A few weeks ago a took the head off of my CS Norse Hawk and put it on a  hickory sledge hammer handle I had bought just just for this purpose. After trimming the handle it measures at 35″. I took the handle itself to a belt sander and while it already had an oval shape, I wanted a more rectangular one. That only took a few minutes thanks to the glory that is modern woodworking equipment. I also burned the haft somewhat, not for decoration but for grip. After I got it sanded it just seemed too slick for my overly dry hands…the electric stove top did the trick.

I think the CS Trail Hawk might have made a better walking axe due to it’s smaller size and hammer poll but I have the Norse Hawk here:)

Here is a short clip I made showing the basic defensive motions I use when working with the e-tool. All these motions will work just as well with a hatchet sized axe.

Small class like last year but that is ok…I would prefer to have enough axes for everyone rather than have someone not able to do it for lack of a trainer.

We concentrated on the various figure-8 patterns this year. We also talked about using these motions with a larger Dane style axe rather than just keeping the confined to the smaller mountain axe. It was nice seeing one of the guys put some of the figure-8 theory to work in one of his bouts.

In the afternoon I took the same group through some basic shillelagh work as well…we also did a bit of footwork.

I will be teaching a workshop on the mountain axe again this year at the local SCA event called Saxon Summer on September 12. I believe the event is being held in hubbard Ohio again this year but will post the address when I get it.

Should be a good time. Last year it was pouring so hopefully this time around the rain gods are less pissed at me for whatever reason.

We got to play with all sorts of axes last weekend at the 5th annual Recreational Violence Weekend here in Northeast Ohio.

Medieval pollaxes, tomahawks, entrenching tools and our beloved moutnain axe were all featured in classes this past weekend.

Photo courtesy of Kirk Lawson

The first axe class was on the use of the knightly pollaxe taught by Josh Little. Both Steve Huff and Kirk Lawson taught classes on the use of the tomahawk. Randal Gustitis and Matt Sparks took us through the use of the e-tool according to ROSS priciples and I taught the use of the mountain axe.

Always great to see this many axes in one place!

Recreational Violence Weekend V

June 11-12 here in beautiful Northeast Ohio..we will have a variety of axe classes including a class Sunday on the mountain axe. I am picturing this as the most people ever swinging mountain axes in one place outside of the Carpathian mountains ever…or at least in a very long time. Should be alot of fun. Will give an update after the event.

Here is the teaser trailer for the upcoming Janosik movie.

On saturday afternoon I taught a 1 1/2 hour course on the Carpathian mountain axe. While taught a shorter course at a local SCA event last year, this marks the first complete class of this kind ever taught by me using this material.

IIRC we had 12 people in the class…for a while it looked like there would be 3 but people straggled in…better late than never really applied here. Few things worse than teaching to an empty room. As it was, the number of participants perfectly fit the room.

I went over the 3 basic stances with variations and talked about the reasons and origins of each. We also went over a large amount of figure eight motions with more of a focus on how to move with the weapon rather than fit techniques.

Of course we did do some set plays to illustrate the use against a like weapon. I would have really liked going over it’s use against saber and bayonet but with only and hour and a half I wanted to get as much of the basics of movement down as possible.

Everyone seemed to grasp the material quite well, which is not surprising in the least since for the most part everyone in attendence at ISMAC tends to do a lot of weapon work…still I need to polish the presentation and work out a few kinks in how things are explained. I will get a chance to teach it again this year at the Recreatioal Violence Weeked in July.

Just a short video clip as promised a few posts back.

1. Parry with the poll side of the axe.

2. Parry with the cheek or side of the axe or shaft.

3. Direct block with lead edge then turning to attack.

4. Direct stop with the head of the axe, best done on their hand or forearm.

Soe just what is the poll you may ask? The poll is the butt or back end of your axe head. A good reference site to keep handy for names of axe parts weapon or tool is the Gransfors site.

So now that we know what a poll is why do we want to use it? Well first off this really only applies to the Slavic axes and not the Hungarian fokos, which by it’s very names says that it has a backed head. Blocking or parrying an incoming blow with the poll does a few things…

First off the poll is very strong and not likely to be damaged

It saves the blade from damage and dulling

It sets up a quick riposte since most likely the edge is now facing your opponent.

Most importantly….it keeps the axes from getting bound together so easy. It will still happen but not as often as when using the front part of your axe to encounter theirs.

If you will note I almost always use the poll to parry with in the video clips I have posted. Other times I will smack with the side or cheek of the blade…I use this most often if I am using a backed head.  It is also possible to parry or block with the lead edge of your haft as long as you quickly twist the handle to the back edge upon impact.

Now is this what the fellow on the left in this picture is doing? I would like to think yes but really have no idea. My guess is they are dancing but once you bang axes together it soon becomes clear that you cannot meet them face to face and expect to keep your own axe free and mobile. I will try to get a clip up soon demonstrating the differences between the various ways to engage your opponents weapon.