Every piece in this collection is hand-forged, heated, hammered and ground from high-carbon or Damascus steel, then fitted with rosewood, ash or birch. Nothing here is cast or stamped. Plain 1095 runs at 54 to 58 HRC, and Damascus, which is 1095 folded with 15N20, runs at 58 to 60 HRC.
This is the parent collection for the striking and hafted arms. Axes sit under it, along with spears, maces, polearms and Thor’s hammers. If you know the shape you want, go straight to that category in the list below. If you are still deciding, read on.
What Viking warriors actually carried
The axe was the common choice, cheap to make, quick to learn and effective in a shield wall. The sword marked status and was carried by far fewer men. The seax was the everyday knife almost everyone owned, used for work as often as for fighting. Spears were the most numerous of all, and the shield went with every one of them.
The axe families
Bearded axes carry the drooping lower lug that gives the shape its name. The beard adds cutting edge without adding head weight, and it leaves a gap behind the blade so a hand can choke up for fine work. Battle axes are the broader war heads, made for reach and impact rather than for wood. Dane axes are the long hafted two hand version, the axe of the huscarl. Francisca axes are the Frankish throwing head with the sharp upward curve. Throwing axes and tomahawks cover the modern target and camp versions of that idea.
Double-headed axes are display and stage pieces rather than historical Norse ones, and they are among the most popular things we sell. War axes and medieval axes cover the later European heads. Camping axes and hatchets, along with splitting and felling axes, are the working end of the collection, ground and hung for wood rather than for a wall.
Polearms and crushing heads
Glaives and polearms put a blade on the end of a shaft and trade speed for reach. Halberds add an axe head, a spike and a rear hook to the same shaft, which is what made them so hard to deal with on foot. Poleaxes are the knightly version, built to punch through plate rather than to cut. Maces and flails give up the edge entirely and rely on mass. Viking spears are the most historically common piece here and the most overlooked. Thor’s hammers cover both the forged hammer heads and the Mjolnir pieces made to hang.
Where these are made and how to buy
Each piece is handmade in the Czech Republic by workshops that still work the old way. Ransack Viking is a United States company in Memphis, Tennessee, and we import, inspect and ship from there, with free standard shipping inside the United States. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so a name, a date or a line of Elder Futhark adds only a short wait. Please check your local law before ordering.
Browse every category
- Bearded Axes
- Battle Axes
- Dane Axes
- War Axes
- Medieval Axes
- Francisca Axes
- Double-Headed Axes
- Throwing Axes
- Tomahawks
- Camping Axes & Hatchets
- Splitting & Felling Axes
- Viking Spears
- Glaives & Polearms
- Halberds
- Poleaxes
- Maces
- Flails
- Thor’s Hammers
Choosing between an axe, a spear and a polearm
Most people come here for an axe, and for good reason. The axe was what a Norse household actually owned, because the same head that split a shield split firewood the rest of the year. A bearded axe gives you a long cutting edge on a light head, which is why it handles well in one hand. A Dane axe is a two handed piece and reads very differently on a wall. Spears were far more common in a real fight than any sword, and a socketed head on a good ash haft is still the most honest Viking piece you can hang. Polearms, halberds and glaives are later and heavier, medieval rather than Norse, and they suit a room with height. Maces and war hammers sit apart again, built to work against armour rather than against a shield.
What we say about use, and what we do not
Every piece in this collection is a functional forging in 1095 high carbon or in 1095 and 15N20 Damascus, hardened and tempered, not a cast display copy. That said, we do not sell anything as combat equipment and we do not certify anything for contact work, sparring or reenactment fighting. Hafts are wood, wood fails, and a head that comes loose is dangerous. If you intend to cut with a piece, check the head and the wedge before every session and stop using it the moment either moves. If you want it for the wall, ask for the unsharpened option and we will leave the edge blunt.
Read before you buy
- Best Viking Axes, a hand-forged buyer’s guide
- Viking Axe History, bearded axes, Dane axes and how they were used
- How to sharpen an axe with a file, stone and strop
Other collections
230 pieces in this collection
Free US shipping
On every order, no minimum.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
Ships from Memphis
Dispatched from our Tennessee warehouse.
