Hello everybody I'm back with another Skyrim instructable. This time it's the infamous iron war axe. Obviously it's not the most effective weapon in the game, but I don't really care, I thought it looked amazing and would be a great prop for the costume I'm building.

Supplies:
Piece of sheet metal
Wooden rod (I used an old rake handle)
Epoxy
A bolt and nut
Wood stain
Black spray paint

Tools:
Jigsaw or bandsaw
Grinder
Drill
Hacksaw

Step 1: Designing the Blade

First off you need a picture of what you want to build, you might need a few references to get an accurate account of what you want. I know I built a Skyrim war axe, but these steps can be followed to create any kind of axe you want. Find yourself a nice piece of metal, I just looked around and luckily I found this piece of scrap metal that was pretty strong so I didn't have to worry about it breaking. Take the piece and make sure it is big enough and draw your design on it.

Step 2: Cutting the Blade

A fairly simple step, that is if you've had any experience using a jigsaw. Make sure you have the right kind of blade on the saw to cut metal, don't be stupid and use a wood blade to cut it, that's not gonna work. Make sure you have back up blades, you will probably use burn up a couple, so you'll need more than 1. With all that in mind take the piece and clamp in onto something that way it won't move, then begin cutting. At the sharp curves on the design you may need to drill relief holes so you can turn the blade easier. Cutting out the blade will take some time, don't try to push the saw along, you will burn up the blades faster, and its very hard on the saw. Just guide the saw along the line and eventually you will have it cut out. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!!! Yes, chicks dig scars, but I don't think they are very fond of ones on your eyes. After the blade is cut out, clean up the edges with a file or a grinder. If the metal was painted you should grind that off, unless you want a colorful blade.

Step 3: The Handle

After you have the blade cut out, it's time to get the handle ready. I honestly think that this is the hardest part of the build. It can be kind of difficult to make the cut in the handle perfectly straight up and down, if the cut isn't right, the blade won't look right when attached to the handle. Take your wooden rod, wether it be a large dowel or an old rake handle like mine, and cut it down to the length you want it to be at. Mine is about 17 inches, but it all really depends on how big your blade is. Put it in a vice and and make two marks on top to cut down that way the blade can slide into the handle. Cut out the section you marked on the top of the handle, if its too tight just cut a little more out, just enough to where the blade fits in snugly. Next you have to drill the hole to put the bolt in, make sure your bolt is the right length, if not you can cut it with the hacksaw. Clamp the handle down and leave the blade in the handle. Drill a hole in the center of the handle, and go all the way through the wood and the blade. Take your bolt and make sure it fits. Then take it back out and stain the handle (if you want to stain it that is). After I stained the handle I just didn't think it was dark enough so I took black spray paint and painted the handle, but immediately rubbed the paint off with a rag, which was quite effective in making the wood darker but not actually making it black.

Step 4: Final Assembly

After I finished up working on the handle, I realized the blade looked too new, I wanted it to look like it was old and used. So I did the same thing I did with the handle, painted the blade black and then rubbed the paint right off with a rag. I was quite happy with how it made the blade look older, and much more like it did in the game. If you want the blade sharp, now is the time to sharpen it. Just use a grinder and sharpen both sides of the blade, and then clean it up with a file. Now it is time to finish putting it together, mix up a little epoxy, put it in the slot and slide the blade in. Stick the bolt through and wait for the epoxy to dry.

Now you have your very own Skyrim Axe! Go slay some dragons! Like this build? Go check out my other instructable and hit me up with a follow!

Questions? Comments? Just leave em blow or feel free to email me at natewalters55@yahoo.com