Opinions concerning a Viking Age Seax

B

BjarniBloodaxe

Joined
May 1, 2014
Messages
4
I must confess I'm new to the world of blades and I have my eye on this Viking Age seax sold by Kult of Athena. Can anyone give me their opinion on this knife based on the evidence below and most importantly, should I be troubled by that gap where the blade meets the crossguard? I want a functional knife that's durable, Viking Age, and can also serve for self defense. What are your thoughts?

Description: This seax features a tempered carbon steel blade with horn grip. Includes a leather scabbard.

"Battle ready"

Overall Length: 14 1/4'' Blade: 8 7/8''
Weight: 11.3 oz
Edge: Unsharpened
P.O.B.: 1/2''
Thickness: 4.0 mm - 3.3 mm
Width: 31.8 mm
Grip Length: 4 1/4''
Pommel: Peened

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I cannot say I know much about these knives, but I would not be satisfied buying any knife with a gap such as the one found that concerns you. I would much rather go for something that is fit together properly, with care, and attention to detail. That is just me though.
 
Few people know that the seax was actually a bludgeoning weapon.
Click to expand...

:)

That much steel in that shape without a live edge makes my heart sad. Don't figure it would be much of a hammer the way it's built though if your idea of "battle ready " condition is the same as a Rennisance fair having a live edge is a big no. Maybe I'm just looking at this from the wrong perspective. I admit knowing nothing about many things including the maker of that tool, and it's real intended use.

Joe
 
The blade shape is good for an English seax but I'm not sure any had that sword style handle. On the other hand, there dozens of different styles of knives in European museums labeled as seax.
 
Take a look at the Helle Viking. Or you could check out some custom makers. If a sea going Viking ever carried that blade it would corrode and break underneath the guard in short order.
 
Its unsharpened. So its a wall hanger or re-enactor piece only.

Is it a good enough quality to hang on your wall? That's your call. Looks pretty crappy to me. Maybe that is supposed to give it an air of "historical accuracy."

Is it historically accurate enough to go play Vikings on the weekend after watching the show on TV? Got me. I'm no historian or re-enactor.
 
The guard looks like the shop apprentice had to hand-file that as punisment for being late or something.
I would be ashamed of selling that, and I am absolutely sure that the blacksmiths in the viking era were able to do MUCH better work than this abomination.
The leather scabbard looks like the best part of this offer.

dkb45 said:
Few people know that the seax was actually a bludgeoning weapon.
Click to expand...
:D

Seriously, OP, take a look at the Himalayan Imports subforum, the had a Seax on offer lately IIRC. Or ask one of the many very talented knifemakers/ bladesmiths here on the forum to make you one. Many offer very affordable prices, especially for the quality you get from them :thumbup:
 
The guard looks like the shop apprentice had to hand-file that as punisment for being late or something.
I would be ashamed of selling that, and I am absolutely sure that the blacksmiths in the viking era were able to do MUCH better work than this abomination.
The leather scabbard looks like the best part of this offer.

dkb45 said:
Few people know that the seax was actually a bludgeoning weapon.
Click to expand...
:D

Seriously, OP, take a look at the Himalayan Imports subforum, the had a Seax on offer lately IIRC. Or ask one of the many very talented knifemakers/ bladesmiths here on the forum to make you one. Many offer very affordable prices, especially for the quality you get from them :thumbup:
 
marcinek said:
Its unsharpened. So its a wall hanger or re-enactor piece only.
Click to expand...

They offer to sharpen it for $18. So, it also could simply be a way to extract more funds. :p

marcinek said:
Is it historically accurate enough to go play Vikings on the weekend after watching the show on TV? Got me. I'm no historian or re-enactor.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention "Vikings" because I saw this seax's bone handled twin on the show's finale last night.

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Not to suggest that that bolsters its historical credibility since the "Vikings" show on History Channel has its fair share of inaccuracies.
 
The only question left in my mind, is that blade steel heat treated to hold the edge once applied?
 
If I am, I'm doing a fairly poor job of it since this thread is dominated by criticisms concerning the "Kult of Athena" product. No, I am simply trying to find a fairly inexpensive Viking Age replica weapon and I frankly favored the overall design of this seax but the craftsmanship troubled me somewhat, so I wanted a opinion on it. The general consensus apparently is that it wouldn't be durable enough to cut a piece of paper. :P
 
The ones outside the British Isles, who would go viking, usually had a more bowie or spearpoint profile.

If I wanted the broken back/wharncliffe style I'd get a CS Boar Collector personally.

Check out Wulflund and similar popular reenactment suppliers if you gotta have wood and leather.
 
In the current sword market "battle ready" simply means it's not a wallhanger with a welded on rat tail tang, etc. The lack of edge is an importation issue from India (possibly Pakistan as well). From what I understand, Indian makers aren't allowed to export "weapons" but can export "decorative" replicas. Hence when you buy a sword (and the seax probably qualifies as a sword under Indian law) from India it will arrive dull (similarly, there are lots of replica muskets coming out of India these days, and for the same legal reason they arrive without touch holes, which must be drilled by either the importer or end user in order to make them shootable).

They don't say who the specific maker of this seax is, but I'd bet it's either Indian or Pakistani. Based upon having owned a number of Indian made swords over the years, I can tell you that they do a pretty decent job with their tempering (though it usually runs pretty soft) and that they are pretty darn durable, though the hilts are often notoriously crude. I look at them as "nearly completed" kit blades that require a bit of tweaking to get them where you want them. Pakistani stuff I've had less luck with. I'll leave it at that. :D If you order one, check it when it comes in and see if the hilt is tight. If so, slap some JB Weld or other epoxy into the spaces between the guard and blade, if it bothers you. If you can live with it, just leave it as is and enjoy it. KoA will sharpen it for you if you want or you can sharpen it yourself. Due to the very probable softness of the temper (40-50hrc seems fairly common, with most tending toward the lower end of that range), edge holding will likely only be fair, but it should be really easy to touch up. Of course, historical swords varied all over the place, from too soft to measure on the Rockwell C scale all the way up to around 60hrc, often times within the same blade :eek:, so keep that in mind.;) KoA has been an awesome company to deal with for me, and they have a great return policy, so no worries in that regard. :thumbup:
 
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