Viking battle axe is the phrase people use for the broad bladed Norse head on a straight wooden haft, the shape that shows up on carved stones and in grave finds. In practice the Norse used the same axe for splitting wood and for fighting, which is why the historical heads are lighter and thinner than the film versions. What buyers usually want from the phrase is a head with presence: a wide edge, a clear beard, and enough haft to swing with two hands.
The heads on this page
The extremes are the interesting part. At one end sits a 21 inch axe with a 5 inch cutting edge on a pale ash haft with straight grain and an oil finish, light enough to use one handed. At the other is a runic bearded war axe at 34 inches overall with a 10 inch cutting edge, which is a two hand piece and the largest head in the range. Between them run the standard bearded axes at 18, 19 and 22 inches on ash, birch, oak and rosewood hafts, most shipping with a fitted leather blade cover and a gift box. There is a double headed axe at 19 inches with a bit on each side. Heads are plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC or forge welded 1095 and 15N20 Damascus at 58 to 60 HRC. A few seax knives and a camp knife share the tag because they came out of the same run of steel. Prices run from 149 dollars to 645 dollars.
Reading the shape before you buy
Head weight and haft length decide everything about how an axe feels, and a wide edge on a short haft is a very different object from the same edge on a 34 inch shaft. Our pick of Viking axes compares the shapes side by side. The long two hand form has its own history and its own name, covered in the Dane axe, which is the piece to read if the big head is what caught your eye. To browse by shape, the broad heads are in battle axes and the long hafted ones are in Dane 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.
