HI Scramsax/Seax/Saex Design Thread

Originally posted by pendentive
Question:

What thickness of blade are we lookin at for this HI Scramasax?

I was thinking somewhere between 50-60 mm (or 3/16" - 1/4").
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Not too thick. 1/4" is fine with me. What I'd be afraid of is the kamis thickening it up on their own. I'm wondering if the model shouldn't be thinner than desired because of that.

S.
 
Originally posted by spence
Not too thick. 1/4" is fine with me. What I'd be afraid of is the kamis thickening it up on their own. I'm wondering if the model shouldn't be thinner than desired because of that.

S.
Click to expand...


Yes, I agree. Not too thick. And no cho. The kamis might do these things on their own, but no need to encourage them!
 
Yes Sarge I am putting that beauty to use, often. I love it, it is my neck knife (I never had one before) and I wear it all the time. My wife thinks I am nuts. She is asking me when I am going to start carrying a knife between my teeth like a Pirate.;)
 
Bob,
I ran into a guy that works the gun show circuit the other day. I'd traded him one of my homemade neck knives for a Phillipino machete. He said everywhere he went people tried to buy that knife from him, but to him it was absolutely priceless. He had a knife sharpener at a show touch up the edge for him once and the guy went nuts, going on and on about what incredible steel the blade was made from and where did he get it. The sharpener asked to hang on the knife, and all day long used it to show people just how sharp a knife can get. My knives may never win a beauty contest, but they'll dang sure earn their keep.

Sarge
 
Sombody is going to have to use force to get mine, more force than I can muster, because they will be in for a fight.
 
ahem...

:D:D

More design ideas/votes/opinions anybody?
 
Id like to see a giant version of the model 1A, something with like a 10" x 4" x 3/4" blade and a 6" long handle.
 
BM-Lang-Seax-12.jpg

10th Cent. Anglo-Saxon Iron Seax inlayed with polychrome wires, found in the Thames at Battersea. One side is inlaid with the personal name, 'Beagnoth', and the other the Anglo-Saxon futhorc. The runic inscription was probably intended to have magical power.


BM-Seax-55.jpg

9-10th Cent. Iron seax inlaid with twisted copper and brass wires, From Honey Lane London


BM-Seax-30.jpg

[no description?! - looks to me like a Continental seax - appears to have 'ULFBERHT' inscription...]
 
I think I can help, as I've pored over this one quite a lot. it is my fave.

It is the Sittingbourne Seax, and it is just over a foot in length. Although a secondary weapon, the copper alloy and silver inlay indicate it was a valued piece. It was made in England in the early 10th century.

The Inscripton in full is
SGEBREHT MEAH, or "Sigebreht owns me/I belong to Sigebreht." The MEAH appears in the silver block just after the gold one housing the name.

The S letter comes from an anglo-saxon rune called Sig, so often the names that start with a runic name are represented by the rune symbol alone, as opposed to spelling it out... A modern English example of this construct would be shortening the name "Pete" to "Pte," as the "P" letter is pronounced singly as "Pee."
[NOTE: Sadly, most scholars on the subject just pass the "S GEBREHT" issue off as a grammatical or spelling error, but -- ON A PRIZED BLADE LIKE THIS??!?! The craftsman screwed up? Not likely.]

The name of the weaponsmith (Biorhtelm) appears on the other face of the blade. This piece can be seen in the British Museum.

Keith

P.S. some light reading on Seaxes and the Thegns who used them:

Anglo-Saxon Thegn--449-1066AD Osprey Military series, Warrior Series #5, by Mark Harrison and Gerry Embleton. ISBN 1 85532 349 4

The English Warrior: from earliest times to 1066, By Stephen Pollington. Publisher is Anglo-saxon Books. ISBN 1-898281-10-6
http://www.asbooks.co.uk/catalog1.htm

The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England, By the reputable H.R. Ellis Davidson. Boydell Press. ISBN 0 85115 355 0
 
Though I may not currently have the funds to support this effort, I heartily encourage it.

I think the kamis have the "gut feel" to guide them in making a working knife, I find the idea of presenting them with one outside of their culture fascinating, somewhat like the Cherokee Rose.

Perhaps I may be forgiven for thinking that this project is more primal, and possibly closer to the essence of "khukness" than a Bowie knife.

Flame away...My ability to ignore unpleasantness borders on the self-destructive:)

(And I am very sad that I couldn't get in on the Cherokee Rose run.)

It's just that I see these as having a deeper lineage than Bowie knives--at least as deep as khuks. It's just a feeling...I know nothing...
 
And i agree with the Primal assessment. Yeah, I'd prefer a Seax that still has the scale from the forge on it, hammer marks still visible, all that--ya know, the "villager" model seax. But also there is something to be said for making the "Kothimoda" of Seaxes too...

And to all, I apologise for the long answer on the ID of that seax. I did not want to come off as condescending or anything. I just spent much time researching this enigmatic, rugged, and yet artful piece. Even based my own Seax on it.

Keith
 
Unless anyone objects...

I'm sending 4D off to be made into a wood model.
 
4D, the four looks like half a Nepali flag, and the D looks like a waxing crescent moon. Good ju-ju bwana.:D

Sarge
 
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