Four of the shields in the image below have been on display here for quite some time. Early this morning, they were joined by one important -- and maybe final -- addition.
If this is my final major acquisition, it's hard to think of a better way to go out. Thanks to tire town tuff for working with me on making it happen.
Almost 18 years later and it turns out it was in the cards all along 
is that the legendary akh-mas shield?
is that the legendary akh-mas shield?
Teh Makhmas? 
it is, isnt it? absolute GOAT shield imo
Display MoreReally nice - what I am missing right now is the Story behind "The Axe" though. Do you remember how you got it and from who for how much?
Oh, I remember.
The Axe spent the first 2-3 years of its existence with Sir Spil, a major early collector and frequent resident of the grassy knoll in Lion's Arch. At some point, Spil quit the game completely and handed his account down to a friend. Spil's friend (whose name I won't give here) was interested in accumulating wealth for his own purposes and, with Spil's blessing, sold Spil's treasures off to collectors that Spil deemed worthy. I was fortunate enough to be one of two names on Spil's list. I came away from our several trading sessions broke but in possession of several treasures from the earliest days of the game. Jason XII -- a friend and one of my first and best officers -- however, came away with The Axe.
Much like The Ring of Power, The Axe slowly drove Jason insane. Once he owned The Axe, the game became boring for him. He started taking all kinds of risks for no reason, maybe just trying to feel some kind of excitement again. He would put The Axe in trade windows and pull it back just before the other person took it from him. He began abusing his reputation as a trade mod and got himself in some pretty hot water. Eventually, Jason knew his days were numbered. A permaban was coming and, just before the hammer fell, he handed the axe off to "some random." Nobody knew the name of the person holding The Axe but the prevailing opinion was that Jason managed to unload it before his account was annihilated.
There were rumors about who might be holding The Axe, but they were all dead ends. After a while, The Axe's new owner emerged. Luckily, this "random" player (whose name I also won't give) had protected The Axe. Not only that, but he also understood and appreciated the mission of [PhD] and felt that The Axe belonged with me. We discussed possible deals a few times but couldn't quite settle on anything. One day, I got myself a nice pile of marijuana, plopped myself on the couch, and convinced myself that today would be the day. The Owner and I negotiated a trade. I won't go into specifics but I will say that I handed over a trade screen full of absolutely top-tier items -- enough to be the centerpiece of a historically great collection -- in exchange for The Axe. I took the weapon out of The Captain's hand and the shield off of his arm and included those items. I gave The Owner a "grand tour" of my storage and allowed him to pick out his heart's desire, like a kid in a candy store. It hurt but it got done.
Over time, I was able to recover some of those relics. Others are still sorely missed, but it was worth it. The Axe is not a burden to me, like it was for Jason. It is a thing of beauty and a source of both pleasure and pride. While it's true that other items might seem bland in comparison, that is a small price to pay for the pleasure of looking in The Captain's right hand and seeing the single most important item that the game has ever produced. Perfect and pristine, as it was at its creation.
I cant believe I am posting on this thread in 2026 but here we are.
I saw some people talking about the r8 unconditional in a reddit thread today and went down the rabbit hole. It's pretty amazing how little information there was about the axe aside from threads like these so Kromp thanks for taking the time to post this and tell the story so that I had a rabbit hole to go down.
I am the "random" player as Kromp put it who managed to purchase "Teh Axe" from Jason. Looking back of course now part of me wishes that I had kept the axe, especially because I still play the game now in 2026 haha, HOWEVER I still stand by my decision and belief that Kromp and his brother who I spent countless hours trading and collecting with deserved this ABSOLUTE HOLY GRAIL of the game and I believe it is still in its rightful home in their collection. There is all the chance in the world that the axe ends up on a dead or banned account, but yet we managed to preserve it. What a piece of history and I am glad to have been a small part of it.
Photo of the Axe in my inventory attached before I traded it to Kromp --- Much love to all my GW fam 
Happy to have you in my hole, Kyle!
And I'm happy you've decided to reveal your identity. I've had so many people ask me who traded me Teh Axe. I respected your wish to remain anonymous but I'm glad that now you can receive the credit you deserve for the role you played in preserving this piece of Guild Wars history. Thank you for believing in me, my bro, our guild, what we stand for, and how we handle our business. Teh Axe is safe and sound. Perfect and pristine, as it was at its creation ❤️
