This axe design combines elements of both weapons and tools and typifies the kind of multipurpose item a traveler such as a merchant might commission. While the blade shape and weight are suited for use as a utilitarian tool, the slight extra length and one piece blade and haft construction would more commonly be found in a weapon. In profile it is mostly influenced by the Indian "Tabar", a late period-saddle axe used throughout India and the middle east, although Tabars were most often ornamented with engraving and inlay rather than a pattern welded blade. Piercework in such an item would not have been unusual.

The steels I used in the axe are W2 and 203E. I commonly work with these steels because of their strength and high contrast. Period blades would be forged in a charcoal fire but this axe was forged in a gas forge because of it's similarity in atmosphere and convenience. First the two steels were cleaned of any surface oxidation by grinding the flats clean. I then stacked three alternating layers, two outer layers of 1/2 inch thick W2 steel, and one inner layer of 1/4 inch thick 203E. The length and width of the billet varies according to the project. The billet is then heated, fluxed with borax and brought to weld heat in the forge and welded solid. The billet was then drawn out and successively folded (forge welding each fold solid) until the desired pattern density was reached (in this case approximately 163 layers, or 4 triple welds.

Once the billet was finished I forged a bar out of the main mass for the handle and forged the main mass itself into the head and blade(all one piece). Once the axe was forged I heated it to a medium orange heat and bury it in hardwood ash, this heating, and very slow cooling causes the crystalline structure to grow large soft crystals (annealing) that may be cut with files, chisels, or saws. After annealing the axe was ground and filed to shape, the haft was drilled for the handle rivets, and the piercework was drilled and sawn out with a jewelers saw. Finally, the axe was sanded to a four hundred grit finish preparatory to hardening. To heat treat the axe I heated it to its transition temperature (found by tapping with a magnet, when the steel becomes non magnetic during heating it has reached its transition temperature and is ready to quench) and quench in 350 degree Fahrenheit quench oil (this is what is known as hardening). Period quench mediums vary from plain water t~ saturated warm brine (the urine of a goat fed only ferns is suggested by Theophilus in Divers Arts) to whale oil. During hardening the steel becomes brittle and I must stress relieve it by heating to 400 degrees for a period of about an hour (this is tempering), generally period blades were heated only for a few minutes to a higher temperature but holding temperature gives a more complete stress relief. Once the axe was heat treated I finished sanding it clean (400 grit) and etched it in weak ferric chloride solution. Medieval blades were etched in vinegar, urine or weak acid,(even brine will work).

After finishing the axe itself I cut out the hardwood handle slabs and brass bolsters with a saw, drilled holes for the rivets and mounted the handle to the haft of the axe. Once the parts all were assembled I shaped the handle to fit the hand, sanded, then polished the brass after which I waxed the wood with a little beeswax. the blade edge was then sharpened and oiled.