My axe is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

Without me, my axe is useless. Without my axe, I am useless. I must wield my axe true. I must swing harder than my enemy who seeks to strike me down. I must cleave him before he cleaves me. I will...

My axe and I know that what matters in battle is not the noise of our strikes, the splinters we send flying, nor the sparks we draw. We know that it is the blows that land. We will strike...

My axe is a reflection of me, for it is my life. Thus, I will know it as my brother. I will learn its balance, its edge, its heft, its handle, its grain, and its steel. I will keep my axe sharp and ready, as I must be sharp and ready. We will become one...

Before all that I hold sacred, I swear this creed. My axe and I are the guardians of my home. We are the bane of my enemies. We are the saviors of my life.

So be it—until the final blow is struck.