Adding weight to a danaxe for Herja

The first thing is to find a shaft that is suitable and strong enough for combat. There are several types of wood that lend themselves well to this, and here we use hazelnut a lot because it's very easy to find, in all sizes and diameters, but also because it's a relatively supple and solid wood, so it's perfect for a handle.

In terms of height, a danaxe should be no more than 1.20 metres, the distance between its heel and the top of its head.

Regarding the diameter, since 2021, in order to impose a minimum weight, it must be at least 3cm across the entire length of the shaft. Here, for the wearer's preference, it's more than 3cm thick, so you can go a little thinner if that's better for you.

Once you've got it, dry it in a place that's neither too hot nor too humid for a few weeks. Remember to peel it to improve and speed up the drying process.

Once your pole is ready, it's time to fit the blunt. To do this, you need to shape the side that will receive the head so that you can fit your eye into it. We advise you to leave it a little wider and to force it in so that the rubber grips the wood well.

We recommend that you fit one or more small screws, with washers (round-headed) is even better, to fix the blunt to the handle. This will prevent it from turning or coming off during fights.

Since 2021, the regulations for a danaxe have changed. The rubber head + ballast must weigh 800g (not including the weight of the handle).

In general, a large rubber axe head weighs only 100g, so you need to compensate by 700g.

Warning! It is forbidden to place a counterweight on the heel of the axe. The ballast must always be as close as possible to the blunt.

There are plenty of ways to add the weight your axe is missing. For the time being, we're only offering one, but if you find any, don't hesitate to send them to us so we can add them here!

The only restriction, but not the least, on the method is that it must be safe for you and the other participants. There must be no sharp edges, points or other dangerous shapes.

Here we've used car wheel balancing weights (example link to purchase below). What's practical is that each block is calibrated to 5g, so it's easy to calculate, and that it's made of iron, which is a relatively soft metal, but also because it's already mounted on double-sided tape.

I glued them to the shaft as close to the blunt as possible. As there were quite a few to glue, they were put on in 2 layers. However, on the axe blade side, we only used one layer for safety.

I then covered the whole thing with strong tape to hold it together but also to make it a bit more secure.

• Link No. 1
• Link No. 2
• Link No. 3

Scotch tape, black in my case, is pretty unlikely for a Viking axe. So there's an easy way to hide it all with string.

Take a spool of string. It shouldn't be too thin - avoid kitchen twine - or too thick - we said twine, not rope!

For a more detailed method, please refer to the tutorial on assembling a lance.

If there are areas where you can't get the rope over the weights, as is the case here for the end, you can cover them with a small layer of thick fabric and then tape them up again to secure the whole thing.