Odin Handcrafted Viking Hammer | Ash Wood Handle | Norse Mythology Collector and Display Gift | RK-623

The Odin is a hand forged Viking hammer with a solid steel head measuring 4.7 by 1.6 by 1.6 inches, hung on a shaped ash wood handle 13.3 inches long. Complete it weighs 3.96 pounds, which is 1.8 kilograms, and the head is heat treated to 48 to 52 HRC. That hardness is deliberately below knife range. A hammer head wants to be tough and slightly forgiving rather than hard and brittle, because hardness in a striking tool is how you get chipping. How blunt arms dealt with armour is explained in war hammers and maces.

Worth being straight about the mythology, since a lot of listings are not. The hammer in Norse myth belongs to Thor, not to Odin. Odin carries the spear Gungnir. This piece is named for the Allfather as a house name rather than a claim about who wielded what. The hammer itself is Mjolnir, and Snorri Sturluson tells us in Skaldskaparmal that the dwarfs Brokkr and Eitri forged it, and that the handle came out short because Loki turned himself into a fly and bit Brokkr on the eyelid while he worked the bellows. Archaeology backs the object rather than the story. Well over a thousand Thor hammer pendants have been recovered across Scandinavia, Iceland, the Danelaw and the Baltic, and in 2014 one found at Kobelev on the Danish island of Lolland finally settled a long argument by carrying a runic inscription that reads roughly this is a hammer. Until then nobody could prove the pendants were hammers rather than crosses or axes.

Every Odin is forged, heat treated, ground, hafted and finished in a Czech Republic workshop and packed with protective wrapping. Shipping in the United States is free, processing takes one to two weeks, and returns are accepted within seven days.

Specifications

What the hammer meant, and why it was worn

The hammer is the most recognisable object in Norse religion and the reason is political as much as spiritual. Mjolnir was not primarily a tool of war in the sources. It was a hallowing tool. In the Eddas Thor uses it to bless a marriage, to consecrate a funeral pyre, and to bring his own goats back to life after they have been eaten. It sanctified things. That is why people wore it around the neck.

The pendants matter historically because of when they appear. Hammer pendants are rare in early Viking Age graves and then become common in the tenth century, exactly as Christian missionary pressure increased and cross pendants started arriving. A mould found at Trendgarden in Denmark casts a cross and a Thor hammer at the same time, from the same block of soapstone. Whatever else that tells us, it tells us the two symbols were in direct competition and that at least one craftsman was happy to supply either. The hammer became a statement of which side you were on.

The name itself is argued over. Mjolnir is usually linked to Old Norse and Slavic roots meaning to grind or to crush, and possibly to words for lightning. Either reading fits a god of thunder whose hammer comes back to his hand.

Why high carbon steel and not stainless

The head is plain high carbon steel, forged from bar, quenched and then drawn back to 48 to 52 HRC. That is the right window for a struck or striking mass. Take the same steel up to 60 HRC and it becomes glass hard and will chip at the face. Leave it soft and it mushrooms and deforms. Between 48 and 52 it stays tough, holds its shape and absorbs shock.

Stainless is the wrong material for a hammer head at any hardness. The chromium content that makes it corrosion resistant also makes it less tough in section and considerably harder to forge into a shape like this without cracking. Carbon steel forges cleanly, moves predictably under the hammer, and takes the deep grey finish that suits a piece like this. In exchange it will rust if it is left damp, so it wants a wipe and a light film of oil rather than being ignored. The full argument sits in Damascus versus stainless.

The ash handle and the balance

Ash is the traditional handle timber for striking tools across Europe and it is not chosen for looks. Ash has long straight fibres that run parallel down the length of a good stave, and that fibre structure is what absorbs shock instead of transmitting it into your wrist. It is also elastic, so it flexes very slightly under load and returns rather than splitting. Hickory is the American equivalent and behaves the same way for the same reason.

There is a pleasing accident of mythology here as well, since Yggdrasil, the world tree, is described in the Norse sources as an ash. Each handle is shaped from a different stave, so the figure, the colour and the run of the grain shift from one piece to the next. Feed the wood with a light coat of oil once or twice a year, particularly if it lives in a heated dry room, because a handle that dries out is a handle that shrinks and loosens at the eye. The method is in wooden handle care.

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. On this hammer the flat cheeks of the head take a rune line well, and the ash handle takes deeper cut work. It is the most common request we get for wedding parties, retirements and christenings. Detail on the engraving page.

Care and upkeep

Keep the head dry and put a thin film of oil on the steel two or three times a year, more often if you live somewhere humid or near the coast. Let the dark patina form rather than scrubbing it back to bright, because that oxide layer is what slows further corrosion. If an orange rust spot does appear it lifts with fine abrasive and oil in a few minutes. The full routine is in steel care.

This is a display and collector piece and it has no cutting edge, so there is nothing on it to sharpen. If you also own bladed pieces from the range, the whetstone method for those is in sharpening with a whetstone. For the hammer itself the whole maintenance list is oil the head, oil the handle, and check the wedge at the eye once a year in case a dry winter has shrunk the timber.

Made in the Czech Republic

This is a handmade piece from the Czech Republic, made in a workshop that still forges, grinds and finishes by hand instead of stamping parts out. The smiths there have kept the older way of working, and the wood, horn and leather are shaped and fitted by hand as well. Two pieces of the same design will never be identical, and that is part of what you are buying.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We handle the import ourselves, look over every piece when it lands and ship from our warehouse in North Babylon, New York. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so your design goes on before we send it out.

A note on handmade variation

The Odin is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The hammer marks on the head, the depth of the forge finish, the grain and the tone of the ash and the precise profile of the cheeks all vary, because each piece is worked by hand from natural materials. The head dimensions, the handle length, the weight, the steel and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a display piece or can I actually strike with it?

It is built and sold as a display and collector piece. The head is properly forged and heat treated rather than cast, so it is a real piece of steel, but it is not certified as a striking tool and we do not recommend using it as a shop hammer.

Why is the head only 48 to 52 HRC when your knives are harder?

Because a hammer head and a knife edge want opposite things. A blade needs hardness to hold a fine edge. A hammer head needs toughness so it does not chip or crack under impact, and that means drawing the temper back further.

Can I have runes cut into it?

Yes. Use the rune converter on this page, or send your own design. The cheeks of the head and the flat of the ash handle both take engraving well.

Did Odin carry a hammer?

No. The hammer belongs to Thor in every Norse source we have. Odin carries the spear Gungnir, which never misses. This piece is named the Odin as a house name for the range rather than as a claim about the mythology.

How is this different from your Mjolnir hammer?

Scale and finish, mostly. This one is 3.96 pounds on a 13.3 inch ash handle with a forged carbon steel head. The Mjolnir in the range is a considerably larger and heavier piece with a cast head in stainless. Pick this one if you want a hammer that can be held comfortably in one hand.

How is it packed and how long does delivery take?

It ships in protective packaging with the head wrapped separately from the handle. Processing is one to two weeks because it is made to order, then shipping inside the United States is free.

What is in the box

• One Odin hand forged Viking hammer with ash wood handle
• Protective packaging
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

Related collections: Viking Hammers, Viking Axes, Viking Shields and Viking Helmet. The mythology and the material notes are in the guides.

Also in this part of the catalogue

If this one is not quite right, there is the Mjolnir Viking hammer, 71 inches overall.

From the same corner of the shop, there is the Frostrune Dane axe. Or start from a blank sheet on the custom Norse arms page.