Wulflund – Norse Bearded Axe head

The war axe was always a popular weapon with Vikings – Fast, portable, durable and devastating, the war axe fulfilled all the requirements for a raiding weapon. The single-handed Scandinavian war axe has a smaller head than is commonly depicted in most fantasy depiction, but this serves only to make it faster and thus deadlier. When put into motion it carries more than enough heft to rend the links of chainmail and fatally strike the man within in a single hit – so why make it bigger, heavier and slower?

The axe does not have to rely on cutting alone to do deadly damage, for the weight of the axe does bludgeon damage as well as cleaving damage, both cutting and impacting flesh and bone. Though not as well suited as a survival tool as a utility axe, the war axe can be used for light camp duties in a pinch. Like swords, well-made axes were given names and supernatural attributes by the successful warriors who wielded them. All these attributes made the war axe well-suited for the long-range raiding the Vikings undertook, and brought more than enough bite to the fight to deal with the locals, however well armed, when they got there.

This Norse Bearded Axe head is made from high carbon steel. It is unsharpened and the forge scale is partially polished off, leaving a rough and ready forged appearance. Intended for stage combat, the thick, blunt edge is unsharpened and the back of the axehead tapers into a short hammer head. The hole for the shaft is oval in shape. Its interior dimensions are 1.24” x .94” (31.6 mm – 24.1 mm).