The Forge Process02

From Raw Steel
to Finished Edge

Every axe passes through seven stages of fire, steel, and hand. Scroll to follow the journey.

01 — The Steel

It Starts with the Steel

Every ForgeViking axe begins as a billet of high-carbon tool steel — 1075 or 80CrV2. No stainless. No mystery alloys. Every billet is sourced from certified suppliers with known composition. This matters because everything downstream — the forging, the hardening, the tempering — depends on knowing exactly what is in the steel. Our steel is chosen for one thing: an edge that lasts a full day and comes back with ten strokes on a stone.

Raw steel billets on anvil with forge fire glowing in background
02 — The Shaping

Steel Meets the Anvil

The billet is heated to 1,100–1,200°C — bright orange to yellow. Each head requires multiple heats: drawn out, shaped, and refined over a series of forging sessions. The basic form is struck under a power hammer for efficiency, but the final profiling is done by hand. The symmetry of the cheeks, the sweep of the beard, the thickness of the edge — judged by feel and by sight, not by machine. Each hammer blow compresses and aligns the grain, closing voids and improving density.

Glowing steel being struck on anvil with sparks and orange glow
03 — The Eye

Drifted, Not Drilled

The eye is the hole where the handle sits. In factory axes, it's drilled — material removed, stress points created. In a hand-forged axe, the eye is drifted. A tapered tool is driven through a punched slot while the steel is hot. Metal is displaced outward, thickening the walls and creating a tapered, slightly oval shape that naturally locks the handle in place. This is the detail nobody sees once assembled. It's also the reason the head stays on the handle ten years from now.

Drift tool being driven through hot axe head showing the eye forming process
04 — The Heat Treatment

The Invisible Work

Two identical heads from the same steel can perform completely differently based on heat treatment. This is the invisible work. First: normalizing — heated to 850°C, cooled slowly in still air. Second: hardening — heated to critical temperature, quenched rapidly in oil. Third: tempering — reheated to 200–250°C, held for one to two hours, cooled slowly. Result: 54–58 HRC — the working-axe sweet spot. Hard enough to hold an edge. Tough enough not to chip.

Axe head being quenched in oil with steam and smoke rising
05 — The Handle

Wood, Grain, and the Wedge

We use straight-grained American hickory — the highest transverse impact resistance of any common wood. It absorbs shock, flexes without breaking, and when it eventually wears out after years of use, it can be replaced in twenty minutes. Grain runs parallel to the cutting edge. Always. The handle is wedged with a hardwood wedge and a steel cross-wedge — not glued. Glue fails. Oil finish only — boiled linseed or tung oil. You grip bare wood, not a coating.

Hickory handle being fitted into axe head on workbench
06 — The Edge

Sharpened, Tested, Ready

Primary bevel at 20–25 degrees — a working angle that balances cutting efficiency with durability. Final edge refined by hand on progressively finer stones until it slices paper cleanly. Every axe is then tested on wood. Not ceremonially — practically. When your axe arrives, it is ready. No sharpening needed. No handle seating. No oiling. Unbox it and work.

Paper slice test showing razor-sharp hand-forged axe edge
07 — Final Inspection

Wrapped, Packed, Shipped

Every axe ships with a hand-stitched leather sheath — vegetable-tanned cowhide, cut and fitted to the specific axe model. A care card is included with oiling and maintenance instructions. The axe is wrapped, boxed, and shipped directly from the forge. What arrives at your door has been through fire, oil, stone, and wood — and it's ready for whatever you need it to do.

Finished hand-forged axe with leather sheath packed in branded box
Every axe that leaves this forge has been forged by hand, hardened in oil, sharpened on a stone, and tested on wood.