Authentically Forged Viking Axe

Would you like to re-experience the craft of the skilled Viking blacksmith as he produced the most iconic weapon and most versatile tool of his age – the Viking Axe?

I offer axe making classes that focus on the complex forge welding procedures that were commonly used to produce axes in the Viking age.  These are intensive classes for a small number of intermediate and advanced blacksmithing students. Students will forge their own axes by the asymmetric wrap method, which was the most common way of forging axes in antiquity.  The basis for this approach will be discussed and some novel techniques will be presented which drastically increase the reliability of the procedure and improve the strength and beauty of the form.

Viking Axes were among the most ferocious weapons on northern battlefields of the age and also hewed the finest oceangoing ships the world had then known.  They embodied the widespread skill and technology of the restless and expansive Viking culture.  Based on a practical study of actual Viking artifacts and antiquities in the public domain I have reconstructed an accessible method for forge welding the exquisite forms of these axes, which helps unwind some of the mystery surrounding their early production.     The maximum number of students in this class is 6 and the class will run if at least 2 students are enrolled one week in advance.  There will be a working lunch and pizza can be ordered in from nearby Arizmendi.