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I've been bouncing the idea around in my head for a bit, and I figure a chainaxe would at least be, if not easier, then a bit more practical than a chainsword. You could put the motor in the axe head itself, giving it more weight right there. I'm not totally sure how much balance a battleaxe needs in general, but I'm sure it's not as much as a sword, so there's really no good place to put a chainsword motor imo. I think you could just cannibalize any chainsaw and build a housing for the chain to go through. Maybe use an electric/battery powered to make it more portable, easier to start and refuel. Anyone seen anything like this?

I don't think anyone has done this, because it is too much work and too risky for what is ultimately just a gimmick.

Just google "working chainsword", you will find enough. Chainaxe should be similiar.

If you just intend upon building one, I think it would just take a little mechanical ingenuity. If you intend upon using one, you stand a real good chance of seriously injuring yourself. The chain on a chainsaw is relatively fragile. Even a small piece of metal like a nail embedded in a tree trunk is enough to damage the chain--the rotational forces do the rest of the work--sending a steel-bladed whip into the user's body.

 the_Armyman wrote:
If you just intend upon building one, I think it would just take a little mechanical ingenuity. If you intend upon using one, you stand a real good chance of seriously injuring yourself. The chain on a chainsaw is relatively fragile. Even a small piece of metal like a nail embedded in a tree trunk is enough to damage the chain--the rotational forces do the rest of the work--sending a steel-bladed whip into the user's body.

Plus an actual chain axe doesnt use a chainsaw chain.... Dont make an actual, working chainaxe

 Tactical_Spam wrote:

 the_Armyman wrote:
If you just intend upon building one, I think it would just take a little mechanical ingenuity. If you intend upon using one, you stand a real good chance of seriously injuring yourself. The chain on a chainsaw is relatively fragile. Even a small piece of metal like a nail embedded in a tree trunk is enough to damage the chain--the rotational forces do the rest of the work--sending a steel-bladed whip into the user's body.

Plus an actual chain axe doesnt use a chainsaw chain.... Dont make an actual, working chainaxe

Oh yea, I totally wouldn't actually use it ever. If anything, just kind of a showpiece, neat project to work on and maybe hang somewhere. Doubt I'd really be capable of doing so anyway, but just a fun idea.

 KharnsRightHand wrote:

 Tactical_Spam wrote:

 the_Armyman wrote:
If you just intend upon building one, I think it would just take a little mechanical ingenuity. If you intend upon using one, you stand a real good chance of seriously injuring yourself. The chain on a chainsaw is relatively fragile. Even a small piece of metal like a nail embedded in a tree trunk is enough to damage the chain--the rotational forces do the rest of the work--sending a steel-bladed whip into the user's body.

Plus an actual chain axe doesnt use a chainsaw chain.... Dont make an actual, working chainaxe

Oh yea, I totally wouldn't actually use it ever. If anything, just kind of a showpiece, neat project to work on and maybe hang somewhere. Doubt I'd really be capable of doing so anyway, but just a fun idea.

No problem. It's definitely a neat idea. Real chainsaws are no joke, tho!

From a physics point of view, chainswords and chainaxes are terrible weapons. They would just bounce off any hard surface you swing the chainblade at, causing only superficial damage with a very strong chance of hurting yourself more than your target due to you being the pivot point of the weapon. The chainaxe should be even more difficult to control, as its weight is mostly over the blade, causing any bounce to have more momentum furher away from the pivot point. All in all, they are horrible ideas as weapons.

As a modeling opportunity? Chainweapons are iconic 40k weapons, and the chainaxe is the greatest symbol of Khorne in the game, which makes crafting one an awesome project well worth pursuing.

SJ

It would be awesome, but impractical.


Here's a link if you want to lose the rest of your day.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AwesomeButImpractical

Chain axes already exist...


They are used to fight the insidious corruption in our back yard. The evil know only as "that tree".

 ansacs wrote:
Chain axes already exist...


They are used to fight the insidious corruption in our back yard. The evil know only as "that tree".

That would be more like a Chain Glaive!

All I see is a Chain Halberd.

 ansacs wrote:
Chain axes already exist...


They are used to fight the insidious corruption in our back yard. The evil know only as "that tree".

I think that could be a pretty nasty improvised weapon. I sure as hell wouldn't want the business end of that thing anywhere near me!

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
From a physics point of view, chainswords and chainaxes are terrible weapons. They would just bounce off any hard surface you swing the chainblade at, causing only superficial damage with a very strong chance of hurting yourself more than your target due to you being the pivot point of the weapon. The chainaxe should be even more difficult to control, as its weight is mostly over the blade, causing any bounce to have more momentum furher away from the pivot point. All in all, they are horrible ideas as weapons.

As a modeling opportunity? Chainweapons are iconic 40k weapons, and the chainaxe is the greatest symbol of Khorne in the game, which makes crafting one an awesome project well worth pursuing.

SJ

Most Chainswords are depicted as only having one side of the blade open, the other side has a large guard running up. I don't think swinging a chainsword would be a good idea, regardless. However, pressing it against whatever surface is intended to be cut and then pressing your weight into it would probably work. Basically, just using it as a chainsaw.

 casvalremdeikun wrote:

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
From a physics point of view, chainswords and chainaxes are terrible weapons. They would just bounce off any hard surface you swing the chainblade at, causing only superficial damage with a very strong chance of hurting yourself more than your target due to you being the pivot point of the weapon. The chainaxe should be even more difficult to control, as its weight is mostly over the blade, causing any bounce to have more momentum furher away from the pivot point. All in all, they are horrible ideas as weapons.

As a modeling opportunity? Chainweapons are iconic 40k weapons, and the chainaxe is the greatest symbol of Khorne in the game, which makes crafting one an awesome project well worth pursuing.

SJ

Most Chainswords are depicted as only having one side of the blade open, the other side has a large guard running up. I don't think swinging a chainsword would be a good idea, regardless. However, pressing it against whatever surface is intended to be cut and then pressing your weight into it would probably work. Basically, just using it as a chainsaw.

That is correct, in a Chainsword duel, the proper etiquette is to block with the guard, because the Chainsword can't cut through armour. They have to avoid blocking with the chain, because both of them would promptly shatter.


Some chaos blades have no shield guard, because they never intend to go on the defensive.

A chain-weapon is just, in general, a very impractical weapon in actual reality.

They look cool, but they'd be very crap actual weapons. Between jamming up, getting stuck in bones, chains snapping, physical damage causing the chain track to get hung up, having to deal with a powerful motor in a handguard and keeping it powered/fueled, etc, there's a reason nobody has really tried to make one for a real military force. Chain-things are good for cutting through things like wood under controlled circumstances, they're terrible combat weapons.

It would work well against something a normal sword might battle with a Nid carapace or meh guard armour perhaps but I think a working chain axe would be the coolest thing in the world, maybe keep using it to a minimum but I would hang one up in my mancave if I had one.

 welshhoppo wrote:

 casvalremdeikun wrote:

 jeffersonian000 wrote:
From a physics point of view, chainswords and chainaxes are terrible weapons. They would just bounce off any hard surface you swing the chainblade at, causing only superficial damage with a very strong chance of hurting yourself more than your target due to you being the pivot point of the weapon. The chainaxe should be even more difficult to control, as its weight is mostly over the blade, causing any bounce to have more momentum furher away from the pivot point. All in all, they are horrible ideas as weapons.

As a modeling opportunity? Chainweapons are iconic 40k weapons, and the chainaxe is the greatest symbol of Khorne in the game, which makes crafting one an awesome project well worth pursuing.

SJ

Most Chainswords are depicted as only having one side of the blade open, the other side has a large guard running up. I don't think swinging a chainsword would be a good idea, regardless. However, pressing it against whatever surface is intended to be cut and then pressing your weight into it would probably work. Basically, just using it as a chainsaw.

That is correct, in a Chainsword duel, the proper etiquette is to block with the guard, because the Chainsword can't cut through armour. They have to avoid blocking with the chain, because both of them would promptly shatter.


Some chaos blades have no shield guard, because they never intend to go on the defensive.

The guard on the back of the blade could also be used to give a place to put the palm of your hand so you can put even more force behind the push.

If the chain has teeth, and you leave the correct side open, it has promise.
As an actual chain, you'll lack the required grip to shred anything much.
Whatever you do, make sure it has a cut-out (trigger and safety line?), and keep it slow.

By the sound of it, the intended use of a chainweapon in 40k is to mostly use it as a club, and then make swipes at weak fleshy areas for blood loss and morale damage.

Awesome prop but as a weapon I could likely disable it by taking off my jacket and throwing it into the blade.

I would just wait another 12000 years for the dark age of technology, then you'll be able to have it made, delivered, and used on your enemies without you ever having to lift a finger.

What if the bar (the bar is the part that the chain rotates around on a chainsaw) and chain were protected by a guard or fender that ran around the exposed edge of the chain so that the chain was recesssed an inch inside the guard. The edge of the guard would be sharpened so that the chainsword could be swung like a conventional edged weapon. Upon making contact and penetrating a soft target, the chain could be extended past the guard to allow the chain to use the remaining momentum of the swing to inflict additional tearing damage or possibly deeper penetration.

The chain would be mounted on the bar either on an expandable track--meaning the chain would have to have slack to it-- or the chain itself could be made of a durable elastic material that would allow it to expand. A microprocessor would control the chain's expansion, preventing the chain from extending past the guard when hitting a hard surface: there would be a significant, measurable deceleration when hitting a hard surface versus hitting a soft surface.

Most of this would be possible using technology we have today. The biggest hurdles would be keeping the whole thing light enough to be swung by an average person and having a power source that had enough torque to spin the chain wwith sufficient power to not get bogged down in the target. But in the grim darkness of the far future, such limitations wouldn't exist

I just want to mention that this thread was made by Kharn's Right Hand Man.

Why don't you just ask Kharn?