Norse mythology gifts are for the person who has read the Eddas, or has at least watched enough television to want the real thing. The problem with the category is that most of it is printed on a mug. The pieces here are forged steel with the symbol cut into it, which is a different proposition entirely.
What is on the tag
Mostly Viking axes, seax knives and hammers. The axes run around 18 to 20 inches overall on rosewood, ash, birch and olive wood hafts, with heads in plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC or Damascus of 1095 and 15N20, forge welded and acid etched, at 58 to 60 HRC, and each one ships with a leather blade cover. The seax knives sit at 3.5 to 7 inches of blade with wood or bone handles and a stitched cowhide sheath. There are hammers in the group too, including a Mjolnir shaped head, which is the least subtle object in the catalogue and knows it.
Getting the symbol right
This matters more than people expect, because a good half of what gets sold as Norse is not. The valknut is genuinely Viking Age and genuinely uncertain in meaning. Yggdrasil and the ravens Huginn and Muninn are solidly in the sources. The vegvisir is Icelandic and several centuries too late to be Viking, which does not make it a bad thing to own but does make it a bad thing to claim. The symbols guide separates the two groups plainly, and the Norse gods guide covers who was actually worshipped rather than who has the best television arc. Symbol engraving is 39 dollars and a rune row counts as a symbol. Browse the Viking axes or the Viking seax knives.
What arrives
Axe heads come mounted on a wedged haft with a leather blade cover. Seax knives come in a stitched cowhide sheath, and one of the seax patterns ships in a carved wooden cover instead. Hafts are finished with oil rather than lacquer, which means they can be sanded and reoiled after a few years of handling rather than peeling.
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.
