The Viking´s tools

You need a large and specialized group of craftsmen and tools to build a ship like the Oseberg. We know the tools from Viking graves, where specialists like boat builders and blacksmiths were frequently buried with their tools.

An axe wasn´t just an axe. Several types have been identified, each intended for its own use. There were axes for felling or splitting trees, for working with details or as planers. There were multi-purpose work axes and weapon axes, and sometimes combinations of these. There would also have been hammers, mallets, drills, biles, planers and scrapers of different types, to mention just some of the Vikings´ tools.

Where is the saw?

But one tool seems to be missing from the Viking Tool Box. We´ve found just a few small remnants of saws, much too small to be used for i.e. sawing ship´s planks. Instead, these were made from splitting logs and then axing them into required shape.

Axes from Oseberg

Two axes were excavated at Oseberg, both with their 71 cm long wooden handles preserved. One was copied and used for building the Saga Oseberg, together with a comprehensive range of other Viking tools. They proved to be both efficient and easy in use.

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