Beheading Axe

[Triarii]

Originally Posted by kronckew

I read (in this forum) about an execution performed by a rather bad executioner, he used one of these side axes, didn'’t sharpen it and was purported to be drunk at the time. The executioner's aim was off, and it took quite a few blows, and sawing with a knife to accomplish his task. He was vilified and insulted roundly by the media of the time, and wrote his own pamphlet to excuse his act and blame somebody else. These axes are NOT designed for executions OR any other chopping other than squaring a beam by a right-handed man, and are imbalanced and awkward for any other use.

Sounds very like the execution of the Duke of Monmouth, where he is supposed to have glared at the executioner whilst the botch job was going on.