Hand Forged Bushcraft Axe, 19 Inch Curved Ash Handle

Firewood is not one job. It is a hundred small ones over a season, most of them done at a block by the back door with whatever axe is nearest. This is that axe. 19 inches overall, a 1095 high carbon head on a curved ash handle, sized for the work that comes round weekly, splitting kindling and taking a round down to what the stove will take.

Specification

The head

The head is 1095 high carbon, 6 inches long with a 4 inch edge. The dark skin and the heavy hammer texture are left as they came off the anvil, and only the bevel is taken bright. The bit is a shallow curve, not a flat line, so a cut starts at one point and rolls along the edge instead of all at once. Thickness in the cheeks behind that bevel is what pushes a small round apart. Carbon steel darkens with use and will rust if you put it away wet.

The handle

Ash is in tool handles everywhere. It is springy and it soaks up shock instead of sending it into your hand. This one is curved, with a lanyard hole through the butt. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up through the head from below, a wooden wedge goes into the top to spread it tight, and a steel wedge is set across that. At 19 inches you can work one handed at a block and still choke up near the head.

The leather head cover

Every axe gets a cover made for its own head. The leather is vegetable tanned and cut to the outline of this bit. It is hand stitched with a welt in the seam, a strip of leather between the two faces so the edge never rides on the thread. The face is stamped in a basket weave and a brass snap holds the strap. Put it on dry. Leather holds water against steel.

Who it suits

For the person who burns wood and wants one axe by the door.

• Anyone putting up a season of firewood
• People who want one axe, not a shed full
• Campers splitting kindling for a fire ring
• Buyers replacing a hardware store hatchet

What comes in the box

• The bushcraft axe
• The leather head cover
• A care card
• An engraving note

Every piece is different

Each head is forged, ground and heat treated one at a time, so runs stay small and no two finish the same. The hammer texture sits where the hammer put it. Ash varies in color and in how the grain reads down the handle. Yours will not match the photographs exactly.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry after use. Oil the steel before storage and put the cover on dry. The handle wants boiled linseed oil, three to five coats on a new handle over as many days, then once a year. Never varnish it, and never stand a loose head in water. Oily rags can catch fire by themselves, so spread them flat outside. Sharpening is a file, then a stone, then a strop. More on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and goes on the cheek of the head. Around 30 characters fits, so a name and a date reads better than a sentence. A proof image comes to you before the laser runs. It adds 3 to 5 business days. Orders of ten or more are engraved free. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What holds the head on? The eye is wedged. The handle comes up through the head from below, a wooden wedge spreads it tight, and a steel wedge crosses that. Rehandling means cutting the old wood out, never burning it, since heat ruins the temper.

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

Will the head rust? It can. Carbon steel does. Wipe it dry, oil it before storage and keep it out of a damp cover.

Why is the handle curved? The curve sets your bottom hand at an angle that is easier to hold onto over a long stretch at the block.

Will it split rounds? Small ones at the block, yes. Anything much over a foot across wants a maul and wedge.

Can I use the back of the head as a hammer? No. The poll is not hardened for pounding, so keep it off nails and stakes.

If you want this head on a straight stick, there is the hand forged bushcraft axe on a straight ash handle, and the pattern welded version is the Damascus bushcraft axe on walnut. The rest sit in bushcraft and forest axes, carbon steel axes and axes and hatchets.