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AXE THROWING
How to Build an End-Grain Axe Throwing Target
An easy way to build a robust, safe and economical end-grain target
When I first started building axe throwing targets, the only guides I could find were how to build a small board you could hang on your wall at home for a bit of fun. These were also mostly aimed at knife throwers as the fashion was to build targets out of planks for hatchet throwing. This has changed over the last decade or so, and end-grain targets are far more widespread amongst hatchet throwers now. Over the years, I have also learned more about what it takes to create a great end-grain target.
There are other good designs out there, but here is my take on building an economical, robust and adaptable target suitable for home use, or even for a commercial venue.
Why an End-Grain Target?
If you take an axe and chop into the end of a log of softwood, ie into the end-grain of the wood, it will embed relatively easily. This is what we are recreating with an end-grain target.
Axe (and knife) throwers have understood that end-grain is good for targets for decades, which is why many, eg double bit axe or tomahawk throwers, have traditionally used tree “rounds”, or slices, of trees as targets. This…
