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Leelund K





Joined: 29 Nov 2006

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PostPosted: Thu 05 Aug, 2021 8:20 am    Post subject: Re: Albion Axes         Reply with quote

[quote="Jeremy V. Krause"]
Leelund K wrote:
Holger Mahling wrote:
I'm willing to pay the difference, sometimes I'm not. For certain designs, I think the Indian and Chinese options are good enough!


I'll heartily disagree with this. Albion and the chinese and Indian makers are night and day, apples and oranges.


So are their prices.
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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Thu 05 Aug, 2021 8:29 am    Post subject: Re: Albion Axes         Reply with quote

[quote="Leelund K"]
Jeremy V. Krause wrote:
Leelund K wrote:
Holger Mahling wrote:
I'm willing to pay the difference, sometimes I'm not. For certain designs, I think the Indian and Chinese options are good enough!


I'll heartily disagree with this. Albion and the chinese and Indian makers are night and day, apples and oranges.


So are their prices.


You get what you pay for. It just depends on what is important to you.

There is a big market for budget level swords.
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Holger Mahling




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PostPosted: Fri 06 Aug, 2021 2:15 am    Post subject: Re: Albion Axes         Reply with quote

Jeremy V. Krause wrote:
Holger Mahling wrote:
Frankly spoken: Why give in $500 for an Albion axe (and i HAVE some Albion stuff - believe it or not), when i can get a very nicely made piece fron, for example, Peter Szabo, for significantly less? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://www.szabo-weaponsmith.com/product-page/viking-axe-with-decorated-head-boar

Thats one of mine. Thats still some money at approx. $350 but its not $500 for a pretty plain piece.


The very common issue with many axe makers- even some who make nicely proportioned axes is this tendency to leave a kind of "rugged" or "rough" finish.

It's very common and I'm not sure why it's done but there is no reason for us to think that sees weren't finished brightly, just like swords.

Is that etching on your axe? If so that is ahistorical. I'm not even sure if we have evidence of even inscribed/engraved non-inlayed historical axes.

I suspect that this rough look is a modern aesthetic, and for me, detracts from the piece. People just think it looks cool.

I personally like axes made in bloomery or sheer steels- and I don't care for maker's marks - and this costs quite a bit to have done- but all of my axes are finished brightly.

I think the albion axes look nice and don't seem overpriced.


Sorry. I have been asking a lot around in Europe who is the best/one of the best and historical correct axe maker in Europe. And then i have been told by around 30 or so people from a lot many countries over here: go to Peter Szabo! Which i did. And i am highly satisfied. I dont know your "expert" background, but please forgive me for having more trust/belief in the "expert" opinion of some long time collectors & friends over here. Buy the way i dont really care about "historical". The artwork seems more engraved than etched anyway. Just because there is no archaeological stuff remaining of a certain thing doesnt mean it has never existed. Oh, and Clyde Hollis of Arms & Armor basically said that too; wise man.
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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Fri 06 Aug, 2021 7:33 am    Post subject: Re: Albion Axes         Reply with quote

Holger Mahling wrote:


Sorry. I have been asking a lot around in Europe who is the best/one of the best and historical correct axe maker in Europe. And then i have been told by around 30 or so people from a lot many countries over here: go to Peter Szabo! Which i did. And i am highly satisfied. I dont know your "expert" background, but please forgive me for having more trust/belief in the "expert" opinion of some long time collectors & friends over here. Buy the way i dont really care about "historical". The artwork seems more engraved than etched anyway. Just because there is no archaeological stuff remaining of a certain thing doesnt mean it has never existed. Oh, and Clyde Hollis of Arms & Armor basically said that too; wise man.


Well, I'm certainly no "expert" in historical axes- that's for sure! I'm not an expert in much of anything!

I have never handled an historic axe but I have spoken with and handled reproductions of smiths who have handled the real thing. People like Eric Mchugh, James Austin, and Owen Bush.

You say you aren't interested in what may be "historical"- then that places us in different motivations that drive our collecting because that is ALL I'm interested in. I don't do living history. I don't use them. I just buy them and hang them on my wall-.taking them down to experience the handling and say to myself "this is so cool! It feels and looks very close to what someone would have carried 1000 years ago."

I prefer to take a more conservative approach regarding the relationship between historical examples and modern reproductions- I take this route in all of my purchases and commissions.. Sometimes we have to make guesses on decorations and certain features, but IMO we should avoid that whenever possible and draw from what history has left us. I like to have reproductions with less of an "artistic vision" of an axe but more a straight copy, or close to, copy of a historical example or family of originals. Forging itself can make an exact copy difficult.

I PERSONALLY believe that the "rough n' ready" aesthetic taken on axe reproductions is not a representation of how they would have been finished in period. Ultimately, that is just a guess because corrosion has made the final finish difficult to see.
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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Thu 16 Sep, 2021 5:24 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Just a bump… anybody get one of these axes yet?

I would love to see a short video showing one but the internet is coming up empty.
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Greg E




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PostPosted: Mon 27 Sep, 2021 1:52 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Jeremy V. Krause wrote:
Just a bump… anybody get one of these axes yet?

I would love to see a short video showing one but the internet is coming up empty.


Here are a couple of pics of mine. And one with them together with other axes for scale.



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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Mon 27 Sep, 2021 4:05 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Greg E wrote:
Jeremy V. Krause wrote:
Just a bump… anybody get one of these axes yet?

I would love to see a short video showing one but the internet is coming up empty.


Here are a couple of pics of mine. And one with them together with other axes for scale.


Thanks for the pics Greg,

Those Albion axes are pretty handsome and go well with the rest of your axes.

I really like the finishes on the Albions- they have some character- not too neat and “pristine”.

If I’m not mistaken Albion already has, or is going to unveil a full large Dane axe as well.

Thanks again!
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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Tue 26 Oct, 2021 7:55 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ok so I received my medium Dane axe made my Eric McHugh personally. I believe it is identical to the Albions but without the maker's mark. I don't care for maker's marks- it's just my thing.

Anyway, it's great! The finish is awesome. The lines are clean. It has a bit of a hand-made presentation while being fairly "perfected" in form, if that makes any sense. I have a full type M3 Dane axe made by Owen Bush- you can see below in one of the pictures- in smelted iron and steel- made "from the ground up," so to speak. It's finish is a bit less precise than the Eric/Albion. It has some subtle waviness to the surface and some unevenness in the forge welding. It's really awesome for this character. The Albion/Eric axe has a bit less of this. It does look handmade but more just. . . precise.

I guess we don't really know how precise smiths in period would take their axes. Maybe some were more precise than others. Who knows? I'm just pointing out the contrast between 2 very high quality axes- Owen's being the more historically accurate at least in terms of the materials used and total hand made approach.

The form of the blade transitioning to reinforced edge is really interesting to me. It is very stout. More stout than a historically accurate full sized Dane axe. I imagine some of this is due to it's smaller size- maybe a thinner blade wouldn't hold up as well if scaled down proportionally. I can see impacts from this weapon being a combination crushing/cutting action vs. a full Dane axe bringing a more slicin/shearing movement through a medium.

The handle on the axe is really great. It's subtley shaped and blends perfectly with the form overall. It's not simply a generic ovoid cross section form top to bottom but starts out a bit thicker at the top, then going thinner, before laking out at pit towards the butt end. I took mine to a higher finish and applied more linseed oil but that's just how I like my handles. All the corners are rounded off which is a nice touch of detail. It's a nice organic presentation.

The fit of the head- as far as I can tell- is very solid. I wouldn't hesitate to use it against light to medium targets.

The handling is what I find most interesting overall about the piece. I've never handled anything like it. However, I am no western martial artist and I know next to zero about using the axe- or any medieval weapon for that matter, so my impressions are just that of someone who has handled different types of historically accurate weapons.

It is light- very light. I thought my full Dane axe was light but this thing is lightening fast. If is certainly smaller so one would expect this. I find myself questioning whether this was a one handed or two handed weapon or maybe both. I tend to believe this was a 2 handed axe. You can wield it in one hand but due to it's fairly forward balance it can't be recovered quickly with one hand.

So how were these types of weapons used? Isn't this the question? If it is is a 2 handed weapon it is rather short, even swung with the hands back towards the butt-end. So what was the role of axes like this? I don't know but it's certainly neat to think about. Given it's speed and long grip it's fun to just consider the combat possibilities of a weapon like this.

So I'd say if someone wants an axe which is slavishly accurate in terms of form and function you can't do any better than this. Sure you can go full custom with historical iron/steel but that will cost much more than $550.00, and you likely wouldn't use it for cutting. I believe the handling on this axe is equal to the very best of fully handmade custom pieces. I think it's a bargain for what you get and fills a niche of someone wanting a very historically accurate axe in proportion and form without wanting to spend the many hundreds to likely thousands on a custom axe using historical iron and steel. .

Hope you like the pics. and I can answer any questions on this piece.







Notice how stout the blade to edge profile:



Next to her big sister. . .

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Aaron Hoard




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PostPosted: Tue 26 Oct, 2021 3:57 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That looks really nice. How is the head manufactured? (my apologies if this was answered up-thread already)

I have a couple of axes with this handle length, and they also strike me as better two-handed weapons than one-handed (at least for me). But, I also have to remember that I spend most of my day moving a mouse around - not practicing combat, or working in a field, or other manual labor. If I were a lot stronger, would this handle be easier to wield one-handed? Probably.

Anyway - nice axe. Interesting to compare w/ the Owen Bush axe.
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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Wed 27 Oct, 2021 6:07 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Aaron Hoard wrote:
That looks really nice. How is the head manufactured? (my apologies if this was answered up-thread already)

I have a couple of axes with this handle length, and they also strike me as better two-handed weapons than one-handed (at least for me). But, I also have to remember that I spend most of my day moving a mouse around - not practicing combat, or working in a field, or other manual labor. If I were a lot stronger, would this handle be easier to wield one-handed? Probably.

Anyway - nice axe. Interesting to compare w/ the Owen Bush axe.


The head is constructed of a cast low carbon body and a high carbon steel welded on. I don't know if the edge is cast or not.

I'm also thinking no matter how strong the person is- I'm fairly strong- but I am 45. . . Having the mass so far out there- I think makes the axe pretty unwieldy in one hand. A combatant could effortlessly knock it aside and take advantage. Take a bit shorter haft and I could see it being done.

But. . . like I said i'm pretty ignorant when it some too how to use this stuff. Happy
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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Wed 27 Oct, 2021 1:36 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

So my lack of knowledge of combat techniques just showed up!

I was experimenting with the axe and it never occurred to me that if I hold the axe in one hand in the middle of the shaft it is fairly wieldable/- and so it is!

Funny how the obvious doesn’t always occur to us!
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Scott Kowalski




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PostPosted: Wed 27 Oct, 2021 2:33 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thank you for posting about this Jeremy. It answered questions I had about these. Congratulations, it is a very nice looking piece!
Chris Landwehr 10/10/49-1/1/09 My Mom
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Carl W.




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PostPosted: Wed 27 Oct, 2021 4:17 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Jeremy, thanks very much for sharing this.

Sorry if its listed elsewhere or I missed it but would you mind posting a couple measurements, maybe haft length, & edge to back or edge tip to tip?
Later edit, pasted from Albion site, I hope for same axe as yours:
The axe is available... or with a hand-shaped 30" ash haft.
Length of edge: 5.25"
Length from spine to edge: 6"
Haft diameter: 1.625"
Weight: 1 lb

Did you contact/buy it from Eric or Albion?

Thanks again.
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Greg E




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PostPosted: Fri 29 Oct, 2021 1:25 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I believe I have the same impression of this axe as you do. With the length of haft it is really quick with 2 hands. I also think that the haft could be shortened a foot or so and make it a bit more lively for the single hand. I just don't want to cut it lol. It is certainly a favorite of mine, and some swords of mine would be sold first before this would be let go in an emergency sale. I like it a lot.
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Hardy Lewis




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PostPosted: Thu 11 Nov, 2021 8:41 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Greg E wrote:
I believe I have the same impression of this axe as you do. With the length of haft it is really quick with 2 hands. I also think that the haft could be shortened a foot or so and make it a bit more lively for the single hand. I just don't want to cut it lol. It is certainly a favorite of mine, and some swords of mine would be sold first before this would be let go in an emergency sale. I like it a lot.


You could use a heat gun (or the like) to soften the glue used (if any), and then carefully loosen and remove the wedge(s).

Then you are free to re-haft the axe, and have the original on hand if you ever want to go back to it.
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