Stormpoll Hand Forged Damascus Steel Poleaxe | 50 Inch Overall with a 6 Inch Cutting Edge | Reenactment Display Gift | RK-1362

The same poleaxe geometry, forge welded rather than forged from a single bar. Crescent axe blade, square hammer poll opposite it, long axial spike, the whole head welded up from alternating layers of 1095 and 15N20 and etched so the pattern runs continuously from the spike tip through the eye and out to the edge of the blade. Pattern welding a poleaxe head is a genuinely awkward piece of work, because the three arms of the head all leave the eye in different directions and the layers have to be persuaded to follow each one without tearing at the junction.

Forged, welded, etched and finished in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee, hardened and drawn to 58 to 60 HRC. It ships with the leather head cover shown, free anywhere in the United States, and it can be engraved with Elder Futhark runes or a Viking pattern before it leaves the bench.

Specifications

Reading a pattern welded poleaxe head

The interesting thing about a Damascus head with three arms is that the pattern tells you the order the smith worked in. On this one the layers run straight and long down the spike, which means the spike was drawn out first while the billet was still a bar. Around the eye they compress into tight nested figures, because that is where the steel was upset and punched to make the socket. Out in the crescent they fan and stretch, thinning as they approach the edge, because the blade was spread last.

The place to look hardest is the junction where the blade meets the eye. A poorly welded head shows a cold shut there, a dark line where two surfaces met but never joined, and no amount of etching hides it. A sound one shows the layers turning the corner in a continuous sweep. That corner is the highest stress point on any axe and it is where a bad weld fails, which is why we forge the whole head from one billet rather than welding the blade on as a separate piece.

Why Damascus steel and not stainless

The Damascus here is not an etch or a print. It is 1095 and 15N20 forge welded in alternating layers, drawn out, folded, and welded again until the billet carries the layer count you can see on the finished piece. The two steels are close cousins in carbon content, which is what lets them weld cleanly and harden together, but 15N20 carries about two percent nickel. Nickel resists the acid etch. That is the whole trick. When the finished piece is polished and dipped, the 1095 darkens and the 15N20 stays bright, and the layers you cannot otherwise see come up as pattern.

Because both steels are high carbon, the finished piece hardens properly. This one is quenched and drawn to 58 to 60 HRC, hard enough to hold a working edge and still tough enough for impact work. Stainless cannot do this. High chromium alloys will not forge weld reliably at these temperatures and the chromium carbides that give stainless its corrosion resistance also blunt the contrast an etch depends on, so stainless Damascus is usually a faint grey ghost of a pattern. The trade is care. Read more in Damascus versus stainless.

The ash haft

The haft is American ash, the same timber that goes into tool handles and baseball bats, and it is here for one reason. Ash has long straight fibres that run the length of the stave, which means it flexes under a shock load and returns instead of snapping across the grain. That flex is what keeps a heavy head from beating your hands. It is turned, sanded and finished with oil rather than lacquer, so the grain stays open and the surface grips a dry hand instead of sliding.

Oil finishes want feeding. Once or twice a year, wipe on a thin coat of boiled linseed or a hardwood handle oil, let it soak for twenty minutes and wipe the surplus off. Do not leave it standing in a damp corner or propped against a masonry wall, because wood pulls moisture out of stone and the fit at the head will loosen. Our guide to wooden handle care covers the routine.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the handle. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us whether it goes on the blade or the handle. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it.

Engraving is cut by hand after the piece is finished and before final oiling, so keep the line short and let it sit where the eye already goes. Names, dates, a line of a poem, a maker mark, a unit or a crew number all work. If you are unsure where a line should sit, send us the text and we will suggest a placement before we cut. Full details and examples are on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Damascus needs the same care as any high carbon steel, with one extra thought. The etched pattern lives in a few thousandths of an inch of surface relief. Aggressive polishing, a wire wheel or a scouring pad will flatten that relief and take the pattern with it, and the only way back is to re etch the piece. Clean it with a soft cloth, nothing abrasive, and keep a thin film of mineral oil or paste wax on the steel. Wipe fingerprints off the same day. Rust will start in a fingerprint before it starts anywhere else.

Sharpening does not damage the pattern, because you are only working the bevel and the layers run right through the steel rather than sitting on top of it. Use a whetstone, keep it wet, hold the angle the bevel already carries and work both sides evenly. If the fresh bevel looks paler than the rest of the piece, that is expected, and a light etch will bring it back. See steel care and sharpening with a whetstone.

Forged in Memphis

This is made in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing in this listing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing is bought in finished and re labelled. The steel is cut, heated, drawn and shaped here, the heat treat is done here, and the fitting and finishing are done here by the same small crew. That is also why the lead time is honest rather than instant. Pieces in stock ship within two to three business days. If yours has to be made, or if you have asked for engraving, allow two to three weeks before it leaves the shop. We will tell you which it is when you order rather than after. Shipping inside the United States is free.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand forged. It is not machine made, not cast and not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph on this page. The grain of the wood, the tone the steel takes from the fire and the oil, the exact run of a pattern, the precise curve of a profile, all of it shifts a little from one piece to the next because each one is worked by hand from natural materials. Two hafts cut from the same board will not read the same. Two etched blades from the same billet will not carry the same swirl.

What does not change is the specification. Dimensions, steel, hardness, fittings and build are the same every time. The character is the part that is yours alone, and it is the reason to buy something forged rather than something stamped.

Frequently asked questions

Is the whole head Damascus or just the blade?

The whole head. Blade, hammer poll, eye and spike are all forged from one pattern welded billet, so the figure is continuous across the piece. The langets on the haft are plain polished steel.

Is it sharp?

Yes. The crescent blade is ground and honed to a working edge. The spike is brought to a point and the hammer poll is left flat. Keep the leather cover on the head until the piece is where you want it displayed.

Can I have runes engraved on it?

Yes. Use the rune converter on this page for Elder Futhark or choose your own Viking pattern. On an etched head we usually cut the line into the flat of the axe cheek and re etch so the runes sit down into the pattern.

Will sharpening spoil the pattern?

No. The layers run through the steel rather than sitting on it, so a fresh bevel simply shows a new cross section. The new bevel may look paler than the etched flat until it takes an etch of its own, which is normal.

What is the difference between this and the polished steel poleaxe?

Same geometry and length. This one is forge welded from two steels, runs harder at 58 to 60 HRC, has a slightly longer blade and spike, and carries a pattern no other piece will repeat.

How long does shipping take?

Two to three business days if it is in stock, two to three weeks if it is being forged or engraved. A pattern welded poleaxe head is a long job at the anvil. United States shipping is free with tracking.

What is in the box

• One hand forged Damascus poleaxe, 1095 and 15N20 head
• American ash haft with riveted polished steel langets
• Leather head cover
• Care, oiling and sharpening notes for etched Damascus
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

More in poleaxes, damascus steel, halberds and glaives and polearms, and read the guides.