{"product_id":"damascus-viking-bearded-axe-hickory","title":"Damascus Viking Bearded Axe, 24 Inch Hickory Handle","description":"\u003cp\u003eHold one in each hand and the difference turns up in the wrist before it turns up in the wood. Hickory is heavier than ash and stiffer with it, so more of the swing lands and less of it flexes away. That is the argument between the two woods. This one is 24 inches overall on hickory, the head Damascus over a high carbon core, with five inches of edge under the beard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e7 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCutting edge\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e5 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOverall length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e24 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e24 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle wood\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHickory\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead steel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDamascus, high carbon core\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead finish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEtched ladder pattern, bevel etched to the edge\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEye\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWedged, wooden wedge and a steel cross wedge\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead cover\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand stitched leather, stamped basket weave face, snap strap\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEngraving\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLaser engraving, 20 dollars per piece\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMade in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForged and finished by hand in High Point, North Carolina.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWarranty\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLifetime warranty against defects, free sharpening for life.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe head\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDamascus is layers of steel forged into one bar. For a ladder the bar is cut across in grooves and forged flat again, so the lines lie in even rungs, and acid opens them out. The pattern is decoration. Under a raking light the rungs step across the head. Under it is a high carbon core, and that takes the edge. The etch runs to the edge with no bare bevel showing. Seven inches of head, most of it the thin beard below the eye. Bare carbon steel colours with work and spots if left damp.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe handle\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHickory is heavy for its size and stiff, so it hands the blow on rather than soaking it. Ash gives more and tires a hand less over an afternoon. Neither is better. Pick by how hard you swing and how long you work at a time. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up through from below, a wooden wedge goes into the top to spread it tight against the steel, then a steel wedge crosses that. At 24 inches there is room for one hand or two.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe leather head cover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eVegetable tanned leather, cut to the outline of this head, beard and all, so nothing sits loose in it. A welt in the seam keeps the stitching off the edge, and it is stitched by hand. The face is stamped in a basket weave, one press at a time, with a snap strap to hold it shut. Put it on dry. Damp leather on an etched head is how a pattern ends up orange.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWho it suits\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost people arrive knowing they want hickory, usually because a handle let them down once.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuyers who want a stiff handle under a patterned head\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone who found ash too soft for their swing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople who like a beard on a longer handle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone giving an axe rather than using it\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat comes in the box\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Damascus bearded axe on hickory\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe stamped leather head cover\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA care card\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree sharpening for life\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eEvery piece is different\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe rungs land where the grooves were cut, so no two heads read alike and the pattern runs its own way over the beard. Hickory varies as well, pale sapwood in one handle and browner heartwood in the next. Nothing here is repeated. Yours will sit close to the photograph without matching it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWipe the head down and leave a thin film of oil on the pattern. The cover goes on dry. A new hickory handle wants boiled linseed oil, three to five coats over as many days, then once a year. Never varnish it, and never soak a loose head in water. Oily rags lie flat outside, because a rag bundled up indoors can start a fire alone. The \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/knife-care-sharpening\"\u003ecare and sharpening page\u003c\/a\u003e has more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePut a name on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaser engraving costs 20 dollars a piece. About 30 characters is the room you get, a name or a year. On an etched head it goes on the cheek where the pattern is quietest. A proof goes out before the laser runs, adding 3 to 5 business days. Order ten or more and there is no charge. The \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/engraving\"\u003eengraving page\u003c\/a\u003e has the detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eQuestions buyers ask\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHickory or ash?\u003c\/strong\u003e Hickory if you swing hard and want the hit to land. Ash if you work all afternoon and want some of it taken back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoes hickory last longer?\u003c\/strong\u003e Not really. Both fail in the same place, the top of the handle, and that is a miss not a wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill the pattern wear off?\u003c\/strong\u003e The etch is in the steel, not on it. Sharpening takes it back at the very edge, which is normal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat stops the head coming loose?\u003c\/strong\u003e A wedged eye. A wooden wedge opens the top of the haft against the eye, and a steel wedge sets across it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill it rust?\u003c\/strong\u003e It can. Plain carbon steel lies under the pattern. Wipe it down and leave oil on it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow long does shipping take?\u003c\/strong\u003e Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe same head in plain steel is the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hand-forged-viking-bearded-axe-ash\"\u003ebearded axe on ash\u003c\/a\u003e, and for a shorter handle with brass in it there is the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/damascus-viking-axe-olive-wood-brass-inlay\"\u003eolive wood axe with brass inlay\u003c\/a\u003e. It sits under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/viking-axes\"\u003eviking axes\u003c\/a\u003e, etched steel in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/damascus-axes\"\u003eDamascus axes\u003c\/a\u003e, older outlines in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/historical-blades\"\u003ehistorical blades\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Viper Edge USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44145787797622,"sku":"VEF-VKA-DAM-2002","price":289.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/2427\/9670\/files\/viking-axe-02-damascus-bearded-hickory_674231df-8901-4391-8dcd-98d850b0f461.jpg?v=1788854868","url":"https:\/\/viperedgeforge.com\/products\/damascus-viking-bearded-axe-hickory","provider":"Viper Edge USA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}