Grainbeard Hand Forged Damascus Bearded Axe with Etched Wolf Head | Walnut Haft, Brass Collar and Butt Cap | Brown Leather Edge Sheath | Norse Collector Gift | RK-2076

The Grainbeard is a bearded axe with a pattern welded head, a dark walnut haft and brass at both ends of the wood. The Damascus runs in wide swirling bands across the whole cheek of the head, and cut into the upper cheek is an etched wolf, jaws open and ears back. The beard itself, that deep hook of steel hanging below the eye, is the feature the whole form is named for, and on this head it is drawn out long and cut cleanly rather than being a shallow suggestion of one.

The Norse called this shape a skeggox, literally beard axe, and the term appears in the sagas as a distinct thing rather than as a general word for an axe. Heads of exactly this outline come out of Scandinavian graves and out of the Thames and the Seine, and the design persisted for a good five hundred years because it solved several problems at once. The Grainbeard is made by hand in the Czech Republic, imported and checked by Ransack Viking, and shipped from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse. It comes with the fitted brown leather edge sheath shown in the photograph.

If you are choosing between shapes, a battle axe against a bearded axe puts them next to each other. Wolves in this tradition point at Fenrir, and Fenrir and his siblings is the background. Lighter heads meant for a target sit in the throwing axes.

Specifications

What the beard is actually for

The beard is the part of the edge that hangs below and behind the eye, so that the cutting edge is much longer than the socket the haft passes through. It is not styling. It does three separate jobs and every one of them is practical.

The first is reach without mass. On a plain axe, a longer edge means a bigger heavier head, because the eye and the body have to grow with it. Hanging the extra edge below the eye as a thin sweep of steel gives you a long cutting edge on a light head, which means a faster swing and less fatigue. A bearded head cuts like a much heavier axe because the mass is concentrated behind the part of the edge that does the work.

The second is the hook. The gap behind the beard is a genuine hooking feature. On land it will catch and drag a shield rim, and at sea the same hook pulls a gunwale within reach. The sagas are full of axes being used to hook and pull as much as to strike, and the geometry is deliberate.

The third, and the one you will actually use, is choking up. Because the beard opens a space behind the edge, you can slide your hand right up under the head and grip the haft just below the eye without your knuckles fouling the steel. That gives fine control for carving, shaping and detail work, turning a swinging axe into a one handed cutting tool. Try that on a plain wedge head and your fingers sit in front of the edge.

The wolf on the cheek

Wolves in Norse material are not simple villains. Odin keeps two, Geri and Freki, whose names both mean roughly the ravenous one, and they sit at his side in Valhalla and are fed the meat from his table while he takes only wine. They are companions rather than beasts. Set against them is Fenrir, the wolf bound by the gods with the ribbon Gleipnir, made from six impossible things including the sound of a cat walking and the beard of a woman, who breaks loose at Ragnarok and kills Odin.

The same animal is therefore both the loyal companion at the table and the thing that ends the world, and Norse art does not seem to have found that contradictory. Wolf heads turn up on Viking Age metalwork, on brooch terminals and in the gripping beast styles without any caption telling us which wolf is meant. The etched head on this axe follows that tradition rather than illustrating a specific story.

Pattern welded steel and a walnut haft

The head is pattern welded from 1095 and 15N20, forge welded into a billet, folded and drawn, then worked to shape with the eye drifted through it. The finished edge is hardened and tempered to 58 to 60 HRC. The bright lines in the pattern are the 15N20, which carries about two percent nickel and resists the etching acid, and the dark lines are the 1095. On an axe head the pattern behaves differently from a blade, because the steel has been upset and spread outwards around the eye rather than drawn out in one direction, which is why the bands swirl and pool across the cheek instead of running straight.

The haft is walnut. It is chosen over hickory for looks rather than for shock resistance, and it is the right choice on a display and collector axe where the dark chocolate grain sits against bright Damascus. Grain orientation is what matters on any haft: the growth rings should run in line with the swing so the wood flexes with the blow rather than across it. The swell towards the butt and the brass butt cap together stop the hand sliding off the end.

Brass collars and caps are a finishing detail rather than a structural one. They will darken with handling, which most people prefer, and come back bright with a wadding polish.

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 the Grainbeard that means a rune line on the cheek takes the place of the wolf head. A short rune line burned into the walnut haft is also an option and leaves the wolf where it is. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

A bearded head hangs its weight low and forward of the haft, so the axe wants to roll edge down when you hold it loosely. That is correct and it is what makes the head find the cut on its own. Held at the butt with the brass cap against the heel of the hand you get the full swing, and choked up under the beard you get fine control. Most people end up using both grips within a minute of picking it up.

The leather sheath covers the edge only, which is the sensible design for a bearded head because a full head cover would have to be enormous to clear the beard. Keep the sheath on when the axe is not on display.

This is a hand made collector and display axe with a real edge. It is not sold for competitive throwing, for felling work or for any kind of contact use, and repeated hard impact is outside what the warranty covers.

Care

Wipe the head down after handling and keep a light film of oil on the Damascus. Etched pattern welded steel has a slightly open surface and will pick up rust spots faster than a plain polish if it is left damp or fingerprinted. Store the sheath off the head for long periods rather than leaving damp leather against steel.

The walnut haft wants a wipe of boiled linseed or a hard wax oil once or twice a year, applied thin and buffed off. Do not varnish it. Check the head is tight on the haft before each handling session, because wood shrinks in dry winter air, and never swing an axe with any movement in the head. Our axe care guide covers hafts and heads, and our steel care guide covers the Damascus.

Damascus wants oil more than plain steel does, because the etch that shows the pattern also opens the surface, and caring for a Damascus pattern covers what to use.

Made in the Czech Republic

This axe is made by hand in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports it, checks the head fit, the edge, the etch and the sheath before it is listed, and ships it from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue without being handled. Shipping across the United States is free. Processing usually takes one to two weeks and engraving adds to that. Returns are accepted within seven days. The lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings has no end date and needs no receipt.

A note on handmade variation

This axe is hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Walnut is a natural material and no two hafts carry the same figure, so yours will differ in colour, in grain and in how the sapwood streaks run. The Damascus pattern on the head depends on how that individual billet moved under the hammer and around the eye, so the swirls will be your own. The etched wolf will sit a fraction differently. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the whole head Damascus or just the edge

The head is pattern welded through, which is why the swirling figure runs right across the cheek and around the eye rather than stopping at a weld line near the edge.

Can I throw this axe

We do not recommend it. This is a collector and display axe with a decorative Damascus head and a walnut haft, and repeated impact on a throwing target will chip the edge and eventually loosen the head. Use a purpose built throwing axe for that.

Is the axe sharp

Yes, it arrives with a working edge and it will cut. Keep the sheath on when it is not in your hand and store it out of reach of children.

Why walnut instead of hickory

Because this is a display piece and walnut looks far better against a Damascus head. Hickory is the tougher wood and is what we would specify on a working axe meant for felling.

Does the leather sheath cover the whole head

No, it is an edge sheath. On a bearded head a full cover would need to be very large to clear the beard, so the sheath protects the cutting edge, which is the part that matters.

How long does delivery take

Processing runs one to two weeks from our Chicago warehouse, then free standard shipping within the United States. If you add rune engraving it is cut here first, so allow a few extra days.

What is in the box

• Grainbeard Damascus bearded axe on a walnut haft
• Fitted brown leather edge sheath
• Light protective oil film on the head
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse

Explore the range

More in bearded axes, Viking axes, Norse arms and engraved and personalised pieces, or read the guides.

Others in the same line

Sitting beside it in the catalogue is the Brasshelm bearded axe, pattern welded Damascus. Another in the same line is the Trinebeard bearded axe, pattern welded Damascus. Next along the rack is the Ashbite bearded axe.

Fitting out further, the Thor Viking axe belongs with it. You can have this made your way instead on the custom Viking axe page.