Triton
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2000
- Messages
- 35,970
You all may recall that I asked a question a week or so ago about shipping reasonably expensive items from Europe and what duties might be etc. I got some good feedback and more on that later. For now though, I thought you all might like to see the knife
The knife is a Seax, that is a Viking War Knife. That's right the Vikings were doing big clip point blades long before Jim Bowie or his great, great, great grandfather were ever thought of.
This particular version was made by
Petr Melicharek
You can find his better pictures here:
High quality pictures of OBRIGVINDER
So some of you have already seen this particular piece.
Statistics:
Blade - Multibar twisted damascus steel 1,2842 (O2) + 75ni8 Uddeholm (15N20), added edge 1.2845 (O2)
Handle - ancient bog oak from the base of mediaval bridge, carved antler, damascus
Average length - 74 cm (approx- 30 inches) , blade - 51 ,5 cm (approx- 20 inches).
Blade width at widest point 47/35 mm (approx 1.85 / 1.4 inches) , blade thickness - 6,5 mm (0,26 inch )
Weight: 1.3 lbs
Balance Point: 2.5 inches above the handle
Some really cool things... the carvings are on reindeer antler and the wood parts of the handle are ancient bog oak that was build into a medieval bridge in the 1300s. So my modern knife has some medieval parts!
This seax was built as a companion piece "Obrigvinder" for a sword that Mr. Vince Evans made me several years ago. As with that sword I tend to think of this seax as not a "medieval replica," but rather it is a Viking Seax that happened to created recently. Certainly different methods were used in the creation and the steel is much better than what was available historically but the construction details and the thought that went into it are unchanged from it's ancient predecessors.
If I can just say so Petr is fabulous to work with. He's extremely responsive, extremely talented, extremely honest and really loves his work. That means that if you order something from him YOU are going to get a deal. This was a pricey piece... but could easily have cost twice what it actually did. He was also kind enough to not only create this amazing piece but also provided me all the drawings, models and prototype pieces that he did. I would also say that someone with his amount of talent probably already has or soon will have a significant backlog. Plan accordingly.
As for the blade itself, as you will see in the pictures below it's fantastic. Petr, tells me that it is three bars twisted with a mono steel on the edge. The fit and finish are absolutely top notch. The pattern welded steel is flawless, there's not a gap or void in it. There are no gaps at the junction between hand and blade or between any of the spacers (also pattern welded) and the bog oak or reindeer antler carved pieces. Even the pattern welded rings on the sheath are flawless. The blade itself is as you can see a very dark color with high contrast between the O2 and the nickel steel (I assume). The piece is exceptionally sharp and feels very fast and light in the hand due to the long handle and great balance point.
I don't know that I could ever actually bring myself to use the piece but were Ragnorak to come tomorrow I feel confident that I COULD use the piece if I had to.
I'll post some follow on stuff in a bit about what I learned about shipping from the Czech Republic.
Without further ado here's the pictures.
The knife is a Seax, that is a Viking War Knife. That's right the Vikings were doing big clip point blades long before Jim Bowie or his great, great, great grandfather were ever thought of.
This particular version was made by
Petr Melicharek
You can find his better pictures here:
High quality pictures of OBRIGVINDER
So some of you have already seen this particular piece.
Statistics:
Blade - Multibar twisted damascus steel 1,2842 (O2) + 75ni8 Uddeholm (15N20), added edge 1.2845 (O2)
Handle - ancient bog oak from the base of mediaval bridge, carved antler, damascus
Average length - 74 cm (approx- 30 inches) , blade - 51 ,5 cm (approx- 20 inches).
Blade width at widest point 47/35 mm (approx 1.85 / 1.4 inches) , blade thickness - 6,5 mm (0,26 inch )
Weight: 1.3 lbs
Balance Point: 2.5 inches above the handle
Some really cool things... the carvings are on reindeer antler and the wood parts of the handle are ancient bog oak that was build into a medieval bridge in the 1300s. So my modern knife has some medieval parts!
This seax was built as a companion piece "Obrigvinder" for a sword that Mr. Vince Evans made me several years ago. As with that sword I tend to think of this seax as not a "medieval replica," but rather it is a Viking Seax that happened to created recently. Certainly different methods were used in the creation and the steel is much better than what was available historically but the construction details and the thought that went into it are unchanged from it's ancient predecessors.
If I can just say so Petr is fabulous to work with. He's extremely responsive, extremely talented, extremely honest and really loves his work. That means that if you order something from him YOU are going to get a deal. This was a pricey piece... but could easily have cost twice what it actually did. He was also kind enough to not only create this amazing piece but also provided me all the drawings, models and prototype pieces that he did. I would also say that someone with his amount of talent probably already has or soon will have a significant backlog. Plan accordingly.
As for the blade itself, as you will see in the pictures below it's fantastic. Petr, tells me that it is three bars twisted with a mono steel on the edge. The fit and finish are absolutely top notch. The pattern welded steel is flawless, there's not a gap or void in it. There are no gaps at the junction between hand and blade or between any of the spacers (also pattern welded) and the bog oak or reindeer antler carved pieces. Even the pattern welded rings on the sheath are flawless. The blade itself is as you can see a very dark color with high contrast between the O2 and the nickel steel (I assume). The piece is exceptionally sharp and feels very fast and light in the hand due to the long handle and great balance point.
I don't know that I could ever actually bring myself to use the piece but were Ragnorak to come tomorrow I feel confident that I COULD use the piece if I had to.
I'll post some follow on stuff in a bit about what I learned about shipping from the Czech Republic.
Without further ado here's the pictures.
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I have to say that working with you was an absolute delight and I will be happy to do any other project with you in the future! For every craftsman it is a blessing to find a customer who does not push on design, has good taste, a decent budget, and is patient. And you are much more than that! I am also grateful for dealing with customs. Thanks for your patience, cooperation, and everything else! 
