Generation 2 Lombard Seax

Uath

Uath

Joined
Oct 25, 2003
Messages
703
Modern Seaxs are usually long enough to be thought of as swords.
I'm of Saxon descent and wanted a traditional seax knife with a peened over tang. I've actually got two seaxs, but they both have their tangs threaded, with the pommel screwed and epoxied on.
I don't understand why all seaxs aren't made with a peened tang. That's the way almost ALL historical examples are made. The old ones they dig up have rotted handles, but they're still attached! That's more secure than a screw!

Custom seaxs are a little expensive for me right now, so I decided on a Generation 2 (steel to steel) Lombard Seax from By The Sword:

Ip-131.jpg


You can see the peened tang:

Ip-131a.jpg


It's 19.5" with a 12.5" blade. I hope the blade is good and thick, but the seax weighs 1lb 4oz, so it's got heft.

Anyone have one of these?
 
Here's the description:

Seax Knife (6th Century Lombard Scramseax Knife)
Ref: IP-131-2
(History of the Seax Knife) A scramseax (also scramsax, scramseaxe, scramaseax, scramasax, scramaseaxe and sometimes referred to as simply scram, seax or sax) was a type of Germanic single-edged knife. Scramseax seem to have been used for warfare and as a tool. They occur in a size range from 2.9" to 29.5". The larger ones (langseax) were probably weapons, the smaller ones (hadseax) tools, intermediate sized ones serving a dual purpose. Wearing a scramseax may have been indicative of freemanship. The scramseax was worn in a horizontal sheath at the front of the belt. Scram refers to food and seax to a blade (so, "food knife"). There is some debate about the authenticity of the longer word scramseax. The Saxons may have derived their name from seax (the implement for which they were known) in much the same way that the Franks were named for their francisca. This claim is largely supported by the appearance of scramaseaxes in early Saxon heraldry.

* Generation2 version based off a 6th Cen. version.
* Blade is 5160 tempered carbon steel w/darkwood grip.
* Tang is peened over top of the end cap of handle.
* Hand stiched Leather scabbard is included.

MEASUREMENTS:
Blade length: 12 1/2"
Overall: 19 1/8"
Balance Point: 1 1/2" Below steel band.
Weight: 1 lbs. 4 oz.

Here's the page:

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Seax_Knife_Lombard_Scramseax_IP-131-2.html#aIP_2d131_2d2
 
I understand the thing is made to bang against other steel weapons all day and not come apart. In the old accounts of battle, you hear of weapons being broken, but you never hear about the darned handle coming off. I can't imagine banging a screwed-together sword against a sheild all day and it not coming apart, I don't care how well the stupid screw is welded to the tang.

I've got a couple of swords, three of them are full-profile tangs (Cold Steel Cutlass, my favorite) but my other swords, like my Bastard and Viking, while have damned screwed-on pommels. I'm starting to doubt them.

If I like this Seax, I'm going to start looking for a short sword with a peened tang. I would prefer a single edge, anyone got any makers??
 
Last edited:
I have Gen2's River Witham Viking Sword. I'm very pleased with it. After a couple years of destroying various targets with it, the hilt is just as tight as the day I took it out of the box.
 
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