Langbeard Hand Forged 1095 Steel Dane Axe | 32 Inch Ash Haft | Knotwork Engraved Head with Steel Langets and Leather Edge Guard | Norse Reenactment Gift | RK-1914

The Langbeard is a long hafted Dane axe with a wide sweeping bearded head, a cut knotwork panel on the cheek, steel langets running down from the eye and a pale ash haft finished with a black cord wrap at the grip. A brown leather edge guard is included. It is the shape people picture when they picture a Viking axe, and at thirty two inches it is genuinely a two hand axe rather than a hatchet with a long stick.

There is a detail in these heads that most reproductions get wrong and this one gets right. The blade is thin. Surviving Danish and Norwegian broad axe heads from the tenth and eleventh centuries are often only two or three millimetres thick behind the edge and weigh under two and a half pounds despite an edge nearly a foot across. They were not crude slabs of iron. They were carefully distributed steel, thin where it could be thin and thick only along the socket and the upper horn, which is why an axe that looks enormous in a picture feels quick in the hand. Forged, ground, heat treated and hung in the Czech Republic.

This is the long axe of the huscarls, and the Dane axe covers how it was carried and used. Interlace of this kind was the standard decorative language of the period, and the symbols guide covers the patterns that keep coming back. Longer hafted heads sit with the poleaxes.

Specifications

What the langets are for

The two steel straps running down the haft from below the head are langets, and they are the single most useful fitting on a long hafted axe. An axe that misses its target tends to land on the haft just under the head, and unprotected wood in that spot fails quickly. Langets take that impact on steel instead. They also stiffen the top of the haft against the flexing that happens when a wide head swings hard, and they give the wedge something extra to bear against so the head cannot creep forward over time.

They are not universal on original finds, but the ones that survive with iron cheek plates or reinforced sockets survive in better condition, which tells you something. On the Langbeard the langets are fitted before the head is wedged and are pinned rather than glued, so a haft can be replaced without destroying them.

The steel and the ash

The head is 1095 high carbon steel with the edge quenched and tempered back to 54 to 58 HRC. The body is left softer on purpose, so that a thin broad blade can flex slightly under a hard landing instead of cracking across the beard. On a head this wide that difference matters more than it does on a small hatchet.

Ash is the traditional haft timber for a reason that has nothing to do with tradition. It has long straight fibres and an unusually high ratio of stiffness to weight, so it returns energy into the cut rather than absorbing it, and when ash does eventually fail it splinters along the grain and gives warning rather than snapping clean. The haft is left pale and oil finished so you can see the grain running true from end to end, which is what you should look for in any axe handle. The cord wrap at the lower grip gives a positive hold for the rear hand.

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. Everything we can cut is set out on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Two hands, and the rear hand does the work. The standard grip is one hand near the head and one at the cord wrap, sliding the front hand down as the swing comes through so the axe accelerates into the last part of its arc. That sliding grip is why a long axe with a light head hits far harder than the numbers suggest.

Because the head is wide and thin, the axe wants to be steered rather than forced. It will roll in the hand if you let it, and correcting that with the upper horn is a large part of using one well. It is sharp on arrival. Treat the beard as a hook, because that is what it is, and keep fingers clear of the inside curve.

Care

Wipe the head with a light oil after handling and after any use outdoors. High carbon steel spots quickly in humid air and a polished cheek shows it. Keep the leather edge guard on when the axe is stored flat, but do not leave the head sheathed for months on end, because leather holds damp against steel. Oil the ash haft again once or twice a year and pay attention to the end grain at the bottom, which is where a haft dries out first. More on steel care is on the site.

Keep the head dry and the edge oiled, and the axe care guide covers sharpening and haft upkeep.

Made in the Czech Republic

This piece is made by hand in the Czech Republic, in a workshop that still works the old way. The steel is forged, ground, heat treated and finished by smiths who learned the trade from the people before them, and the wood, horn and leather are cut and fitted by hand rather than pressed out on a line. That is also why no two pieces come out exactly the same.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import these pieces ourselves, check every one when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, so your runes or your own design go on before it leaves for you.

A note on handmade variation

Each Langbeard is hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so yours will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Ash is a natural material and every haft has its own figure, colour and grain run. The sweep of the beard is drawn by hand and shifts by a fraction from one head to the next, and hammer texture across the cheeks is never the same twice. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this heavy to swing?

Lighter than it looks. The whole axe is around two and a half pounds and most of that is haft. The head is thin steel, which is historically correct and is why these were carried into battle at all.

Can I use it for reenactment?

Not as it ships, because the edge is sharp. If you want a blunt version for a reenactment group, ask before ordering and we will grind a safety edge and radius the horns.

Can I split firewood with it?

You can, but you would be using the wrong tool. A thin wide bit is a cutting geometry, not a splitting wedge, and it will bind in seasoned rounds. Use it for felling and limbing if you use it at all.

Will the leather guard fit if I have runes cut into the head?

Yes. Engraving sits on the cheek, well above the edge, so the guard is unaffected.

Can I replace the haft myself later?

Yes. The langets are pinned rather than glued, so they come off with a punch and go back onto a new haft. Send it to us and we will do it if you would rather not.

How soon does it ship?

One to two weeks to make, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• One Langbeard Dane axe with a knotwork engraved head
• Ash haft with steel langets and a cord wrapped grip
• Brown leather edge guard
• Care card covering edge maintenance and haft oiling
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in Dane axes, battle axes and Norse arms, or read the guides.