In today's offering Dr. Nathan Clough describes some changes in European axes between the Bronze Age and Medieval period. While the size of fighting axes ranged from the relatively small to large two handed axes with over 10" cutting edges, the shapes of the axes also varies considerably.
Large Arms and Armor Dane Axe, 56" long, 3lbs
Using two historical axe heads from The Oakeshott Institute collection, as well as an Arms and Armor Type L Fighting Axe, we explore some of the qualities of historical fighting axes. Factor such as weight, shape, edge angle and material are all important factors to consider when creating a weapon focused axe.
Type L Fighting Axe from the video
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