{"product_id":"hand-forged-throwing-axe-walnut","title":"Hand Forged Throwing Axe, 16 Inch Walnut Handle with Lanyard","description":"\u003cp\u003eThrowing is repetition. You walk to the line, send the same axe the same way a few hundred times, and your hands learn one weight. Borrowed house axes never let that settle, because every rack holds a different one. This axe is 16 inches overall, a 1095 high carbon head on a walnut handle, and it is meant to be the one you keep.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e6 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCutting edge\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3.5 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOverall length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle wood\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWalnut, leather lanyard through the butt\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead steel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1095 high carbon\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead finish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand rubbed satin with faint hammer marks near the eye, bright bevel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEye\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWedged, wooden wedge with a steel wedge across it\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\u003eThe steel is 1095 high carbon. The head runs 6 inches front to back with a cutting edge of 3.5 inches, hand rubbed to a satin gray, faint hammer marks left near the eye where the steel was drawn. It is ground flat with a little roundness behind the edge, so the bit bites into board grain and comes back out instead of sticking. The face is narrow, which keeps the weight close to your hand. Carbon steel darkens with use and rusts if it goes away wet. The poll is not hardened, so leave stakes and nails to a hammer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe handle\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWalnut is the handle, oiled rather than coated, dark brown with the grain showing through. It has give enough to soak up a hard landing and weight enough to feel like something in the hand. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up through the head from below, a wooden wedge is set into the top to spread it tight against the steel, and a steel wedge goes across that. At 16 inches you get one turn out of a normal stance, and the lanyard through the butt gives you somewhere to hang it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe leather head cover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery axe leaves here with a cover. Vegetable tanned leather, cut to this head's own outline rather than to a size that roughly fits, hand stitched with a welt sewn into the seam so the thread sits behind leather. The face is stamped basket weave and a brass snap holds the strap. It goes on dry. Leather holds water against steel, and a cover snapped over a wet bit is how a good head picks up rust overnight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWho it suits\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou have thrown enough evenings on somebody else's axes to know what you like by now. This is the step to owning one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThrowers moving off borrowed house axes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone who wants a plain carbon head rather than a pattern\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuyers with a board set up in the back yard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople who would rather learn one axe than swap around\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat comes in the box\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe throwing axe on its walnut handle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe hand stitched leather head cover\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe leather lanyard, fitted through the butt\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA care card\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eEvery piece is different\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach head is forged, ground and finished by hand, so runs stay small and no two come out the same. Hammer marks land where they land. Walnut shifts from board to board, some of it near black, some closer to red brown. Yours will not match the photograph exactly. That is what hand work looks like.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWipe the head dry after a session and rub a little oil on it before it goes away. The cover snaps on dry, never over a wet bit. A new 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. Lay linseed rags flat outside to dry, because balled up indoors they can catch fire on their own. More sits on our \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/knife-care-sharpening\"\u003eknife care and sharpening page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePut a name on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and you add it here on the page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name and 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, which is how a group ends up with a matched rack. See the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/engraving\"\u003eengraving page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eQuestions buyers ask\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow is the head held on?\u003c\/strong\u003e The eye is wedged. The handle comes up from below, a wooden wedge spreads it against the steel, and a steel wedge is driven across the top.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI have only thrown house axes, will this feel different?\u003c\/strong\u003e Probably. House axes vary and this one will not, so your hands stop guessing at the weight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoes it need rust care?\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes. Carbon steel darkens with handling and rusts if it sits damp, so dry it and oil it before storage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat if a throw lands short?\u003c\/strong\u003e The wood under the head takes it. That is normal wear on a wedged throwing axe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow is it sharpened?\u003c\/strong\u003e A file first if the edge is damaged, then a stone to bring the bevel back, then a strop. Sharpening here is free for life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow long is shipping?\u003c\/strong\u003e Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you want the same size with a pattern welded head, look at the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/damascus-throwing-hatchet-hickory\"\u003eDamascus throwing hatchet on hickory\u003c\/a\u003e, and for wood instead of a board there is the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hand-forged-bushcraft-axe-hickory\"\u003ehand forged bushcraft axe on hickory\u003c\/a\u003e. The rest sit in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/throwing-axes\"\u003ethrowing axes\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/carbon-steel-axes\"\u003ecarbon steel axes\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/axes-hatchets\"\u003eaxes and hatchets\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viper Edge USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44143115534454,"sku":"VEF-THR-HC-425","price":149.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/2427\/9670\/files\/throwing-01-carbon-walnut_94cfa5a5-f583-4e3a-874a-b50bebce9833.jpg?v=1788832845","url":"https:\/\/viperedgeforge.com\/products\/hand-forged-throwing-axe-walnut","provider":"Viper Edge USA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}