Battle axe covers a lot of ground and most of it is misremembered. The Norse fighting axe was light, thin behind the edge and cheap, which is why so many were made and so many survive. The heavy wide crescent people picture is closer to a stage prop. What sits under this phrase here is the honest range, from a one hand head you can swing all day to a fifty inch poleaxe.
From 16 inches to 50
The short end is a Damascus bearded head on a 16 inch walnut haft with a brass rune collar and a leather head sheath, and a battle axe at 21 inches overall with a 5 inch cutting edge on a pale ash haft with straight grain and an oil finish. The middle covers double bits on 26 and 30 inch hafts with etched Celtic knotwork on both bits and brass collars, a bearded head on a 26 inch ash haft with an etched rune band and knotwork cheeks, a knotwork engraved head on a 26 inch ash haft with a leather wrapped grip, a double headed axe at 28 inches overall with twin 4.5 inch edges, and a pattern welded Damascus bearded head on a walnut haft with a leather collar. The long end is where it gets serious: a Dane axe on a 32 inch ash haft with a knotwork engraved head, steel langets and a leather edge guard, a double headed axe on a 34 inch haft with twin crescent bits and an etched beast motif, and a poleaxe at 50 inches overall with a 5.5 inch cutting edge. Steel is plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC or forge welded 1095 and 15N20 Damascus at 58 to 60 HRC. Prices run from 165 dollars to 465 dollars.
Reading the shapes
The beard and the broad bit do different things, and the difference shows up the moment you swing one. Our comparison of the two covers edge length against head weight. If you want to know how the Norse heads differ from what came later in Europe, Viking axe against medieval axe is the honest version. To shop by shape, the broad heads are in battle axes and the long staff arms are in poleaxes.
Ransack Viking is a US company based in North Babylon, New York. These pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from New York. Engraving is done in the US after arrival: text 19 dollars, symbol 39 dollars, family crest 49 dollars.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
