HI Seax questions

T

tychoseven

Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Messages
317
Greetings O wise Cantina dwellers.
I seek your advice once again. I've been looking at the Seax and I'm considering one, but I feel they're a bit larger than what I'm looking for. From the reading I did I think it's a blade length of 9 inches and ideally I'd like something in the 5-7 inch range or 10-12 inch OAL. 14 inch OAL seems a little too big to be useful as an EDC, do-everything utility knife, which is why I would be getting it (along with a decent horizontal sheath). I have no problems with the design of the knife itself, it's just a little too big for what I have in mind. Do any Seax owners find the size is detrimental to its utility? If the concensus is that 9 inches is a very usable blade length, that makes the rest of my post irrelevent. But anyhow....

So my main question is twofold: Is it possible to get a custom Seax that would be a little smaller, and if so how would I do that? I don't know the policy on custom orders, and I'm under the impression that HI doesn't do them so much anymore. I suppose that's something to ask Yangdu about, but I thought maybe you all would be able to give me some advice lest I needlessly pester Yangdu, who is busy enough without my questioning.

Thank you all!

-Tycho-
 
Tycho, I arrived on the scene here in Dec. '03, and did not buy my first knife, off the website, until 1/04. Shortly after that Uncle Bill announced he would not take any more special orders because of his illness. I had a list a mile long of stuff I wanted, including a lot of special stuff, and I would have been Uncle Bill's dream customer in 1999 or 2000, but I respected his wish and never asked for any of it. I did not call him either, tho I knew others guys had done so in the past before he got sick. I never spoke to him and wish now I could have just once.

I did order more stuff off the website though, and then started sending him e-mails asking for regular production items, most of which he already had in stock.

Several months later I mentioned to him how great a 25" malla and 25" chilangi would be, and about two months after that he sent me an email telling me "my knives" were here! Uncle Bill had been nice enough to ask Kumar to make these for me, and they were the finest workmanship I have ever seen on any HI products, until perhaps the FF run or the recent Salyans.

A few months ago I asked Yangdu for a BGRS in antler, and she had one made for me by Bura, but it is just what you would get online, except for a different handle. The "no special orders" injunction is so ingrained in my head now, that I did not even think to ask her to ask Bura for a standard bolster. Here the guy is making me a custom BGRS essentially, and I didn't ask for that one simple thing!

There are lots of knives that I would love to have custom made. For instance, what about that stag handled BGRS, with a Chiruwa handle, steel fittings, no cho creep and standard bolster, with a brass inlaid sword of shiva such as is found on the Sirupati? Bura could do that standing on his head, but Yangdu would have to specify a whole bunch of details that would be very time consuming and difficult perhaps to get across, so that she could make only about the same or less profit than she makes on a regular BGRS YBB for the day. It is a lot of work for no additional gain on her part. Instead the kamis make some cool new stuff on their own, and Yangdu sells it. Most things are snapped up, and some don't inspire a lot of interest, at least at first. I'm not sure what people think of the Jure for instance, but I think it's kind of a cool little kitchen or camp knife.

So, as far as your "mini-seax", which I take it would be a 3/4 version of the standard, I don't think it's going to happen. There are too many variables, and of course it's up to you if you want to ask, but please keep in mind the work Yangdu would have to do on something like this. To me personally the Seax design is not really conducive to being an EDC knife, but it is a neat idea anyway. I would think that a 9-10" YCS karda would be just about perfect for your needs, and be a more practical blade shape to boot.

Good luck,

Norm
 
While the HI Seax is one of my favorite and most used blades, I have to agree with Norm. It really isn't a great EDC knife. My EDC is an antler handled Sarge/KPH. I love that little knife, and can't stand to go anywhere without it. If you were looking for a larger, heavier EDC knife then one of the bigger YCS kardas is a fine choice, as Norm had stated.
Don't let any of this discourage you from getting a Seax. dollar for dollar my purchase of the Seax' I own has been some of the best money spent on ANY knife. It slices well enough that it is now the knife of choice in my kitchen. It's heavy enough to hack apart ribs or bones, straight enough to dice veggies, and has enough of an edge to slice a tomato.
In the wilds it is stout enough to hack through kindling wood, handy enough to be very packable (once you modify the horrible, horrible sheath), and absolutely brutally idiot proof when used for self defense. An effective ancient design built with bombproof construction. What's not to love:)?

Jake
 
Steely_Gunz said:
While the HI Seax is one of my favorite and most used blades, I have to agree with Norm. It really isn't a great EDC knife. My EDC is an antler handled Sarge/KPH. I love that little knife, and can't stand to go anywhere without it. If you were looking for a larger, heavier EDC knife then one of the bigger YCS kardas is a fine choice, as Norm had stated.
Don't let any of this discourage you from getting a Seax. dollar for dollar my purchase of the Seax' I own has been some of the best money spent on ANY knife. It slices well enough that it is now the knife of choice in my kitchen. It's heavy enough to hack apart ribs or bones, straight enough to dice veggies, and has enough of an edge to slice a tomato.
In the wilds it is stout enough to hack through kindling wood, handy enough to be very packable (once you modify the horrible, horrible sheath), and absolutely brutally idiot proof when used for self defense. An effective ancient design built with bombproof construction. What's not to love:)?

Jake
Click to expand...
Great description Jake. Yangdu ought to use it on the website. I have an HI and one of the old Museum Replicas which is more of a spear point. The HI is definitely more of a user. And I wouldn't want to get stuck with it either!
Terry
 
The H.I. seax is indeed stabby, as well as a brute.

Think of the AK Bowie compared to a Sheffield bowie...now the H.I. seax makes sense.

I do like the seax in a thinner form too...langseax as well.

Special orders are probably a thing of the past, guys. :(

Yangdu is an agreeable enough person that she will attempt to complete any order or request to the best of her abilities, regardless of how easy or crazy it might be, I'm sure. But, personally, I won't be making any requests to her anytime soon.
 
Thanks guys! I don't think I'll ask about the Seax; I want to respect Uncle Bill's wishes and not waste Yangdu's time as well. I lost my CRKT folder that was my EDC, and I figured something bigger would be harder to misplace :D
I was looking at the seax because recently I've been doing geneology research and learning about pre-christian European society. I desire to know more about the culture of my ancestors and perhaps see how I've been influenced by them across the generations. The seax's simple beauty and utility attracted me. It was the EDC blade of my people (and in some cases, the blade of their conquerors) hundreds of years ago, and a symbol of freemanship. That symbolism may have lost its original context, but I think openly wearing a foot-long knife in many parts of the US is still a statement with the same end-result.

But I'll look into the Sarge or a YCS karda. I need a good fixed blade I can EDC or most-EDC.

Thanks Everyone!

-Tycho-
 
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