ABS master smith Daniel Winkler has been producing various “Breaching/Combat Axes” for several US units since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom but the genesis of the project was actually in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. A member of the US Navy contacted him and asked him to develop an axe for his team based on some of the traditional American designs he had been doing. Daniel produced a prototype and the requester purchased it himself. The team approved the axe but due to finance restrictions placed on their funding there was no money to finance the purchase for the rest of the Unit. Daniel’s client carried the prototype axe during the first Gulf war and later retired from military service. In an odd twist, after 9/11 he reentered military service, but this time with the US Army. During his training and deployment other members of his team saw the effectiveness of the axe and wanted one too. Daniel made several more at the same 15-year-old price (actual cost) and the guys were lining up to purchase them with their own funds. These photos taken at Blade Show are of two examples of Winkler Axes produced for that very Operator.
