Black Forest Woodworker

SKU: 13562
$145.00
$145.00
Unavailable
The Black Forest Woodworker is Helko’s flagship piece. This axe is the quintessential tool for the experienced woodsman. Its compact size bestows substantial versatility, allowing it to be used as both a lightweight work axe and a dependable packing tool. The Black Forest Woodworker features Helko’s Rheinland pattern axe head. Handmade in Wuppertal, Germany, the pattern is named after the region’s famous Rhein River Valley. The Rhein, one of Germany's most prominent geographical features, was a historically significant source of trade and growth for settlements in the region throughout the medieval period. Cutting axes like these were a daily necessity for peoples carving out towns and villages in heavily forested regions along the Rhein River. The Black Forest Woodworker performs exceptionally well as a cutting tool, while still being able to handle moderate splitting work. Its relatively small size makes it a convenient go-to for a variety of tasks, including felling small trees, splitting firewood, clearing brush, limbing branches, and preparing kindling.

Each piece is hand crafted by Helko’s Master Smiths, lifelong artisans of metalcraft. The Smith uses tongs on an open face drop forge to shape the head, a skill requiring impressive control and hand eye coordination that can only be achieved through years of practice. Once satisfied with his work, the Smith hammers the Helko Werk crown logo into the cheek. Only minimal supplementary work is performed, allowing each blade to proudly display its forging marks. No two pieces are exactly alike. 

Head
  • Handmade in Wuppertal, Germany
  • German C50 high grade carbon steel
  • Open face drop forged, heat treated, and oil-hardened
  • Helko crown hammered into cheek
  • ​53-56 HRC (Rockwell Hardness)

Handle
  • Crafted in Switzerland
  • Sustainably sourced Grade A American hickory
  • Individually selected for strength, grain orientation, and density
  • Boiled linseed oil finish, 150 grit smooth sanded
  • Hung with hardwood wedge and notched steel ring wedge​

Included