To realize cross-wedge rolling of shaft parts without a stub bar in a short process, an axial closed–open-type cross-wedge rolling technique was proposed. Based on the strain characteristics in the rolling, evaluation indices of deformation uniform-ity were provided, and the DEFORM-3D software was adopted to conduct numerical simulations of the rolling process. The metal flow and strain distribution in all stages of the rolling process were analyzed. It is shown that the strain value of the rolled piece close to the end is relatively high while the overall strain distribution is uniform in the rolling process. When the percentage reduction in area is smaller, the fluctuation range of the equivalent strain will be lower and the overall uniformity of the rolled piece will be better. A variable angle wedge was implemented to make metal flow inward and eliminate concav-ity. Finally, rolling experiment was performed, which indicate that the shape of the rolled piece obtained is consistent with the simulation results. Concavity value in the rolling is decreased by 92％ as compared to conventional open rolling. The research results lay a theoretical basis for realizing closed–open-type cross-wedge rolling without a stub bar.