The novel axial fan may have a cylindrical shroud, an impeller mounted coaxially within the shroud, and a bell-shaped deflector extending across the exhaust to redirect the airflow toward radially outward directions. A malleable blank may be cut and shaped to form the impeller having at least three blades, the peripheries of which define a cylinder coaxial with the shroud. The impeller should have a depth-to-radius ratio exceeding 0.5.