In The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, at the battle of Stamford Bridge, a giant Norseman armed with a great axe blocked the narrow crossing and single-handedly held up the entire Saxon army. This axeman cut down up to 40 Saxons and was defeated only when an enemy soldier floated under the bridge in a half-barrel and thrust his spear through the planks in the bridge, mortally wounding the axeman. His name has been lost to time, but his courage on that day has not. Our Dane axe, Húskarl, is aptly dedicated to that lone axe-wielding warrior.

We used several historical examples when deciding the shape and weight of our Dane axe (Petersen Type M) and based it on some of the larger examples found. It has a reinforced cutting edge, which adds weight but also durability; it can be ground down and resharpened to reduce weight.