Although similar in design to medieval weapons, the Swedish cane axe had many uses outside of the battlefield. Village leaders in regions such as Dalarna carried these axes as status markers. Often inscribed with local laws, such axes were passed to successors and represented the passing of legitimate authority. Swedish miners also carried similar cane axes (bergmansyxa) as prospecting tools. By tapping on rocks with their axes, miners could hear the sounds created by different ores.
After a decline in traditional usage, cane axes saw a renaissance by the late 1600s. Young noblemen at Uppsala University wielded these axes not in battle or mining but instead as fashionable accessories. This particular axe—with its ornate mother-of-pearl veneer and runic inscriptions—was likely part of this rebirth. The runes form a calendar that tracks the annual cycle of holidays, Sundays, and lunar movement.