About a year ago Eric McHugh made me a very nice axe that I'm still extremely pleased with. I sold my A&A Dane axe to help pay for that one, with the intention of having Eric make a custom replacement sometime in the future.
Well, the future is now.

During a trip to Sweden he was able to document this original, which he will recreate for me.
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The cutting edge is around ten inches when measured in a straight line from tip to tip, so this will give you some sense of the scale. This should be the perfect size for a two-handed axe, ala the 11th century and the saxon housecarl. Imagine what this design will look like all new and pristine. There aren't that many makers who give these types of weapons serious study. Many seem to be more enamoured with the sexiness of the swords mystique, as are many collectors. Eric is doing an outstanding job in this area and in my opinion he's really carving a nitch for himself in the industry with things like this. I'm pretty excited about it and thought I'd share.

Should be awesome, i can't wait to see how it turns out.

Wow Looks like its going to be a beauty ! What type of steel /steels will it be reproduced in ?
:D
Jens

Wow. That looks like it's going to be great! Can't wait to see the finished product!

Max

Should be good with the thickened edge if I understand the pic correctly: A bit like the Danish Axes Albion used to carry that were made in India. BUT BETTER ;) :cool:

The main flaw with the one I have is the eye goes from an oval to the flat plate of the axe head suddenly transitioning to flat plate and seem to be also made with flat stock bent and with welded parts to make it look like it was forged in one piece: Looked at from the top the " taper " from eye to axe blade looks un-aesthetic . ( Patrick if you have seen these you know what I mean. Not a bad piece considering the low price at the time: Under $100. )

I assume the thicker edge might be hardened steel with the rest being mild steel or low carbon iron ?

I look forward to seeing a quality version. :cool:

Nice choice Patrick; that style of axe is one of my favorites.

Looks very nice!

Ten inches from tip to tip is quite a lot.

Is it a peterson type M?

If so it's one of the most fearsome weapons known in those times. Enormous yet suprisingly light due to its thin edge.

Congrats on a great choice of weapon!

Congrats! cant wait to see it!

From what I hear he does amazing work. I was thinking about possibly asking him about an Axe as well.
though I currently don't have the money for it haha. ahh money, always a problem so it seems.

Excellent chioce Patrick,

And one I will make before long, but please go for the polished finish and not the browned. The browned finish looks cool but is not historical- if you are spending the money for the authentic constructio let it SHOW!

I VERY much look forward to seeing this.

Jeremy

Hi Patrick,

I do not have any verifiable data on this so I must concede that the statement that "it is not historical" is not objective. I have been in conversations with Craig and I have asked this of Eric on another thread and he stated that he used the browned finish for reasons of cost. Period art of the 11 and 12 centuries show metal as gray or white. Helmets, such as on the Bayeux Tapastry are shown with some kind of demarcation of color but with axes and swrds shown as solid gray.

I strongly believe that a polished finish is the safest, most conservative option in terms of authenticity. We can safely say that weapons were left bare of finish during the Viking and Early Middle Ages- we cannot safely say that browning or bluing were used. What we can't say is how much was a given piece polished or left blackened from the forge.

I always shy away from artistic lecense in reproductions and replicas and opt for the most conservative historically viable option and this is reflected in my posts. I don't want people to be left with the impression that browning or bluing was historical because it is used on a high quality piece.

Thanks,
Jeremy

Thanks Jeremy.

Your opinion echos my own. I was just wondering if you knew something I didn't. :D

Even if there was an historic precedent for browning on something like this axe, I still think I'd want the "in the white" look. In my opinion it compliments the different facets of the design.

It will be a great piece to be sure- really cool stuff. I hate to drag this out but what are you thinking or are you thinking of anything specific as far as treatment for the shaft?

I removed the stain of my iberian mace and applied several coats of linseed oil as A&A uses a modern stain. Really I know this is going a bit far- I just did it because I thought it would be fun. Really I suppose we have absolutely no idea if period pieces were stained or if folks cared about that sort of thing. I know that rennesaince shafts were stained. In my mind linseed oil is a good modern sealer for wood.

Jeremy,

I really have no preference as to the haft. The first axe he made for me has a haft of hickory, which he stained. This looks very nice after I've applied a few coats of linseed oil, as seen here.
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Eric and I will probably discuss the length at some point, other that that I'll leave it to him. One of the advantages of working with a maker who is also a friend is that he knows what you like, so a lot of the smaller details don't necessarily need to be dictated. I also prefer to give the maker a bit of creative flexibility, perhaps more so than many collectors. I enjoy letting the maker do their thing creatively rather than trying to micro-manage. I've yet to be disappointed in the results.

For half length 4' would be an absolute minimum for a blade this large and something between 5' to 6' maybe!?

Just what I would prefer and just an opinion, but I am curious if you have a range of length in mind? :D

Really looking forward to seeing this one completed. :cool: