I was inspired earlier this year by THIS thread from 'Toni R'. I already had an angle grinder, so I began casually searching for an axe to use as a starting point.

A few weeks ago I went to a local estate sale, where I found a very old double-sided axe that was in pretty bad shape (& affordably-priced as well). The handle was present but snapped off, & the axe-head itself was broken in the corner (I only have a crappy cellphone pic of the original state, as I wasn't sure I would be using this piece for anything):

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Because of the damage on the axe-head, I decided to try my hand at creating a 'Horseman's Axe'. I figured that I could make use of the shortened piece of the original handle, & grind the head into a pleasing, yet functional shape. In addition, there seemed to be so many different designs (historically-speaking) with regards to the shape of the axe-head on these weapons, that I could use my imagination a bit. I probably drew up a dozen designs for the axe-head before I settled on this configuration (which is slightly different than any I have ever seen in ancient/medieval or even modern replicas). I shortened the handle to 24 inches, & re-installed it. I liked the natural color of the wood (hickory), so I just sanded off the old finish & cleaned it with a wood cleaner/treatment (which darkened it slightly). I'm pretty happy with the results:

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Thanks for looking! :D

That is one awesome axe.

M.

Nice work. That must have been a lot of grinding!

Thats pretty cool! Wicked beak :)

It has an exotic look, like a Bat-a-rang and an axe had a child. Nice design!

I might add bevels to the beak on the outside and inside of the hook/beak. These could be fairly obtuse in angle for robustness
i.e. not very sharp, but the geometry would improve armour piercing qualities and also look good aesthetically.

Just a suggestion, but very nice work as it is now. :D

Nice axe! you are getting me creative!
but i will probably do a double bladed beard axe or something like that.

Pretty good for a first attempt old son ! :D

Thanks for the positive comments everyone!

D. Michael McIntyre wrote:

Jean Thibodeau wrote: I might add bevels to the beak on the outside and inside of the hook/beak. These could be fairly obtuse in angle for robustness i.e. not very sharp, but the geometry would improve armour piercing qualities and also look good aesthetically. I second that motion. This is very nice as it stands now, but this bevel you suggest would be the perfect finishing touch.

I have no doubt that you both are correct about beveling the beak. However, all the grinding on this piece was done before I mounted it on the handle. I plan to do some more axes in the future, & I'll definitely be applying the suggestion to later pieces. :D