I was thinking of getting a one handed axe to go with my Viking era kit.

Does anyone have any opinions on the Mammen Axe produced by Paul Chen?

This is a link to a great web store who carries it for sale.

http://www.viking-shield.com/index.html

I am just not sure if it
will be something that can be presented in living history. I am looking for a useable
realistic one handed fighting axe. It may get used to chop some wood as well.

Any guidance is very appreciated.

Spence

I love the look of the Chen Mammen axe, but for a real axe that would do your ancestors proud and that you can use for wood, get a Gransfors axe. Look them up online, there's a few dealers, and Gransfors does a historical line that should get you drooling. No silver inlays, but you can do those yourself!

Jonathan

[ Linked Image ]
Hanwei/CAS Iberia Mammen Axe
A hands-on review by Alexi Goranov

The only complaint I have about the Mammen axe is that the haft is tiny; it feels like an axe head on a drinking straw. Maybe it just wasn't meant for hard swinging.

Other than that it's got to be the best looking mass produced axe I've ever seen. It's razor sharp too :D

Another axe you might consider is the Viking axe by arms&armor I have one and love it,
the Cas iberia axe is one of the best repros of a historical weapon, side by side with the original you can barely tell the difference, the antique just looks older and rustier ;)

I have one of these along with most of the other Paul Chen axes. Yes the handle is dinky. The detailing is OK but the black finish looks a bit modern to me. I'm much more fond of the Paul Chen bearded axe personally.

The finish is actually the same finish, or very similar to, what is on my custom danish axe. The maker simply left the head black after tempering and it has the same blue-black sheen to it. I don't think it looks modern at all, but we are used to most weapons having this oxide polished off. Naked steel seems more authentic to the modern eye; in everythng from axes to helms.

Powdercoating or painting are the common modern finishes that are applied to a lot of axes that make them look dreadfully modern IMO.

Thanks very much for all who have given some advice.

What about this axe. Its called the Paul Chen Short Viking Axe.
This one is for sale at Viking Shield dot com.

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You should think about making one yourself. You can get some fine Axe heads from here:

http://www.walhalla.com.pl/sklep/index.php?cPath=22_48

Ive used this site a few times now and they've never let me down. They are cheap, well made and stand up very very well in combat.

Nathan, I just looked at the Mammen tonight. Its not a bad little axe though if you want to chop wood with it you wont be able to cut anything much bigger than kindling...its hatchet sized. It does look very similar to the origional for sure..the decoration isn't all that impressive up close,almost looks like it was done with a center-punch, and the decoration doesnt stand out as well as in the picture I found. I think the silver inlay on the origional would have been very pretty. Also the finish isn't black, its actually brown which looks rather nice. I personally havn't had much success with hanwei's axe hafts, but a trip to your local hardware store to pick up a hickory handle would solve that right quick! ;)

Hope this helps....probably would be worth the money.

Jeff

Hanwei got into this business of patina a few years ago - basically offering most of thier viking weapons in a normal finish or a "rustic" finish. Some of thier weapons, like the trowing and lugged spear, are actually difficult to find in the original finish. Their bearded axe has a peened finish with a brown paint of some sort that I think is supposed to make it look ageworn and pitted, but I think it just looks peened and painted. :confused:

Jeff, is the axe that you looked at one of the "aged" pieces that I'm describing?

I have the nordland axe
I used it against one log and the head fell off, and then the paint came off which makes it ugly looking because all the casting flaws show up

How is the head of the Nordland held on? I would think that a good metal wedge pounded into the end of the haft would tighten the head up. Also if the wood dries out, it shrinks. Failing that one could use pins. For my two bit axe I used 2 pins (as well as a wedge). I used 2 large nails, pounded them through, cut to length and peened over. Ive since cut a fair bit of wood with it and the head has not loosened up.
Here are some pics of how I fastned my axe head after I re-hafted it with a hickory sledge hammer handle. This is how it was origionally held on but I had to replace the pins
Here are the pins
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj118/jak-999/001-2.jpg

Here's the wedge
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj118/jak-999/002-3.jpg

Overview
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj118/jak-999/004-2-1.jpg