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Matt Easton




Location: Surrey, UK.
Joined: 30 Jun 2004

Posts: 241

PostPosted: Fri 20 Mar, 2015 5:40 am    Post subject: Weights of Dane axe heads?         Reply with quote

Hi folks,
As I'm sure many of you know, there is a nice selection of Dane axes at the Museum of London, which all come from an associated site on the old riverbank probably relating to a Danish attack on London Bridge. As far as I know, this is the only related group of such axes and from a historically-identified event (there are also swords, spears and a grappling hook from that haul of items):



More pics in my album here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/115323771323194185835/albums/5752116723728043649?banner=pwa

What I would like to know is, are there any known published weights for these axe heads (yes I know they are badly corroded, but still useful), or indeed any known weights of any other surviving Dane axes (for example the one in the British Museum)?

Thanks,
Matt

Schola Gladiatoria - www.swordfightinglondon.com
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Antique Swords: www.antique-swords.co.uk/
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Matt Easton




Location: Surrey, UK.
Joined: 30 Jun 2004

Posts: 241

PostPosted: Fri 20 Mar, 2015 5:57 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Just found this for the British Museum example - only 966 grammes, and that's a big example:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collect...p;partId=1

Schola Gladiatoria - www.swordfightinglondon.com
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Matt Easton




Location: Surrey, UK.
Joined: 30 Jun 2004

Posts: 241

PostPosted: Fri 20 Mar, 2015 6:31 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Some data and images of the MoL examples:

http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/Onli...amp;rows=1

http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/Onli...amp;rows=1

http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/Onli...amp;rows=1

http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/Onli...amp;rows=1

http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/Onli...amp;rows=1

http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/Onli...amp;rows=1

Schola Gladiatoria - www.swordfightinglondon.com
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Luka Borscak




Location: Croatia
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Likes: 7 pages

Posts: 2,307

PostPosted: Fri 20 Mar, 2015 7:17 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Matt Easton wrote:
Just found this for the British Museum example - only 966 grammes, and that's a big example:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collect...p;partId=1


Really big! Eek! My replica has a 9" long edge and it is a big axe, this one is even bigger. Btw, mine is 1400gr with a haft, a real joy to wield. Happy I love these axes.
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Bartek Strojek




Location: Poland
Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Likes: 23 pages

Posts: 496

PostPosted: Fri 20 Mar, 2015 10:52 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I've seen 1 axe recovered from Lednickie lake that fits the 'Dane' profile.

It's about 18cm long with 13.7 cm edge and weighs 292 g currently.
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J. Nicolaysen




Location: Wyoming
Joined: 03 Feb 2014
Likes: 32 pages

Posts: 795

PostPosted: Fri 20 Mar, 2015 5:04 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Great thread, great pics great info. Please keep it coming! I'm intrigued by the carving or design on what remains of this handle (first of Matt's MoL links)


 Attachment: 71.13 KB
Dane Ax.jpg

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Greg Ballantyne




Location: Maryland USA
Joined: 14 Feb 2011
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Posts: 235

PostPosted: Fri 20 Mar, 2015 7:30 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I sure do like those Axe heads - you're whetting my appetite with that stuff. Of course I'm used to temptation.....
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Jeffrey Faulk




Location: Georgia
Joined: 01 Jan 2011

Posts: 578

PostPosted: Sat 21 Mar, 2015 7:04 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

J Nicolaysen,

It appears to be a brass (or gold?) sleeve around the haft below the eye of the axe. A very interesting little touch worth investigating-- could be a good way to off-set what is otherwise a fairly plain weapon.
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J. Nicolaysen




Location: Wyoming
Joined: 03 Feb 2014
Likes: 32 pages

Posts: 795

PostPosted: Sat 21 Mar, 2015 2:13 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ah yes Jeffrey, I think you are right. A very nice touch of class on a skull-destroying smiter. Beauty in that axe blade shape as well. I love them.
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Matt Easton




Location: Surrey, UK.
Joined: 30 Jun 2004

Posts: 241

PostPosted: Sun 22 Mar, 2015 1:16 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Yes, it's a brass sleeve that was somehow put around the top of the shaft before the iron head was mounted over it - 2 of the 7 London Bridge axes have them, so it was presumably not a completely unusual feature. It's difficult to say how long those brass sheaths were, but the decoration on them certainly makes for some nice replication possibilities. There are also surviving axes of this type which have decoration on the blade, in the form of silver or other metal inlay in the blade. These were expensive high-status weapons and to make an axe like this requires a lot of skill. Most modern replicas are too thick and heavy.
Schola Gladiatoria - www.swordfightinglondon.com
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