Stormbeak Hand Forged Viking War Hammer | 20 Inch Overall Length | Mjolnir Engraved Head and Steel Langets with Ash Haft | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1680

The Stormbeak is a one handed war hammer with a square textured striking face on one side, a long curved beak on the other, a Mjolnir cut into the cheek of the head and steel langets running down a pale ash haft. A leather lanyard passes through the butt and a shaped brown leather cover slips over the head for storage and carry.

The beak is the part people misunderstand. A war hammer is not a heavier club. By the late fourteenth century a plate harness would shrug off a sword cut, so the weapons that mattered against it worked by concussion and by concentration of force. The flat face delivers the shock through the plate without needing to cut it, and the beak on the reverse puts all of the swing behind a single point, which is how you get through a helm or a pauldron that a blade would skate off. Nearly every surviving war hammer carries both, because you want the choice mid fight. This one is forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee.

Specifications

What the langets are doing

The two steel straps running down from the head are langets, and they are the single most important detail on any hafted weapon. A hammer or an axe takes its load at the eye, right where the timber is thinnest, and a hard strike that lands slightly off the face puts a shearing force straight into that weak point. Langets carry that force down into the body of the haft instead, spreading it over eight or ten inches of timber rather than concentrating it in one inch.

They also protect the haft from a blade. In a real exchange the natural counter to a hafted weapon is to cut the shaft, and bare ash gives way to a sharp edge quickly. A langeted haft does not. That is why they appear on medieval poleaxes, war hammers and bardiches almost without exception, and why a hafted weapon without them is a decorative object rather than a functional design.

Ours are riveted through rather than glued or pinned into blind holes, so they are mechanically fixed. The rivets are set flush so nothing catches the hand as it slides down the haft.

The steel and the ash

The head is forged from high carbon steel and heat treated so the face and beak sit at 54 to 58 HRC. That is the right range for an impact tool. Harder and the beak chips when it meets something unyielding. Softer and the face mushrooms and the beak bends. The texture on the striking face is forged in rather than machined, which is the traditional treatment and gives the face a little grip on whatever it lands on.

The haft is ash, and there is no better timber for the job. Ash is ring porous, which means it grows alternating bands of dense and open cells, and that structure absorbs shock rather than transmitting it into the wrist. It also splits along the grain rather than shattering, so an ash haft that has been abused gives you warning. Hickory is the other honest choice and it is heavier. We use ash for a one handed weapon because the balance matters more than the last few percent of toughness.

The haft is finished with oil, not lacquer. A lacquered handle is slippery when a hand sweats and it chips at the head, whereas oil soaks in and can be topped up in thirty seconds with a rag. The head cover is vegetable tanned leather, shaped wet over the head so it grips rather than flopping.

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, the leather or the wood. 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, so your line takes the place of the Mjolnir on the cheek. Runes can also be branded along the ash haft if you would rather leave the head as it is. Full details are on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

A war hammer is head heavy by design and this one is no exception. The mass is out at the end and it wants to swing, which is exactly the point. Grip it low, near the lanyard, and let the head do the work rather than trying to muscle it. Choking up toward the langets gives you control for short movements and takes the power out of the swing, which is the trade you make deliberately.

The lanyard is not decoration on a head heavy tool. Loop it over the wrist before you swing anything and the hammer stays with you if your grip slips. It is worth getting into that habit on the first day rather than the day it matters.

The beak is a point and it arrives sharp enough to be treated with respect. This is a collector, display and light use piece. It is not a sparring weapon and it should never be swung at another person or at another weapon.

Care

Wipe the head down after handling and put a light film of oil on the steel. Bare high carbon steel will spot if it is handled and put away, and the forged texture on the face holds moisture longer than a polished surface does, so dry it properly if it gets wet. The leather cover should not be left on a damp head, because leather holds water against steel.

Feed the ash haft with a wipe of boiled linseed or a hard wax oil once or twice a year, especially at the ends where timber loses moisture fastest. Check the langet rivets occasionally and check that the head is tight on the haft, the same way you would with any hafted tool. Feed the leather cover with a balm. For the head, our steel care notes apply.

Forged in Memphis

The head is forged, drifted, shaped, heat treated and engraved at our anvil in Memphis, Tennessee, the haft is shaped and fitted here, and the leather cover is cut and formed on the same bench. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue with a Norse name added. Because a hammer head with a drawn beak is a lot of hot work, allow one to two weeks of processing before yours ships. Shipping inside the United States is free, returns run for seven days, and the hammer carries our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The forged texture on the face is different on every head, the curve of the beak is drawn by eye, the grain and tone of the ash haft depend on the board it came from and the leather takes its finish differently from hide to hide. The dimensions, the steel, the hardness and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the beak sharp

It is a point rather than a blade edge, and it is sharp enough to puncture. Keep the leather cover on it when it is not on display and keep it away from children.

What is the head cover for

It slips over the head for storage and carry so the beak is not exposed and the steel is not knocked about. It is included.

Can I actually use this to split kindling or drive posts

It is not a splitting maul or a sledge and we do not recommend it as a work tool. It is a collector and display piece with a functioning head.

Why ash rather than hickory

Ash absorbs shock well and keeps the balance right for a one handed weapon. Hickory is tougher and heavier and shifts the feel toward the head.

Can I have runes on the haft

Yes. Runes can be branded along the ash or cut into the head in place of the Mjolnir. Use the rune converter on this page.

How long does it take to ship

One to two weeks of processing, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• Stormbeak forged war hammer, high carbon head at 54 to 58 HRC
• Ash haft with riveted steel langets and leather lanyard
• Mjolnir engraved into the cheek of the head
• Shaped vegetable tanned leather head cover
• Care card for high carbon steel, ash and leather
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in war axes, medieval axes, viking weapons and engraved and personalised, or read the guides.