Ashfell Hand Forged 1095 Steel Felling Axe | Single Bit Forest Head | American Ash Handle, Knotwork Engraving and Leather Edge Cover | Woodsman Gift | RK-1464

Ashfell is a single bit felling axe on a curved American ash handle, with a polished head carrying an engraved knotwork medallion and a short line of Elder Futhark on the cheek, and a stitched leather edge cover. It is a working forest axe rather than a wall piece, built with a thin high centreline bit for cutting across the grain of standing and felled timber.

The distinction between a felling axe and a splitting axe is the thing most people never learn and it changes everything about how the tool behaves. A felling bit is thin and slightly hollow behind the edge, because it has to sever wood fibres and get out again. A splitting head is thick, wedge shaped and often flared, because it is not cutting anything, it is levering the grain apart. Use a felling axe to split rounds and you will bury it every time and spend the afternoon working it back out. Use a splitting maul to fell a tree and you will bounce off. Every Ashfell is forged, ground, hardened and hung in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Free shipping inside the United States, one to two weeks processing, seven day returns, and a genuine lifetime warranty against defects in the forging, the grind, the heat treat and the fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed.

Specifications

The eye, the wedge and why an axe stays on its handle

The single most important part of an axe is a hole. The eye is tapered, wider at the top than at the bottom, and the handle is fitted from below and driven up into it. That taper is the reason the head cannot slide down the handle in use, because the timber is being pushed into a hole that narrows behind it.

Then the handle is wedged. A slot is cut down the centre of the tongue that sits in the eye, a hardwood wedge is driven into that slot, and the timber spreads sideways to fill the eye completely. A second steel wedge is driven in across the first at an angle, which spreads the wood on the other axis as well. Done properly the head cannot move in any direction, and a well hung axe from a hundred years ago is still tight today.

What loosens an axe is not use, it is drying. Ash gives up moisture in a hot dry house and the tongue shrinks in the eye. If your head ever rattles, do not soak the axe in water, which is the old advice and swells the wood only until it dries again and leaves the fibres crushed. Re wedge it, which is a ten minute job and a permanent fix. The curved handle is not decoration either. A curve on a single bit felling axe puts the working edge in line with the swing and gives the lower hand somewhere positive to sit at the end of the stroke.

1095 steel and an ash handle

The head is 1095 high carbon steel hardened and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC. That is a deliberate choice for an axe. A knife blade can afford to be harder because it is not being driven into knots at speed. An axe bit that is too hard chips and an axe bit that is too soft rolls, and this range is where the edge holds well while still bending rather than breaking when it finds a hidden nail or a stone. It also means you can bring the edge back with a file and a stone in the field rather than needing a workshop.

The handle is American ash, left natural rather than stained or lacquered. Ash is chosen over hickory here for the same reason it is chosen for tool handles across northern Europe. It is springy, it absorbs shock rather than transmitting it into the wrist, and when it does fail it splinters along the grain with warning rather than snapping clean. A natural finish also lets you feel the grain, and grain direction is how you judge a good handle. Look at the butt end. The growth rings should run parallel to the line of the bit, not across it.

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 leather. 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 where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On Ashfell the cheek already carries a knotwork medallion and a rune line, so your own engraving takes their place. Full detail is on the engraving page.

Using it, storing it and hanging it

Cut across the grain with it and leave the splitting to a maul. When you are felling or bucking, aim to open a notch wide enough that the chips come out cleanly rather than jamming, which means alternating your angle rather than chopping repeatedly into the same line. Keep your feet out of the arc, and never swing an axe over ground you have not looked at.

For storage, hang it by the handle rather than resting the head on concrete, which draws moisture into the steel and dulls the bit against the floor. If you are displaying it, a wall out of direct sun keeps the ash from bleaching, and the leather cover should stay on the edge whenever it is somewhere a hand might land on it.

Care

1095 is not stainless. Wipe the head after every use, particularly after cutting green or resinous timber, because sap is acidic and will mark a polished cheek overnight. Put a light film of oil on the steel before it goes away. Never store the axe in the leather cover long term, since leather holds moisture against the bit. Sharpen with a file and a stone rather than a powered wheel, because a grinder will draw the temper out of a thin bit faster than you expect. Feed the ash handle with boiled linseed oil once or twice a year and it will stay tight and pleasant in the hand, and feed the sheath with a neutral leather conditioner. Our steel care page covers oiling, storage and rust removal.

Forged in Memphis

The head is forged, punched and drifted here, the bit is ground here, the heat treat is run here, the knotwork and the runes are cut here and the handle is shaped, fitted and wedged here, all in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue with our name printed on the box. That is why a lifetime warranty against defects in the forging, the grind, the heat treat and the fittings is a promise rather than a marketing line.

A note on handmade variation

This axe is hand made and not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Hammer texture on the cheeks, the exact profile of the beard, polish depth, the grain and colour of the ash handle and the tone of the leather all vary because each one is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I split logs with it?

You can, badly. This is a felling bit, thin and cut for working across the grain. It will bury itself in a round rather than opening it. Use a splitting maul for firewood and keep this for felling and limbing.

Is it sharp when it arrives?

Yes, it ships with a working edge and a leather cover over it. Treat it as a sharp tool from the moment you take the cover off.

What if the head works loose?

Re wedge it rather than soaking the axe in water. Soaking swells the timber temporarily and crushes the fibres, and the head is loose again a fortnight later. Re wedging is a ten minute job and it is permanent.

Why ash rather than hickory?

Ash is springy, absorbs shock well and gives warning before it fails rather than snapping clean. It is the traditional handle timber across northern Europe and it suits this pattern.

Will the polished head rust?

Yes, if it is neglected. 1095 is not stainless and tree sap will mark it quickly. Wipe it and oil it after use and it will stay clean for a lifetime.

How long does it take to ship?

One to two weeks, because each head is forged, ground and hardened and each handle is shaped and hung to order. Engraved orders take a little longer. Shipping inside the United States is free.

What is in the box

• One single bit felling axe in 1095 steel on an American ash handle
• Stitched leather edge cover with a stud closure
• Engraved knotwork medallion and Elder Futhark line on the cheek
• Your own rune line or Viking design in their place where selected
• Sharpening, re wedging and oiling notes
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in splitting and felling axes, Viking axes and blacksmith tools, or read the guides for how an axe should be hung and sharpened.