French Boarding Axe?

M ELEY · 11th April 2025, 03:42 AM

Hello Scallywag and welcome to the Forum. This axe head does indeed seem to match the 'hache de bord' pattern of French boarding axe, with it's rectangle eye (that would have been secured with forward and rear-facing langets), bearded blade and 4-sided spike whose 'side' pattern is very distinctive. As David/CC is the expert on these, I'll give him the final word, but it truly does resemble a boarding piece. Judging from the patina and curved spike, it could be the earlier pattern of French axe, predating 1800 (I am currently away from my books, so I better not get too ahead of myself!). No markings?

11th April 2025, 03:42 AM	#2
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,141	Hello Scallywag and welcome to the Forum. This axe head does indeed seem to match the 'hache de bord' pattern of French boarding axe, with it's rectangle eye (that would have been secured with forward and rear-facing langets), bearded blade and 4-sided spike whose 'side' pattern is very distinctive. As David/CC is the expert on these, I'll give him the final word, but it truly does resemble a boarding piece. Judging from the patina and curved spike, it could be the earlier pattern of French axe, predating 1800 (I am currently away from my books, so I better not get too ahead of myself!). No markings?