East Indian Axe? For comment:
 

Just acquired this at auction today. Looks like a bulova axe variant. Not your common one tho. The Sheet steel reinforcing sleeve looks a bit like the one on my moustache axe. Upper serrated end and lack of a brass finial at the top is a bit unusual I think. Bulbous ribbed socket looks mace-like. Can this be a bullova, orsomething else?

Nice piece Wayne, well done. I saw it but did not bid. Guess it must be from the Chota Nagpur area ?

That is of course the home of the bulovas. I prefer them without the somewhat useless spike finial in any case. Have seen some with or without a brass butt piece with a steel spike that makes more sense. At the head end the spike is prevented from going in too far by the axe blade upper tip itself. This one looks like it may be a bit heavier built than usual, more like my Sikh version: ( It'd be better if the head were further towards the tip, IMHO. My more std. bulova with the brass butt (no spike) is also below.

Do you think it may have started like this one?
If the end piece of the wooden shaft split or broke they may have inserted a "cap" into the crown at the top.
Regards
Roy

Sure and yours was probably caped with a brass or iron finial.

Anything's possible, my new one's haft looks like there is a deliberately short wider undercut section not seen on the ones with the long conical finials. Kind of like a checker nailed to a narrower cylinder. (Might even be 2 part like that in reality, will know on arrival)

The heads are in any case, all set from the butt up into a slight increasing taper at the top, like a tomahawk, rather than top down like a western axe.

An extract from W. O. Oldman "Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographical Specimens" showing different blades forms of this type of axe.