The Axe Museum

A shepherd’s axe is a light axe with a long and straight wooden shaft, often with a metal tip at the base. The shafts were usually engraved, as their owners had plenty of time for crafting. Many old shepherd’s axes are considered works of art. The axe head, with a butt that can be used as a hammer, is shaped to sit comfortably in the hand, so the axe can also be used as a walking stick (like a miner’s axe and older kinds of ice pick).

In the 10th century, Hungarian warriors carried light axes on long shafts, known as a Fokos. Before them, the Bulgarians had also used a similar design. From the 15th century, the shepherd’s axe migrated to Central Europe from modern-day Romania. The axe was used mainly by shepherds as a versatile tool that served as a small axe, a hammer and a walking stick all in one.

Although the axe was no good for cutting down large trees, it was ideal for smaller branches. In Slovakia and Poland, shepherds were inseparable from their axes, which included heavy decorative straps.

Excavations of Central European graves from the period 500–750 AD uncovered a special axe that has been named the Franziska. This axe was initially used by the Franks, before spreading to the Teutons, Burgundians, Lombards and finally the Goths.

The Franziska was probably used mostly as a hand weapon in close combat – it paid to keep a firm grip on your weapon at all times. It is unlikely that a warrior would throw away his prized weapon and then stand unarmed, although this is said to have happened when the Franks assaulted their enemies in Italy. However, conditions were very different when out hunting with the axe. It was much more difficult to get within arm’s length of a shy animal than an opponent in battle. An axe could, though, be thrown quickly and quietly from a distance with great precision. And if it did miss the target, on the hunt there was time to recover the axe without the threat of attack from an enemy.

The Franziska has an unusual shape and was clearly designed to be an effective throwing weapon. When correctly thrown, a Franziska rotates a number of times in the air before the axe blade hits its target. The axe will rotate once at a distance of 4–5 metres from the target, twice at a distance of 8–9 metres and three times at a distance of 12–13 metres.

An ice pick is a tool used by mountain climbers as they ascend and descend in terrain covered by ice and snow. The pick can be held and used in many different ways, depending on the need and situation.

The ice pick originates from the alpenstock, a long wooden pole with an ironclad point, which has been used by shepherds in the Alps since the middle ages. In 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard completed the first ascent of Mont Blanc. Illustrations show Balmat carrying two separate tools – an alpenstock and a small axe that could be used to cut steps in icy slopes. According to the earliest manufacturer of ice picks, Grivel, these two tools were combined to create the first proper ice pick in around 1840.

In 1978, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) drew up formal standards for the safety and performance of the ice pick. Amongst other changes, this led to the traditional wooden handle being replaced with a metal one.

The miner’s axe developed out of the type of axe used by miners in Central Europe since the Middle Ages, when out looking for ore, primarily copper and silver ore. Over time, the miner’s axe became a status symbol and a symbol of the mining profession.

This axe design was possibly brought to Sweden by German miners working in the Falu mine back in the 14th century, but it became more widespread during the 17th century. Miner’s axes generally have highly elegant engraving on the axe head.