into the seam so the edge rides on leather instead of thread. The face is stamped in a basket weave, and a strap closes over the poll on a brass snap. It goes on dry. Leather holds damp against steel, so wipe the head and oil it before the cover goes back on.

Who it suits

Most people buy their own after a season of throwing whatever was on the rack. This is that axe.

• Throwers who want their own axe, not the house one
• Anyone who likes a pattern they can read close up
• Buyers moving on from a hardware store hatchet
• Somebody shopping for a thrower who owns the plain ones

What comes in the box

• The Damascus throwing axe on walnut
• The hand stitched leather head cover
• A care card
• Lifetime warranty against defects and free sharpening for life

Every piece is different

Each head is forged, ground and etched one at a time, so the twist lands where it lands and no two come out alike. Walnut varies as well, and the color in one handle will not match the next. Yours will not be the axe in the photographs, which is the point of one made by hand.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry after use and oil it before storage. The handle takes boiled linseed oil, three to five coats on a new one, then once a year. Never varnish it, and never soak a loose head in water. Lay oily rags flat outdoors, because a rag screwed up indoors can catch fire on its own. Sharpening is a file for damage, then a stone, then a strop. More is on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and you add it here on the page. Around 30 characters fits, enough for a name or a date. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 pieces or more, usually a group ordering together. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Is the twist pattern only on the surface? No, the layers run through the steel and the etch is what makes them show.

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.

Can I fit a new handle myself? Yes, though a wedged eye means driving the old one out. Never burn one out, heat ruins the temper.

Will it rust? It can, so dry the head after use and oil it before storage.

Why walnut when the racks are all hickory? Hickory is tougher and we sell it too. Walnut is here because it looks chosen.

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

For the same head on a paler handle, look at the Damascus throwing axe on ash. If the pattern is not for you, the hand forged throwing axe on hickory costs less. The rest sit in throwing axes, Damascus axes and axes and hatchets.