Vague thoughts about a little scandi

**peppen108** · 09-12-2012, 11:58 AM

I was looking trough pictures of archaeological finds of knifes. My favorite type of knife around the house to knife the thin 2-3" narrow bladed stick tang scandi. Has literally been around since before the viking age. On some well preserved knifes the the grind and shape is so clean that it literally locks machine tooled. Not at all like the heavily rasterized, poorly reproduced sausage shaped brown nuggets found in the books I read when I vent to school.

Viking age knife

As a tribute I thinking of making some knives that I design my self and some inspired by the finds.

These are the first sketches of my own design.

**daizee** · 09-12-2012, 01:04 PM

cute! I love scandi ground knives by Scandinavian makers.

make it!
looks like a great household utility knife for all kinds of things.

**peppen108** · 09-19-2012, 04:13 AM

A quick sketch of a crafts and carving knife. I'll do a couple of dozens of this quick sketches before i start to lock down three of four designs.

**scruffuk** · 09-19-2012, 04:58 AM

Classic looking, a guess the original finds were a STRONG influence on the Slöjd kniv.

Polar (among others) do a blade shape one just like that....and seen as though I have still not set up my forge....I may just have to get one to handle!

Please keep us posted on how it turns out.

**peppen108** · 09-19-2012, 06:34 AM

My aim is to make a "slöjd kniv". That means craft knife. I like these knifes as a general utility knife. The second knife from the right is a good 12 century representation although the design might be a couple of hundreds of years older.

The plan is to make a couple of barrel handle designs (mid Swedish), and a couple of straighter with a almond-shaped crosscut like a modern puukko.

**peppen108** · 09-20-2012, 07:55 AM

My first batch of sketches is done.

**quint** · 09-20-2012, 01:42 PM

Good looking designs. I am working on some right now as well except I am trying a flat top with a curved belly. Cant wait to get to the handle making stage, I am excited to try out some different ideas I have. Interested to see your well thought out executions when you get them finished.

**peppen108** · 09-20-2012, 03:19 PM

Thanks! I have yet to use a flat topped knife handle but when making an almond shaped handle I have passed a state quite like that and liked it.

**GHEzell** · 09-22-2012, 09:01 PM

I like your first sketches a bit better than your last ones. Riccassos do not show up until the 15th century, so if you are wanting a knife closely based on the originals it is out of place. They do make fitting a guard plate a bit easier, though... I would also suggest trying a full-flat grind, as these are much more common on the artifacts than a sabre/modern scandi grind. It is your knife, so do as you wish, I just thought I'd offer those suggestions. I have a deep love for these ancient knives....

**peppen108** · 09-23-2012, 03:06 PM

Great input. I was surprised to see that the scandigrind is a relatively late thing. I was thinking of making a couple of pretty historically acculturate with a archaeological find as the inspiration. And a couple of own designs.

I'm just drawing pretty freely hopefully hitting the nail on the head.

Maybe this knife has been dated wrongly but it has the kind of ricasso I might be going for and its dated "iron age"-"medieval age" in Gällivare with should be about 1050 AC.

Some more drawings.

**peppen108** · 09-23-2012, 03:10 PM

And here is a nice sheep foot from the iron age.

**peppen108** · 09-23-2012, 03:18 PM

An iron age knife whit a scandi grind. Same as with the ricasso it may have been wrongly dated but its done by the national historical museum so hopefully the are not way of.

And another iron age knife found in Eskiltuna.

**peppen108** · 09-23-2012, 03:31 PM

Iron age with a brass bolster.

**peppen108** · 09-23-2012, 03:36 PM

Handle of bone and copper alloy.

**GHEzell** · 09-23-2012, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by peppen108

Great input. I was surprised to see that tree scandigrind is a relatively late thing. I was thinking of making a couple of pretty historically acculturate with a arceological find as the inspiration. And a couple of own designs.

I'm just drawing pretty freely hopefully hitting the nail on the head.

Maybe this knife has been dated wrongly but it has the kind of ricasso I might be going for and its dated "iron age"-"medieval age" in Gällivare with should be about 1050 AC.

I did not say the scandi-grind was unknown, just rare in comparison...

I must remember not to speak in absolutes, as soon as I say something did not exist someone proves me wrong. I am dumbfounded, I did not expect to see a riccasso on a 11th century knife! I expected that about as much as I expected to see the full-tanged broadsax that does exist, even though it shouldn't. It just goes to show our ancestors were a clever, clever bunch who didn't like staying in the box any more than we. That may very well be as old as they say, and if it is it sets the riccasso back a few hundred years further than commonly thought. Fascinating... from here on out, I'll just say they were very, very, very rare...

**peppen108** · 09-24-2012, 12:50 AM

Insightful. My message is pretty fragile and is probably blurred my bad use of languish. I keep on drawing for a couple of more weeks before i start to lock down designs.