One thing I haven't been able to get my head around is Cultural Rewards (items) and additional qualities are explained in the game. For example my Woodman has the Bearded Axe Cultural Reward; I understand this represents a family heirloom, or specialized Woodman designed axe. But, what happens when my character goes up in valour and I add the Keen quality to the axe? Is it the same weapon I started out with? If so how is it explained that all of a sudden it holds an edge better then it did previously and is now classed as a Superior grade weapon?

Also, following in the ME tradition of naming "special" weapons anyone got any suggestions of what a Woodman would call a quality axe? I'm having a little bit of writer's block coming up with a name.

Rewards can be stacked to same weapon, it's mentioned in the individual rewards, but away from home so can't cite page reference.

I think of it as working on the weapon between adventures, sharpening the blade, balancing it etc.

Maybe a dwarf craftsmen works his 'magic' for you.

It's abstracted and just a game mechanic, try not to think about it.

As for naming an axe... that's not so easy!

But woodmen are simple folk, so I'd suggest naming after one of his old girlfriends, definitely a girls name though!

Also the wielder could get more used to the weapon therefor using it better than before.

"It's abstracted and just a game mechanic, try not to think about it. '

You know I think that is the most truthful answer I've seen on a forum.

I read the section regarding stacking up to 3 rewards (IIRC) and each one upgrades the quality of the weapon. I was just wondering how other gamers ran things. As you say probably shouldn't think to hard about it.

You could always have a dwarf, any dwarf, walk by and notice the Beorning character sharpening the axe, stop suddenly and say something like:

Dwarf: Far be it for me to speak out of turn, but you're doing that wrong.
Beorning: Oh?
Dwarf: Although made in the same general fashion, every weapon is unique, with it's own unique angle to the metal. Maybe it is the eyes of a dwarf, used to the crafting and smithing of such things, but I can see that you don't quite have the proper angle to your whetstone. So you're not getting the blade as sharp as possible. Here, try this angle.
[Insert a couple moments of shop talk / applying this technique appropriately]
Dwarf: There, that is what it should <sound/feel/whatever you describe it as> be like when you're doing it right. It might take a few days for an edge capable of splitting hairs, but that is the proper angle to sharpen this weapon.

Then just have the dwarf wander off, this generic NPC can disappear or be re-used at some future date, time or circumstance.

Well, Beran is the same with me as to this

That's fine. It's your game after all. Some folks want an explanation and others are willing to simply accept the new ability without a story related reason. Either way is correct - so long as it works for you and your campaign.

Ultimately, we are talking a fantasy RPG; so suspension of belief are the operative terms here. Don't get me wrong I like TOR, however, I wonder if the game isn't too abstracted in one or two places.

This is your call for what makes sense -- or what feels cool! -- within your group. The Loremaster may well provide a steer but the RAW place the creative control of this into the hands of the player. (Receiving the Reward does happen in the player-led Fellowship Phase, after all.)

Some people would be fine with saying that the weapon had been Keen all along, but that this property just hadn't been recognised before. A Narrative style game can take such things in its stride without any problem. But if players have an inherent leaning towards a more objective approach, it might feel wrong to say that the property had been there before, but the axeman hadn't noticed!
Maybe the Player-Hero hadn't known how to place a blow just so to get the full advantage from it, etc. until a veteran showed him a trick or two. Maybe the original haft was the wrong length for a wielder of the Player-Hero's size, so re-hafting it shifts the balance in his hands and causes piercing blows to come more naturally, or adding or removing an iron pommel at the butt end has a similar effect.

But if the player isn't comfortable for any reason with upgrading their Player-Hero's existing axe, or if the player just prefers to interpret the Reward as a new, improved weapon, then it's fine to make the Reward be a 'new' Woodman bearded axe that is also Keen.
It might be a shame to hand back the original family heirloom on being gifted with or being trusted to honourably bear a better weapon (with more glorious former wielders?), but there may well be promising younger scions of the clan who will appreciate you for gifting them with your hand-me-down. (And can you feel the cogs of generational play starting to turn...? )

The aim is really to draw some creativity out of the players that enriches the feel and history of their characters -- but obviously only as much as they're comfortable with. Let them interpret it with as much or as little attention to such detail as they like.

Cheers,
--Os.

P.S. I can't resist recounting this f'rinstance for you:
My group's dwarf Troll-slayer PC fumbled an attack on the troll in The Marsh Bell and I ruled that he'd put a dangerous crack in the haft of his heirloom greataxe. He kept the great black bog-oak tree-club of the fallen troll as a trophy, and in the Fellowship Phase had one of his Companions (a dwarf toymaker whom I'd allowed to take the Woodworking Specialty) render that into a replacement haft for the axe. How cool was that?! He was doing it just for the coolness of it, but I was strongly tempted to give him a freebie Reward on the spot...