Our newest item is a Dane War Axe with a reinforced bit or cutting edge. This feature is seen on many war axes of the period and is probably a result of the addition of hardenable material for the cutting edge. The great axes of this early medieval period were terrifying weapons. They where used by most of the heavy troops of the period from the Dane armies that plundered Europe and laid siege to Paris to the battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings.
Dane Axe with reinforced edge
The Huscarls of King Harold’s Armies would have had such axes and if the Bayeux Tapestry can be relied on, they where even effective against calvary.
Our axe is crafted with a sold steel blade that is round to replicate the swollen bit of the originals. The edges are hardened and come sharp. The head is mounted on an ash haft with a smooth oval cross section which helps with edge alignment in the strike.
This is a great reproduction of a large combat axe of the viking era and would strike fear in any opposition that came across a Norse warrior armed with such a weapon.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985