Broad Axes of Norway

O

Oxbow

Joined
Feb 5, 2015
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Found a Nowegian page with tons of great pictures of Norwegian broad axes. I tried using google translate on the text but it came out mostly gibberish. Anyone know anything about why these Norwegian axes are so long in the bit? They seem quite different from the Swedish broad axes that Gransfors Bruks is selling to the US market anyway. Some really neat handles too.
 
Don't know anything about them but it's an interesting take on their historical axe design. Looks like something Vikings would haul into battle but I know they are serious woodworking tools. There's some serious iron in some of those axes. They must require a strong arm and probably take a good bite out of whatever they contact.
 
Look up Øystein Myhre on social network page.
He makes some really interesting pieces.

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Its written in norwegian dialekt so it is dificoult with google translate. Its abouth gathering bile axe for cultural saving. Its an axe for cutting outh notches and more in making traditsjonal norwegian timberhouses called lafting. Pictur nr 55 shows an german axe similar what they youse in sweden. I read somwhere that it is strange why there is so big diffrense in this type of axe between norway and sweden. Sorry for the bad english
Bård
 
HK47 said:
Yes and here is some wery strange fighting axes.
Evolution from the viking time. In the 1600 they were popular for the farmers in ware with sweden. Called bondeøks"farmersaxe".
Here it is frome the museum http://digitaltmuseum.no/search?query=bondeøks
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Very interesting. Really long toes and an open hang. It was not about wood chopping. Seeing these axes hung makes the design much easier to understand.
Thank you!
 
Probably a lot of you have seen this video, but they use these Norwegian "bile" axes extensively. Just speculating, but the long narrower design with the double bevel makes them a little more versatile for the kind of hewing they are doing here. They end up using them a lot carving the notches as well as hewing the logs, so that could be one of the driving factors behind the way the heads are designed.
 
Oxbow said:
Found a Nowegian page with tons of great pictures of Norwegian broad axes. I tried using google translate on the text but it came out mostly gibberish. Anyone know anything about why these Norwegian axes are so long in the bit? They seem quite different from the Swedish broad axes that Gransfors Bruks is selling to the US market anyway. Some really neat handles too.
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i made an account PURELY to answer you, so you BETTER appreciate it! XD lol and the page doesn't really explain WHY they they are so long in the bit. just that someone were planning on making an exhibit of different axes, from ye olden days, and if anybody recognised any of the markings or knew of any smiths who had made the axes, or the type of axe in general, to contact him/her, as some had the date on, while some just had ornaments and such, while some were completely free of anything, so they didn't know when or where they were made. but i couldn't find anywhere where they explained WHY they where so big, sorry. :/
 
aNorwegianGuy said:
i made an account PURELY to answer you, so you BETTER appreciate it! XD lol and the page doesn't really explain WHY they they are so long in the bit. just that someone were planning on making an exhibit of different axes, from ye olden days./
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Welcome aboard! Always nice to get input and advice (and especially pictures!) from folks on the other side of the pond.
 
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