An axe sheath is the least glamorous thing you will buy and the one that saves the most damage. A bare head in a pack shreds the pack. A bare head on a shelf takes a chip out of the wall and out of the edge. Leather is still the right material because it moulds to the bevel, holds a snap fitting and does not trap water against the steel the way a plastic guard does.
Sheaths and the heads they fit
Two are sold on their own. One is a hand made leather axe sheath with a tooled Mjolnir panel, steel snaps and a hand stitched welt, cut to fit bearded heads up to a 6 inch edge. The other is vegetable tanned hide with a belt loop, a vegvisir stamp and solid brass snap fittings, for carrying rather than storing. The rest are axes that arrive with their own cover. Haft lengths run 15 to 30 inches: a hand axe on a 15 inch ash handle with struck rune marks, a polished bearded head, a leather edge sheath and a pouch, a Damascus bearded head on a 16 inch walnut haft with a brass rune collar, a knotwork etched head on a 20 inch haft, a bearded head on a 26 inch ash haft with an etched rune band, a knotwork engraved head on a 26 inch ash haft with a leather wrapped grip, and double bits on 26 and 30 inch hafts with brass collars. Two Damascus pattern welded heads sit on walnut hafts, one with a leather collar and a stitched edge sheath, one with an etched wolf head, a brass collar and a butt cap. Prices run from 109 dollars to 349 dollars.
Storing an axe properly
Do not leave a head in leather for months. Damp in the hide will find the steel, and the first sign is a rust bloom under the cover where you cannot see it. If that has already happened, our notes on removing rust from an axe deal with it without ruining the finish, and the safety and storage page covers where an edge should live in a house. Spare leather work is in scabbards and sheaths, and the heads themselves are in bearded axes.
Ransack Viking is a US company based in Chicago, Illinois. These pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from Chicago. 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.
