Hand Forged Bushcraft Axe, 19 Inch Oak Handle with Hammer Poll

You are in the woods taking limbs off a fallen birch, then squaring a wet stick into a spoon blank. Green wood is springy and bends away from a dull edge. This axe is set up for that. The head is 1095 high carbon ground with a wide flat bevel, and the oak handle brings it to 19 inches overall, short enough for one hand and long enough for two.

Specification

The head

The steel is 1095 high carbon, forged to shape and left with the dark skin of the fire across the flats. The hammer texture is heavy and you can read where the metal moved. The bevel is wide, flat and polished bright, running well back from the 4 inch edge so the cheeks stay slim. A fat cheek stalls in a wet cut, while a slim one keeps travelling and lifts a curl. The head is 6.5 inches long. Carbon steel goes grey with use and it rusts if you put it away wet.

The handle

Oak is dense and open grained, stiff enough to send the head where you aimed it. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up through the head from below, a wooden wedge is driven into the top to spread the tongue against the steel, then a steel wedge is set across it. At 19 inches you can hold it under the head for close carving, or take the knob with both hands when there is real wood to get through.

The leather head cover

The cover is vegetable tanned leather, cut and hand stitched here to this head's own outline, so it sits on the bit without slop. The face is stamped in a basket weave. The edge is welted, so the thread sits inside the seam where the bit cannot saw at it. A snap strap closes it around the haft. It goes on dry. Leather over a wet bit holds water against the steel.

Who it suits

This is for the person who does more shaping than splitting.

• Green wood carvers who want a bevel that lifts a curl
• Campers taking limbs down and cutting small firewood
• Anyone who wants a handle that works with one hand or two
• People happy to file and stone their own edge

What comes in the box

• The bushcraft axe
• The stamped leather head cover
• A care card
• Engraving quote

Every piece is different

Every head is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so no two land the same. The hammer marks fall where they fall. The oak may be paler or darker than the photographs and the grain runs where it likes. Yours will not be a copy of the one on this page.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry after use, then oil the steel and put the cover on dry. A new handle takes three to five coats of boiled linseed oil over as many days, then one coat a year. Never varnish it, and never stand a loose head in water. Rags soaked in linseed oil can catch fire on their own, so spread them flat outside. File out damage, then a stone, then a strop. More on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece. Around 30 characters fits, so a name, a date, or both. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Engraving is free on orders of 10 or more, which is how most club and family orders come through. The engraving page covers the rest.

Questions buyers ask

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

Will it rust? It can. 1095 is carbon steel, so it darkens with use and spots if left wet. Dry it and oil it.

What does the wide flat bevel do in green wood? Wet fibres close back on a thick cheek. A slim flat bevel keeps moving and takes a curl off instead of stopping in the cut.

Is 19 inches one handed or two handed? Both. Hold it under the head for fine work, or take the knob with a second hand for a longer stroke.

How is the head held on? It is a wedged eye. The handle goes up from below, a wooden wedge spreads the tongue against the steel, and a steel wedge sits across that.

Can I drive stakes with the poll? No. The poll is not hardened for pounding, so leave that to a hammer.

The same idea in pattern welded steel is the Damascus bushcraft axe in hickory, and something shorter with a thinner bit is the hand forged throwing axe in oak. The rest sit in bushcraft axes, carbon steel axes and axes and hatchets.