Caskbeard Hand Forged 1095 Steel Bearded Axe | 19 Inch Hardwood Haft | Knotwork Engraved Head with Leather Wrist Thong and Engraved Wooden Case | Viking Gift | RK-1913

The Caskbeard is a single hand bearded axe with a knotwork panel cut into the cheek of the head, hung on a dark stained hardwood haft with a leather wrist thong through the end. It arrives in a black wooden case with a Norse braid engraved into the lid and two steel latches, which is why it gets bought as a gift far more often than most of what we make.

The beard, the hook of steel that hangs below the eye, is the whole point of the shape. It buys you cutting edge without buying weight, because the extension is thin steel a long way from the haft rather than more mass around the eye. It also lets a hand ride up behind the edge for close controlled work, which is why the same profile turns up on carpentry axes across Scandinavia for centuries after anyone stopped fighting with them. A Viking with one axe usually had a working axe, and this shape is why one tool covered both jobs. Forged, ground, heat treated, hung and boxed in Memphis, Tennessee.

Specifications

How a bearded axe head is actually made

An axe head is not cut out of a plate. It starts as a bar, and the eye is made by drifting, which means punching a hole through hot steel and then driving progressively larger tapered drifts through it until the hole is the shape and size you want. Drifting displaces the metal rather than removing it, so the grain of the steel flows around the eye instead of being cut across, and that is what stops an eye splitting under years of impact. The beard is then drawn down from the same bar, which is slow work because thin steel loses heat fast and you get maybe two or three hammer passes per trip to the fire.

The bit, the last inch or so of cutting edge, is where the hardness lives. The body of the head is left softer so it can absorb shock, and only the edge is brought up to full hardness. On the Caskbeard the knotwork panel is cut after heat treat into the soft cheek, which is why the lines stay crisp instead of moving as the steel changes.

The steel and the haft

The head is 1095 high carbon steel. The edge is quenched and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC, which is the range you want in an axe. Harder and the edge chips on a knot. Softer and it deforms rather than cutting. The satin finish on the cheeks is a working finish, not a mirror, so it will take marks and that is fine.

The haft is a close grained hardwood, stained dark and finished with oil rather than lacquer. Oil is the better choice because it can be renewed. A lacquered haft looks perfect until it chips, and then it traps moisture under the finish. The eye is wedged wood first and then locked with a metal cross wedge driven at right angles, which spreads the wood in both axes and is the traditional way of doing 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, 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. Details are on the engraving page. On this axe we can also cut a name into the lid of the case instead of the head if you prefer to leave the knotwork alone.

Handling and balance

At nineteen inches this is a one hand axe. It swings from the elbow rather than the shoulder, and the balance sits close to the head, which is what you want for control at short range. The slight curve in the haft puts the edge in line with your knuckles at the moment of impact instead of a fraction below, so it bites where you are looking.

The wrist thong is there to be used. Pass your hand through it before you swing and the axe cannot leave you if your grip slips on a cold day. It is not a hanging loop for the wall, although it works as one.

Care

Wipe the head with a light oil after use and especially after cutting anything green, because sap is acidic and will spot high carbon steel overnight. Keep the edge sharp with a puck stone or a fine file worked from the cheek out towards the edge, never the other way. Re-oil the haft once or twice a year with boiled linseed or a hardwood oil, letting each coat go off before the next. The wooden case wants nothing more than a dry cupboard. There is more on steel care on the site.

Forged in Memphis

The head is drifted, drawn, ground, hardened and engraved in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The haft is shaped and fitted here and the case is engraved here. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Because every eye is drifted rather than stamped, allow one to two weeks before it ships. 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

Each Caskbeard is hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so the one that arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Hammer texture across the cheeks is different on every head, and the haft is a natural material so its grain, figure and the way it takes the stain vary from one to the next. The curve of the beard shifts by a small amount because it is drawn by hand. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a usable axe or a display piece?

It is a working axe. The edge is hardened, the eye is drifted and wedged properly and it will split kindling and carve. It is also good looking enough to hang on a wall, which is where most of them end up.

Is it sharp when it arrives?

Yes, shaving sharp along the bevel. Take it out of the case carefully.

Can I throw it?

We would rather you did not. A missed throw lands on the haft or the horn, and a nineteen inch hardwood haft with a stained finish is not built to be replaced weekly. Buy a dedicated throwing axe for that.

Can the case be engraved instead of the head?

Yes. Tell us in the engraving option and we will cut the runes or the design into the lid and leave the knotwork on the steel as it is.

Will the head come loose on the haft?

It should not. The eye is wedged with wood and then locked with a metal cross wedge. If a haft ever dries and loosens in a very dry climate, send it back and we will re-hang it under the warranty.

How long does it take to arrive?

One to two weeks to forge and hang, then free shipping within the United States.

What is in the box

• One Caskbeard bearded axe with a knotwork engraved head
• Black wooden presentation case with an engraved lid and steel latches
• Leather wrist thong fitted to the haft
• Care card covering edge maintenance and haft oiling
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See more in bearded axes, Viking axes and axe handles and hafts, or read the guides.