Rohirrim War Knife

[Trooper224]

Just in from bladesmith Petr Florianek.

The Seax was a very common weapon in the countries of Scandinavian influence during the early middle ages. Being a student of Tolkiens world, Petr did this one up in the style of Rohan. Hence, the green color and horse motif. The stones are jade and the grip and suspension ring are bone. The 8.5 inch blade is constructed of a wrought iron core and a steel edge.

[paherne]

That is absolutely gorgeous.

[Maple Syrup Actual]

WOW, that's a beauty. I love the seax as a historically significant tool; I'm sure many people here are aware that they were so ubiquitous amongst a particular group of iron-age Europeans that it's fairly widely understood to be the origin of the word "Saxon." The regions of England called Essex, Sussex, and Wessex were originally named in Old English, Eþseaxe, Suþseaxe, and Weþseaxe, or East, South, and West Saxons, respectively...etymology is often a bit ambiguous but I think it's certainly reasonable to look at the progress of those words through history and say that yes, that's a pretty decent explanation and does line up with the heritage of the words and the spelling across Old English, Old Norse, and at least a couple of German variants.

Saxons...the guys running around with those knives.




I can't explain why I felt compelled to make this meme, but anyway that's a beautiful knife.

[Doc_Glock]

That is absolutely gorgeous.

I was going to say exactly the same thing. What a work of art!

[Trooper224]

I was going to say exactly the same thing. What a work of art!

I sold a couple of pistols I'd been peddling, so I had a sudden cash surplus. I debated on a new Colt Python at the LGS, but I made the sale on Friday night and it was gone by Saturday morning. Oh well says I. I then happened to check Petrs Facebook page and he'd just finished this one, so Carpe Diem baby.

Guns are fine and good, but this stuff is my true passion.

[Paul D]

That is beautiful.

Educate me: why no hilt or cross guard on the seax (or this knife)? Is it purely style/aesthetics or is there a practical reason? I can easily see sliding one's hand over the blade if you were going to stab something/one with it.

[Spartan1980]

Art meets craftsmanship. Simply stunning. Congrats!

[Suvorov]

Beautiful!

I can’t help but think of it as a more elegant form of my Valmet Bayonet and scabbard.

[Trooper224]

That is beautiful.

Educate me: why no hilt or cross guard on the seax (or this knife)? Is it purely style/aesthetics or is there a practical reason? I can easily see sliding one's hand over the blade if you were going to stab something/one with it.

I've never found a definitive answer on that. Versions of the seax that are small utility knives don't have a guard since combat wasn't their real purpose. On the other hand, variants of sword length didn't have one either. Hand protection wasn't a big concern with weapons in this era, as the shield was the primary form of defensive protection. Conservation of material or simply style? Who knows.