Build a Custom Viking Axe
This page is a commission tool. You pick the head profile, the steel, the haft timber and the haft length, add engraving if you want it, and the axe is made to that spec. Nothing here is pulled off a shelf.
Once the order is placed, your spec goes to the workshop in the Czech Republic. The axe takes 4 to 6 weeks to make. It is then checked in North Babylon, New York and shipped from there.
Because a commission is built to your own spec it cannot be returned, the same rule that applies to an engraved piece. The lifetime warranty on defects still stands, with no end date.
How a commission runs
- You build the spec. Set a head, a steel, a haft timber and a haft length in the tool above, then add engraving if you want it.
- You order. Every choice is written down and travels with the order. Nothing reaches the workshop until that order is confirmed.
- The workshop makes it. Your axe is forged and fitted by hand in the Czech Republic, which takes 4 to 6 weeks. Heads are forged, never cast.
- It is checked and shipped. The axe comes in to North Babylon, New York, where it is inspected, engraved if you asked for engraving, packed and sent out.
Picking the head
A bearded axe carries a long lower edge below the eye, so you get a long cut from a light head and can choke up behind the beard for close carving. It is the Norse profile people picture first and the one most orders start from.
A hand axe is short and handy, worked one handed close to the body for limbing, kindling and tent pegs. A francisca is the Frankish throwing axe, a short arched head with a flared edge, made to be thrown and light enough to carry several. A throwing axe is plainer again: light head, thin bit, straight haft, nothing to break off when a throw lands badly.
A war axe is the narrow light head with a wide flaring edge, the fighting profile from the historic record. A Dane axe is the big two handed head on a long haft, built for reach and slow to bring back. Most of both are ordered as display and collection pieces and that is how we build them.
A tomahawk sits between a hand axe and a throwing axe: slim head, tapered eye, a light haft you can knock out and replace. A double headed axe has a bit on each side of the eye, one kept keen and one coarser for rough work, and it wants a long haft to balance.
The haft
Ash is the default for good reason. It is springy, it soaks up shock, and when it fails it tends to go slowly rather than snap clean. Birch is lighter and paler and suits a smaller head. Oak is heavier and stiffer than either. Hickory is the hardest working timber here, dense and stiff, and what you want under a Dane axe or a heavy war axe.
Walnut, rosewood and olive wood are chosen for figure. Walnut sits in the middle browns with a quiet grain, rosewood runs dark with black streaking, and olive wood is pale gold with contrasting figure that no two blanks share. All three are less forgiving of a missed strike than ash or hickory.
Length changes the axe more than most people expect. At 14 inch you have a one handed tool worked close to the body. 19 inch adds leverage without costing much control. 24 inch is the middle ground, two hands if you want them. 30 and 36 inch are two handed hafts that need clear space around you.
The haft can be left oiled, burnt and oiled for a darker grain, cord wrapped, or leather wrapped where your hand sits. Timber is cut from real trees, so color, grain and weight shift from one haft to the next. Knots and changes in figure come with the material and are not faults in the work.
Collar, cover and marks
Steel langets are straps running down the haft from the head, riveted in place, and they are what keeps a cut from reaching the wood. A brass collar is the decorative band at the same joint, and a knotwork brass collar is cut with Norse interlace. You can also leave the joint plain.
A plain leather head cover is included at no extra cost, and a tooled Norse cover carries knotwork worked into the face. Leather comes in black, dark brown, light brown, tan or oxblood at the same price. Leave the cover off if the axe is going on a wall.
Marks are cut into the steel in the United States after the axe arrives, not in the workshop. A name, a date or a line of text is $19. An Elder Futhark rune band is $19. A Norse symbol is $39. A family crest is $49 and we ask you for the artwork at checkout. A full knotwork panel is $59.
Working axe or display axe
Worth being straight about this before you build. The hand axe, the bearded axe and the tomahawk are working axes. With a 1095 head on an ash or hickory haft they are made to be sharpened, used and sharpened again for years.
A display axe is a different object. Spec heavy engraving, a rosewood or olive wood haft and a finish you would hate to scratch, and what you have bought is built to be looked at. It is not rated for contact fighting, sparring or re-enactment. Nothing here is proofed for edge on edge contact with other steel.
Questions
How long does a commission take?
4 to 6 weeks in the workshop. The axe is then checked in North Babylon, New York and shipped from there, so add transit time on top.
Can I return a custom axe?
No. A piece made to your own spec is not returnable, the same as an engraved piece. Read your spec back before you order. The lifetime warranty is separate and still applies: a defect in the steel, the fit or the workmanship is ours to deal with, with no end date on that cover.
What does engraving cost?
A name, a date or a line of text is $19. Elder Futhark runes are $19. A Norse symbol is $39. A family crest is $49, and we ask you for the artwork at checkout. Engraving is done in the United States once the axe reaches us.
Which steel should I pick?
Plain 1095 high carbon is hardened to 54 to 58 HRC. It takes a keen edge, comes back easily on a stone, and is the sensible choice for an axe that will be used. Damascus is forge welded from 1095 and 15N20 and runs 58 to 60 HRC, harder, with the layer pattern showing after etching. Both are forged, neither is cast. Carbon steel takes a patina and will rust if left wet.
Where is the axe made?
The head and the haft are made by hand in the Czech Republic. The finished axe is inspected and engraved in North Babylon, New York, then shipped to you.
Where to go next
If you would rather buy an axe that is already made, start with Viking axes or the wider Norse arms collection. For a bigger run, see wholesale and group orders. You can also build a custom Damascus knife or a custom hunting knife.