Timberrune Hand Forged 1095 Carbon Steel Felling Axe | 4 Inch Bit | Chased Knotwork Cheek, Hickory Haft and Leather Blade Mask | Woodsman Gift | RK-1482

This is a working felling axe, not a wall piece that happens to have an edge. The head is forged from 1095 high carbon steel with a slightly rounded bit and a thin, high cheek, which is the geometry you want for cutting across the grain rather than splitting along it. Felling and splitting are opposite problems and they need opposite tools. A splitting axe wants a fat wedge that forces fibres apart. A felling axe wants a thin, keen bit that severs them, and it wants to release from the cut instead of sticking, which is what the hollow behind the edge is for.

It is forged, hafted and finished in Memphis, Tennessee. The cheek carries a chased Norse knotwork panel, the haft is American hickory with the grain running the right way through the eye, and a fitted leather blade mask is supplied. The chopping block and the split cordwood in the photograph are scenery and are not part of the order.

Specifications

What makes a felling axe cut

Three things decide whether an axe works: the bit geometry, the hang, and the mass distribution. Bit geometry is the one people talk about. Behind the cutting edge the cheek is ground thin and slightly hollow, so the wedge angle stays low for the first half inch of penetration. That is where all the cutting happens. Once the bit is in, the swelling cheek behind it pops the chip out sideways. Thicken that first half inch and the axe bounces instead of biting.

The hang is the angle between the edge and the line of the haft, and it is the detail that separates an axe that lands square from one that glances. Sight down the haft from the butt and the edge should sit in line with the middle of the grip. If it is off, every stroke lands on a corner of the bit and the axe twists in your hands. Ours are hung by eye and then checked on a straight edge before the wedge goes in.

The haft itself is hickory, and the important thing about a hickory haft is not the species but the grain orientation. The growth rings should run parallel to the bit, not across it, so the haft flexes in the plane of the swing and is stiff against twisting. A haft with the grain running the wrong way through the eye will break, and it will break at the eye, which is exactly where your hands are not.

The steel

The head is 1095 high carbon steel, heat treated to 54 to 58 HRC. That is a deliberately lower window than we use on a knife, and the reason is chipping. An axe edge meets frozen wood, hidden grit, the occasional nail and, sooner or later, a stone. At 60 HRC that edge would chip out in pieces. At 54 to 58 it rolls instead, and a rolled edge can be steeled or stoned back in a couple of minutes at the woodpile.

1095 is a simple, clean high carbon steel with no alloy additions to complicate the heat treat, which is precisely why it has been the standard for cutting tools for a century. It takes a keen edge quickly and it responds well to field sharpening with a file and a stone, which matters on a tool you use away from a bench. It is not stainless and it will develop a patina and rust if you neglect it.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the leather. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it, so the knotwork panel on the cheek is yours to specify. The blade mask also takes a stamped or cut line, which makes this a strong gift piece. See the engraving page.

Handling and storage

At around twenty eight inches this is a two handed felling axe with a boy axe reach: long enough to generate real head speed, short enough to swing safely in timber rather than in open ground. Stand so that a miss goes into the block or the ground and not into your shin, and keep your bottom hand at the swell rather than out on the very end of the haft.

Store it hanging by the head or lying flat in a dry place with the mask on. Do not leave it standing on its bit against a wall, which dulls the edge and lets the head take moisture from the floor. Do not leave it outdoors. A hickory haft left in the sun and rain dries, shrinks and loosens in the eye, and a loose head is dangerous. If the head ever moves at all, stop using the axe and re wedge it before you swing it again.

Care

Wipe the head down and oil it after use. Sap is acidic and will stain and pit a high carbon head overnight if it is left on. Any light machine oil or a wipe of mineral oil is plenty. Touch the edge up with a file for a rolled edge and a stone for a dull one, working from the heel to the toe on both sides, and keep the original bevel angle rather than making the edge steeper.

Give the hickory a wipe of boiled linseed oil once or twice a year, paying attention to the end grain at the butt and around the eye, which is where a haft dries out first. Feed the leather mask with a balm at the same time, and never store the head inside the mask for months at a time, because vegetable tanned leather holds moisture against steel. Our steel care notes cover oils and rust removal in more detail.

Forged in Memphis

Head forged, hardened, tempered, ground and chased in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee, and hafted and wedged in the same room. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue with a logo added. Because it is entirely ours, the lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings is genuine, with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This axe is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Hammer texture on the cheeks, the exact profile of the bit, the colour and figure of the hickory and the depth of the chased knotwork all vary, because each one is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a felling axe or a splitting axe?

A felling axe. The bit is thin and slightly hollow behind the edge for cutting across the grain. It will split small rounds but a dedicated splitting maul does that job far better.

Does it arrive sharp?

Yes, with a working shaving edge straight from the shop. Keep the mask on it in transport and storage.

Why is it only 54 to 58 HRC?

Because an axe edge meets grit, frozen wood and the occasional nail. At a higher hardness it would chip rather than roll, and a rolled edge can be fixed at the woodpile in two minutes.

Can I use it as a throwing axe?

We would rather you did not. Throwing beats up the eye and the wedging and will eventually loosen the head on a hafted felling axe.

Will the head come loose?

Not if you keep it out of the weather. Hickory shrinks when it dries. If the head ever moves, stop using it and re wedge before swinging it again.

How long before it ships?

Processing is one to two weeks because each head is forged, heat treated and hung to order. Shipping inside the United States is free and returns are accepted within seven days.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 felling axe, hung and wedged
• American hickory haft, curved felling pattern
• Chased knotwork cheek panel, or your own engraving in its place
• Fitted leather blade mask with a stud closure
• Light protective oil coat applied before packing
• Care and sharpening card
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in splitting and felling axes, viking axes, blacksmith tools and battle axes, or read the guides.