Hand Forged Viking Hand Axe, 15 Inch Oak Handle

Most of the wood cut in a day is small. Kindling for the stove, a stake pointed, limbs off a branch that came down. None of it is worth walking back for a felling axe. That is the work this one is built around. It is 15 inches overall, a 1095 high carbon head on oak, light enough that it goes in the bag instead of staying behind.

Specification

The head

1095 high carbon, 5.5 inches long, left dark from the fire with the hammer marks showing and the bevel taken up bright. The edge is 3.5 inches, short enough that everything you swing lands in one small place. A long edge spreads the blow and a short one concentrates it, which is why a small head sinks further into a green limb than its weight suggests. There is meat behind the bevel so the edge is not standing alone. Carbon steel goes grey with use and spots if put away wet.

The handle

Oak is hard and heavy and does not dent when the handle knocks a log. The eye is wedged. The handle is driven up from below, a wooden wedge is set into the split in the top to spread it tight against the steel, then a steel wedge goes across. At 15 inches your hand sits close to the head, which is why the short one gets picked up. Hold it near the head to pare, or drop back to the butt for a full swing.

The leather head cover

Vegetable tanned leather, cut to this head's own outline and stitched by hand, with a welt in the seam so the thread never lies on the edge. The face is stamped in a basket weave, one press at a time. The stamp lands differently on every hide. A snap strap closes over the poll and keeps it on in a pack. It goes on dry. A covered wet head is worse off than an open one.

Who it suits

The axe that gets used is the one that came with you.

• Anyone who wants an axe in the pack rather than the truck
• People cutting kindling and small limbs
• Buyers who work one handed close to the wood
• Anyone who found a full size axe stays at home

What comes in the box

• The 15 inch hand axe on oak
• The stamped leather head cover
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life

Every piece is different

Every head is forged and ground by hand, so no two leave here alike. The dark skin lands where the fire and the hammer put it. Oak grain runs how the tree grew it, pale in one handle and browner in the next. What turns up will be close to the photograph.

Looking after it

Wipe it dry and put a film of oil over the head. The cover goes back on only when the head is dry. A new oak handle takes 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. Linseed rags go flat outside, since a rag balled up indoors can catch fire on its own. More is on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name or a date. Not much flat on a head this size, so the letters go small and we show you where. A proof image comes to you for approval, then add 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 or more, and the engraving page has the rest.

Questions buyers ask

Is 15 inches too short to be useful? Not for small wood. It is too short to fell anything, and we would rather say so.

Why not just carry a longer axe? Because you would not. A short axe fits the pack and comes along, and the one in your hand does more than the one at home.

Can I use it one handed all day? That is what the length is for. The head is small and the weight sits near your fist.

How is the head fitted? A wedged eye. The handle comes up from below, a wooden wedge spreads it in the top, then a steel wedge is driven across.

Will it rust? It can. Dry it, oil it, and never leave it under the cover wet.

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

Pattern welded steel in the same size is the Damascus hand axe on walnut, and more edge on more handle is the 24 inch bearded axe on ash. It lives in viking axes, plain steel in carbon steel axes, the rest in axes and hatchets.