Hand Forged Viking Bearded Axe, 24 Inch Ash Handle

Shaping a log on the ground means working close to the wood, hand low, eye down the line. A long edge hanging below the eye is what lets you do it. That hanging part is the beard, and it is the point of the whole shape. The head is 1095 high carbon steel, the handle is ash, and the axe runs 24 inches overall with five inches of edge on the front of it.

Specification

The head

1095 is plain high carbon steel and it moves well under a hammer. The skin stays dark the way it came out of the fire, hammer marks and all, with the bevel polished bright so the two finishes meet along a clear line. The head is seven inches from eye to toe and most of that is beard, a thin sweep of steel dropping below the eye where a hatchet carries nothing. Thin steel there keeps the weight sensible while the edge stays long. Carbon steel darkens with use and spots if left wet.

The handle

Ash is springy. It gives under a hard swing and comes back, which is why so many handles are cut from it. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up through from below, a wooden wedge goes into the split in the top to spread it tight against the steel, then a steel wedge is set across that. Nothing here slides off. At 24 inches you work one handed close in, or put a second hand on the butt.

The leather head cover

Vegetable tanned leather, cut to this head's own outline rather than folded from a rectangle, since a beard is not the shape of a hatchet. A welt in the seam keeps the stitching off the edge, and every stitch goes in by hand. The face is stamped in a basket weave, one press at a time, and a snap strap closes it over the poll. It goes on dry, because leather holds damp against steel.

Who it suits

People who come looking for a beard usually own something compact and keep running out of edge.

• Anyone shaping green wood close to the ground
• Buyers who want a long edge on a light head
• Woodworkers who hold the head under the beard
• Anyone who has outgrown a short hatchet

What comes in the box

• The bearded axe on its 24 inch ash handle
• The stamped leather head cover
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life

Every piece is different

Every head is forged and ground by hand in small runs. Hammer marks land where the hammer put them. Ash is sawn from a board, so the grain in your handle will not match the photograph. The curve of the beard is filed by eye and settles differently each time.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry when you stop and leave a film of oil on the steel. The cover goes on dry, never over a wet head. Give a new handle boiled linseed oil, three to five coats over as many days, then once a year. Never varnish it, and never stand a loose head in water. Lay linseed rags flat outside, since a rag screwed up indoors can catch fire on its own. More on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece, added here on the page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name or a date rather than a sentence. The flat cheek behind the beard gives the letters room. A proof image comes back first, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 or more. The engraving page shows what fits.

Questions buyers ask

What is the beard actually for? More edge on the same head, and somewhere to hold. Grip the steel under the eye and pare with the toe.

Is the thin beard weak? It is thin, not weak. Keep it out of knots and dirt and it does what it was drawn for.

Does a hooking edge pull differently? Yes. The heel bites first and the cut runs up the edge, so it slices along the grain rather than landing flat.

How is the head held on? A wedged eye. The handle comes up from below, a wooden wedge spreads it tight in the top, then a steel wedge crosses it.

Will it rust? It can. Bare steel greys with use and spots if it goes away damp. Dry it and oil it.

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

The same outline in pattern welded steel is the Damascus bearded axe on hickory, and smaller again is the 15 inch hand axe on oak. It sits with the viking axes, plain steel under carbon steel axes, the rest in axes and hatchets.