Hand-forged shepherd's axe or hiking axe made of carbon steel with straight shaft and traditional wooden blade guard

Production to order! 

Hiking axe.

This unusual ax - which perhaps not everyone knows - is a shepherd's axe! Some people nowadays also call it a hiking axe.

This is my version of such an axe.

A shepherd's ax is a lightweight ax with a long, straight wooden shaft that often has a metal pommel or tip at the bottom. The shaft was often engraved. After all, its owner, the shepherd, had a lot of time to decorate the ax shaft. Many old and preserved shepherd's axes are now considered true works of art. The ax head has a neck that can be used as a hammer. The ax fits comfortably in the hand and can also be used as a walking stick (just like a mining ax or older ice ax models).

In the 10th century, Hungarian warriors used light axes with long shafts, called fokos. Bulgarians had already used a similar type of ax before that. From the 15th century onwards, shepherd's axes came to Central Europe from what is now Romania. They were used by shepherds primarily as versatile tools - both as a small ax and as a hammer or walking stick. With the curved beard you can hang onto a rock or a root and pull yourself up on steeper terrain. It was also useful for temporary defense against predators when they were out with their herds. Even if the ax could not be used for felling larger trees, it was ideal for smaller branches, firewood, etc. In Slovakia and Poland, shepherds without a shepherd's ax were virtually unthinkable. Their axes also had heavy decorative straps. Even today it is still used by shepherds in the Balkans or in the Carpathians.

I hand-forged my ax from carbon steel, the shaft is made from stained and oiled ash and is adapted to my height. I forged the tip from wrought bronze. In the tip area, the handle is clamped by a forged steel sleeve. It is oiled with tung oil - particularly intensively in the last third, where the tip is in contact with the ground. The oil polymerizes completely within a week and closes the pores in the wood.

The shaft is not carved and therefore offers plenty of space for your own motifs, which can be created piece by piece. Since it is very sharp, it of course also has a blade guard so that you don't hurt yourself while hiking. This time I decided against leather and preferred to make it out of ash wood. Stained and oiled. I found that more appropriate. Very simple and without decorations. It fits perfectly thanks to the small bone puller and can be released in a flash.