116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Ax throwing: A fun, historic skill
Sport is gaining in popularity for young and old
Whenever archaeologists excavate an ancient village, they’re likely to find a tool that’s as useful today as it was in the shadowy past.
Prehistoric people made axes from stones, antlers and bones to cut wood, crack nuts and pound stakes into the ground. Modern axes are crafted from steel, but are used to do precisely the same tasks.
We let our minds wander to a pre-Columbian Native American village. We imagine villagers grabbing axes and tomahawks and hurling them at nearby trees. The villager who sticks his ax into the tree the most wins the evening competition. It was a skill likely accompanied with wagering.
Fast forward a few thousand years and ax throwing is mysterious, fun, historic and wacky. And requires skill.
While modern hurlers toss at bulls’ eyes painted on thick boards, it is as fun today as it was in prehistoric days — or during mountain man rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains.
Outdoor Writers Association of America Executive Director, Chez Chesak, keeps an eye on emerging forms of recreation.
“Ax throwing is growing everywhere,” he said recently.
A quick check online revealed ax throwing venues popping up all over the country and beyond. Even in New York City.
At Civil Axe Throwing and Hurling Hatchet in Cedar Rapids people toss axes of varied sizes and shapes at targets. A resounding thump meant the thrower stuck the ax into the wood, while a clang indicated a miss as the ax tumbled to the wood chips below. Perhaps the thrower used too much power or twisted an arm on release.
“It’s a sport anyone can enjoy,” said Kaitlin Geels, co-manager of Hurling Hatchet. “Age and strength don’t matter. Some people toss axes while on dates or during breaks in their business day.
“All have a good time.”
Many toss just for fun, but others are more serious and join leagues, practice often and become competitors.
Two organizations encourage the sport and help interested people find a venue or join a league. The International Axe Throwing Federation posts dimensions and specifications for ax throwing lanes and includes a wealth of information about the sport. The World Axe Throwing League website also is filled with information and has a locator to help find venues anywhere.
We brought a 12-year-old friend to Hurling Hatchet. After one throw and a resounding strike he said “I love this.”
Families also gather for a fun time.
“We’ve done all the other active family things like skating, curling, and trampoline,” said one mom, whose pre-teen son reveled in throwing axes.
Businesses sign up for team building.
“It’s a fun hour to test our skills and laugh,” one employee from a medical facility said.
As we watched axes thump into sturdy cottonwood planks an old ditty of a gruesome murder swirled through our minds.
“Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks. When the job was nicely done, she gave her father 41.”
The 1892 murder in Fall River, Mass., made sensational journalism, but Lizzie was eventually acquitted of a murder that remains mysterious to this day.
Happily, today’s ax throwing is safe as hurlers attempt to score a bull's-eye on a target painted on cottonwood planks an inch and a quarter thick. At today’s ax throwing venues people test their skill in bays or lanes separated by walls or wire mesh to ensure safety.
Several years ago, Nathan Tvedt worked for a cousin who owned an ax throwing business down South. Since Cedar Rapids lacked one, he started Civil Axe Throwing in June 2020 with his brother Sam — just as COVID-19 was ramping up.
The venue has plenty of space between lanes. The staff continue to wipe ax grips and tables and chairs to make it as COVID safe as possible. Despite the pandemic, people came to throw axes and kept coming back.
Area venue charges range from $20 an hour per person weekdays to $22-23 on weekends. Included in the cost are axes and training. First timers fill out a liability release form and receive basic skill training from staff. Once people get the hang of the throw, other tools are available to try.
Want to be a Ninja? Try throwing stars or cards. Tossing techniques vary but sticking the tool in wood is the goal.
Like most sports, simple equipment is all that’s needed to start, but special axes, sharpeners, T-shirts, backpacks and other accessories are bought by people advancing in the sport.
Many types of axes can be used. Some are all metal, while others have steel heads and wooden handles. They range in size and weight. Common every day axes work, but serious competitors use specially designed ones. Most venues provide loaner axes for customers.
Ax throwing businesses have grown so quickly that Elm City Axe Boards in Princeton, Ill., cuts and ships pallets of target planks. They are cut from cottonwood trees that have soft straight grained wood that grabs and holds stuck axes. Repeated hits splinter the wood, so target boards need to be changed often. Each is 48 inches high, 9 ¼ inches wide and 1 ½ inches thick.
At Hurling Hatchet, an employee periodically sprays down the targets to keep the wood soft.
Safety and Rules
Follow these simple rules for successful ax throwing.
1. Go to an approved ax throwing venue with wire cages and backstops. Learn safety steps and practice the techniques. Stand at or behind the throwing line, look around and make sure everyone else is behind you. Only throw when the space in front is clear.
2. Wait your turn behind the throwing line. Retrieve the ax only after each person is done. When done, place the ax in the holder for the next person.
3. Hold the ax with both hands directly behind your head. Lift the ax vertically and throw just about level with the forehead. The bull's-eye of the target is about five feet above the ground. A steady even throw that will go the distance with a slight flick of the wrist results in more sticks.
Some throwers have difficulty learning the effective technique. It takes conscious effort to throw the ax from behind the head. Macho types tend to throw too hard.
Ax throwing can be done in the backyard or basement, but be careful. Install side protectors and a backdrop so an ax will not fly past the target or off to the side. Plans are available online.
Ax throwing is an ancient activity that’s new to many people. It’s fun. While throwing it is easy to imagine you are tossing a stone ax at a tree thousands of years ago or hurling a tomahawk at a target during a 19th Century Rocky Mountain rendezvous.
Rich and Marion Patterson have backgrounds in environmental science and forestry. They co-own Winding Pathways, a consulting business that encourages people to “Create Wondrous Yards.”
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