Rookhelm Hand Forged Bearded Axe on Walnut Raven Wall Plaque | 14 Inch Ash Haft and 5 Inch Cutting Edge | Solid Brass Mounting Brackets | Norse Wall Display Gift | RK-1712

The Rookhelm is a hand forged bearded axe supplied already mounted on a solid black walnut wall plaque, engraved with a standing raven and fitted with two solid brass brackets. The head is 1095 high carbon steel, the haft is straight grained American ash, and the whole set is meant to live on a wall at eye height where the shape of the beard can actually be read.

The bearded profile is not decoration. Dropping the lower part of the edge below the eye of the axe buys you a long cutting edge without the weight that a deep symmetrical bit would add, and it opens a gap behind the beard where a hand can choke right up to the head for controlled carving work. Norse woodworkers used that grip constantly. The word skeggox, beard axe, turns up in the Icelandic sagas describing exactly this shape, and surviving heads from Gotland and from the Mammen finds show the same long thin bit and the same light eye.

Forged, ground, heat treated and hung in Memphis, Tennessee. It ships mounted on the plaque with the brackets fitted, plus the wall fixings and a short care card.

Specifications

What the beard on a bearded axe is actually for

Look at the head and you will see the edge running well below the line of the eye, hanging back toward the haft in a long curved hook. That hook is the beard. It does three things. It extends the cutting edge, so a head weighing under a pound and a half can present five inches of edge instead of three. It moves the centre of percussion forward and down, which makes the axe bite deeper for the same swing. And it leaves a hollow behind the edge that your hand can occupy.

That last point is the one people miss. Slide your hand up the haft until it sits in the gap behind the beard and you are holding a wide bladed carving knife with the mass of an axe head behind it. Norse boatbuilders shaped strakes and dressed planks this way, working with the head choked and the swing measured in inches. It is why the shape survived so long in Scandinavia after heavier felling axes were available everywhere. The beard also makes the axe useful for hooking, catching a shield rim or a rope, which is what earned it a reputation in the sagas.

Steel, ash and walnut

The head is 1095 high carbon steel, forged, normalised, quenched and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC. That band is where a chopping edge wants to sit. Harder than that and an axe chips when it meets a knot or a nail. Softer and the edge rolls under load. At 54 to 58 the edge takes a bite, holds it, and comes back with a file and a stone rather than needing a grinder. Because 1095 is a simple carbon steel it will rust if you neglect it, which is the trade you make for an edge that is easy to maintain.

The haft is American ash, chosen for straight grain running the length of the handle. Ash is the traditional haft timber in northern Europe because the long fibres flex slightly under shock instead of shattering. The plaque is solid black walnut, planed, sanded, engraved and finished with an oil that darkens the grain and leaves an open matt surface rather than a plastic gloss. The brackets are solid brass, cast and polished, sized to cradle the head and the haft without pinching either.

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, the leather or the wood. 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.

On this set the walnut plaque is the natural place for a rune line, cut in an arc under the raven or along the lower edge. The cheek of the axe head takes a short line well too. If you want the raven replaced entirely by your own design, say so, because your chosen engraving takes the place of the raven rather than sharing the panel with it. See the engraving page.

Mounting and display

The plaque hangs from a keyhole slot routed into the back, so it sits flush against the wall with nothing showing. Two wall fixings are supplied for a standard stud or a plugged masonry hole. Hang it so the head is around eye height and the raven sits above the haft, which is how the proportions were drawn.

The axe lifts out of the brass cradles without tools if you want to handle it, and drops back in the same way. Be honest with yourself about where you put it. This is a sharpened working head, not a blunted prop, so it belongs above head height in a household with children, and it should not be hung over a bed or a seat. The brackets hold the axe securely against knocks and vibration but they are cradles, not clamps, so do not mount the plaque somewhere a door will slam into it.

Care

Wipe the head down with a lightly oiled cloth every few months and after any handling, because 1095 is a carbon steel and fingerprints are acidic. Any light machine oil, camellia oil or a purpose made blade oil works. If a light haze of surface rust appears, take it off with a grey scouring pad and oil and it will not come back. More on this on steel care.

The ash haft wants a wipe of boiled linseed oil once a year, worked in and wiped off. Do not varnish it. The walnut plaque needs nothing but dusting and an occasional wipe of the same oil to keep the grain rich. Keep the whole set out of direct sunlight and off a wall that gets damp, and clean the brass with a dry cloth rather than a chemical polish that can run onto the walnut.

Forged in Memphis

The head is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened in our Memphis, Tennessee shop. The haft is shaped and hung here. The plaque is cut, engraved and finished here. Nothing on this set is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing arrives at our door as a finished item with our name added to it.

Because everything is made to order, current lead time is one to two weeks before it ships, and US shipping is free. Every piece carries our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made and not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The forge and grind marks on the head fall differently every time. The ash haft varies in colour from near white to pale honey and the figure in the grain is never repeated. The walnut plaque changes most of all, because walnut runs from light tan sapwood through deep chocolate heartwood and each board is cut where it is cut.

Dimensions, steel, hardness, edge length and the way it is built are the same on every one. The character is not, and that is the difference between a forged object and a stamped one.

Frequently asked questions

Is the axe sharp when it arrives

Yes. It arrives with a working edge that will bite into wood. It is not a shaving edge because a chopping edge does not want to be one, but treat it as a sharp tool from the moment you open the box.

Can I take the axe off the plaque and use it

You can. It lifts out of the brass cradles by hand. It is a real forged head on a real ash haft, suited to carving, splitting kindling and general camp work. It is not a competition throwing axe and repeated throwing will loosen the head.

Does the plaque come with fixings

It does. A keyhole slot is routed into the back and wall fixings are supplied. You will need a screwdriver and, on masonry, a drill.

Can I have my own design instead of the raven

Yes. Choose the engraving option and tell us what you want. Your design replaces the raven on the plaque rather than sitting beside it, because the panel is sized for one image.

Will the axe head rust

It can, because 1095 is a simple carbon steel with no chromium in it. A wipe of oil every few months prevents it entirely. Any rust that does appear is surface haze and comes off with a scouring pad.

How long does it take to ship

One to two weeks, because the head is forged and the plaque is cut and engraved after you order. US shipping is free.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 bearded axe head on an American ash haft
• One engraved solid black walnut wall plaque with a keyhole hanging slot
• Two solid brass cradle brackets, fitted
• Wall fixings and a care card
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the bearded axes, the wider viking axes, the viking home decor, and the guides for more on axe geometry and hanging a head.