Old European axes.

Uff,Littleknife,you lead me unto temptation...(And the poor topic-starter,probably all he had in mind was a quick attribution of a couple of axes...:(

The term "Iron Age" is a relative one,created by archaeologists to designate the period where a given culture has come to ironworking.What seems significant to me is that among concepts found to be closely associated with the culture getting into Fe the most striking one is...Literacy...

I find it fascinating,and it serves me as a prime excuse to justify my addiction to over-intellectualise the history of axe developement.
Surprisingly,no comprehensive typology of axes exists,and,for all my love for the subject,i lack any capacity to help that in any way save for the forge-based "forensics" aspect of the deal.
Which,i think,is not to be underestimated:Much can be learned about the evolution of any of the specific branches of axe types by examining the details,by trying to interpret the logic of the forging practices and it's specific aims(none of which being random;an axe is a complex and very laborious piece of forgework,everything about the process was strictly deliberate,i can say this with a great degree of confidence).

If someone(such as yourself!:) would ever undertake the (enormous) effort of putting together an encyclopedic treatise on the evolution of axes ,i'd immediately apply to be on the team doing the (necessary)physical,material,part of the study...

(The thread above about the typology of German axes was originated by an aquaintance,a collector and student of the subject in St.Petersburg,who is slowly amassing the body of information towards a similar goal,but it's a very long-term process,needless to say.
I have forged a couple of samples of this particular axe,now extinct,and even that one insignificant inquary has taken a couple of years,and an unending amount of research...).

Thanks again,Littleknife,that history above is great reading.
 
Jake, you are right that historical axe patterns should not be analyzed without the contemporary forging practices, material science/metallurgy, and of course the purpose and the way those axes were typically used. As you said an encyclopedic treatise of the subject would require enormous efforts, and so likely a team of dedicated specialists with different expertise. I am just an amateur who has some interest in history and axes, but lack all the relevant knowledge and expertise required for such an undertaking. Granted, knowledge and expertise can be acquired, but right now I am neither qualified, nor do I have the time and resources to participate in such an effort. It would be fun though…

Given your expertise in axe forging and the experience you have gained, do you think the indentation in this type of axes is mainly due to an economical way of forging?
 
It has been often assumed that iron and steel were precious commodities,and that it bore significantly on the design of the iron objects/tools.
Lately(archaeometallurgy still being a very young science),things have been coming to light that don't seem to bear that out,that the economy of material itself was not a major factor at all(obviously,all of these are my own impressions,formed on the basis of Very irregular,sporadic reading).
For example,not too many years back the russian archaeologists had to reverse their interpretation of the scope of knife-making industry in the northern,the Novgorod Rus,because it was decided that the many finds of oddly shaped knives and their fragments were actual discards,worn beyond practicable sharpening and simply pitched into trash(a number of these being quite elaborate pattern-welded laminates,too).
Suchlike evidence seems to be on the increase.

So,the short answer(again,according to what i've been reading),would be no.

Much more likely is that an indent between the eye and the blade is a device used for balancing the tool by distributing the mass (fairly radically)differently.
Such indents are seen on very many types of axes,though they're mainly rounded.
From my own experience,such indents are very challenging to make:They can work out properly only with the strictest of forethought and planning;i think i can state confidently that this feature is strictly deliberate,intended,and even so requiring an uncommon skill to execute.
(the mass that is reduced in profile is displaced sideways,retaining the bulk that is needed to properly transfer the effort between the eye and the blade of the tool).

Reverse-engineering forged artifacts is very tricky,in part because in any forging there's more than one way to achieve the given end.The simplest example would be one-piece forging vs the forge-welded composite.
Thus,one tool-culture,attempting to copy(for whatever reason)the tool belonging to a different one,may well find a novel approach in achieving a similar end.(It may be based on the non-availability of a workable-enough ore,or the opposite,their material being more malleable,et c.).
Sometimes it is quite impossible to untangle the sequence...
But again,personally,i'd be very much surprised if the economy of steel entered into the ergonomics of tool design...From the very beginning,the iron seemed very plentiful...
 
Jake, Thanks again for the interesting post. I have learned a lot. :thumbup:

From your answer I have realized that I have wrongly formulated my question. What I meant to ask was, if the indentation was a result of a forging process involving a minimal or lesser amount of work compared to that required for a bit without the indentation. Incidentally, you have answered that question too: you said that these indents are quite challenging to make.
For me this seems to suggest that the know-how for forging this challenging pattern was probably acquired from a specific locale (Austria) and might have spread by journeymen connected to this locale.

I also have another question. What could have been the typical use for this axe pattern? Tree felling and chopping? Splitting? Both?
 
Littleknife,i'm not familiar enough with this particular pattern(like many other,chances are that it is still alive and active(or was until recently),somewhere around it's native environment).
From the shape i'd infer that it's primarily a cross-cutting tool,a classic chopping action:The weight/size are moderate for an efficient swing,the angle of the bevels wide enough to throw a chip to prevent the blade from wedging itself.

Splitting,as we know it,is probably more associated with the Industrial Age,i'e. dependent on a large,efficient cross-cut saws.
When done in the pre-industrial era it more often resembled "cleaving"(for whatever purpose).
I believe that most often cleaving involved an edge with a very narrow angle of bevels(less than the 25-30 deg.common for chopping).
The axe was forcibly stuck into the log along the grain,then one(and eventually several)wooden wedges were pounded into the started split widening and continuing it.
(Thankfully,the physics is the one factor that remains constant :),and the axes were never struck on the poll just as they oughtn't be struck today;other things aside,wrought iron was so much softer than even the mild steel today,that the eye would distort unseating the handle...The many historic axes that are beat to hell were probably ruined quite rapidly and then discarded).
But,in some cases,a felling axe like this may make a fair splitting maul,if one bucks the wood into short-ish billets...
Sorry to be so long-wided in my answers,i just don't have a good way with words,and in the same time hold all these issues as very pertinent,and so come off sounding like a ... .
 
Jake, Thanks for yet another very informative and helpful post. :thumbup::thumbup:
You have a perfectly good way with words, my friend! Your answer was not long-winded, but precise. Brevity is not always a virtue, clarity is always one. :)
 
Littleknife,thanks,that's very kind of you.
I just realised that i could've cut a lot of unnecessary verbiage off this thread by remembering this sooner:There's a man,Bogdan Popov(http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=23060

who's eminently more qualified to speak on the subject of this very type of axe.He's built at least one of virtually the same form.(He also holds degrees in History(and Ecology),is one of the best specialists on the Pre-Industrial forging,have conducted an increadibly thorough exploration of a number of historic axes,teaches extensively,children and adults ...And,who lives and forges in Carpathian Mountains...:)
 
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