Seax sheath?

Cpl Punishment

Cpl Punishment

Joined
Jan 28, 2006
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OK, I've been playing with my seax again (must be my Celtic/Norse blood).

But, no offense to Yangdu, but the sheath is WAY too tight.

Has anyone had a traditional seax sheath made (hods the blade at a slight downward angle from horizontal, edge up), or can recommend a good maker?

Kinda hoping someone on this forum makes them, keep it in the family so to speak.
 
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my seaxs. not HI, but as we're talking sheaths...
seax2.jpg

seax3.jpg


top one, basic leather-work by a re-enactment supplier, now out of business. i added the brass channel & copper rivets over the edge seam & decorative brass hook (bent into a closed eye with a brass ring). throat area reinforced with another layer of leather. spine side is not seamed (was wet formed around a wood mockup blade). as this one has a cross guard, the extension that would normally hold the handle has been eliminated, i added a secondary leather thong to the brass ring so it could be used to tie the handgip in place if peace bonding was desired.

middle one, just a piece of plain heavy leather folded in half & stitched along the spine side, seam is punched twice for the hanging thong that can be adjusted to hold it horizontal across the back of your belt. excess thong wrapped & knotted. handle also covered by the sheath, except for a short bit long enough to grab & pull it out. can be hung either edge up or down. this would be the easiest to make yourself.

bottom, small seax 'pouch' sheath, dangles vertically when on the belt. bit like a scandi.

for an HI sheath, i'd do the top one, maybe a second brass hook/loop further down to get the correct angle, or the middled one. or do your own variation.
 
Cpl
If you want to have one made out of Leather Paul Long's stuff on this http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=761152 thread in the Cantina made my jaw drop.
Kydex There are a few makers on the board.
A "local" option for you would be to contact; http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/...USA&p_stateid=FL&p_city=Winter+Park&x=27&y=11 or http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/...USA&p_stateid=FL&p_city=Jacksonville&x=13&y=8 whichever one is closer and ask if they are or know any sheath makers. Also and Horse "Tack" stores in your area will probably know a few leather benders a well.

Post a few pic's with dimensions of the Seax and a "traditional" sheath. Are you looking for "cross-draw" or "strong" side? And just how long is the overall Seax?
 
Here's the closest I could find of a traditional seax sheath design that I'd want:
seax.jpg


I couldn't find the specific pic I was looking for, which has the belt loop nearest the tip longer, so the blade rides at an angle for better retention and an easier draw.

As you can see, the seax was traditionally carried horizontally ,and there is no "handedness" to the design -- it can be worn on either side of the belt. It's carried edge-up.
 
That sheath looks like it would be edge down. What you are looking for is actually pretty easy to do. Try laying one out with "stiff paper" (I tend to use the boxes from cases of canned Coke). Do that and staple it together till you get the "cant"/carry angle right. At that point anyone who is comfortable with leather can make one off your pattern. Warning with a "canvas" that big tooling & carving a design is too big of a temptation to resist.
Shoot a pic of the sheath that came with it. It might not be too hard to stretch it to loosen it up and add different belt carry loops.
 
One of the first sheaths I ever made was for my Seax. Now, i preferred an up and down carry instead of horizontal. However, it'd be pretty easy as a do-it-yourself project.

I'd offer but my work is UGLY;) I never worked beyond making my sheaths/holster functional and well fitting.

Seriously, 10 bucks worth of leather and rivets and an hour of your time, and you'll have a nice "rustic" sheath that would look very commonplace on the battlefield a thousand years ago:thumbup:
 
Thanks, guys (I really need to just learn to do my own leather).

Had an offer to make one from a member here, so we'll see where it goes.
 
Leather work is what you do when its monsoon out and your not fishing down there.
 
Yes, the pic has the sheath upside down.
It's from a custom maker's website, so I don't know the details of the knife.
I posted it to show how they hang from a belt traditionally, rather than in a vertical manner most are used to.
 
So the sheath sits above the belt instead of below it? I am assuming that the long side of the seax is the sharp one kind of a wharnie on steroids? Most of the Seax's I've been looking at are at or near 20", unless you have a shorter on how are you going o wear it horizontally?
Nevermind, it looks like the one you picked up back in February is 14"long. Coincidentally the knife in the sheath in the below pic's is only an inch shorter. With that design you can make the cant however you want it, that is the one I setup for cross-draw. With the right bolts and a little imagination you could easily make that adjustable cant.
 

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oldschool45 said:
So the sheath sits above the belt instead of below it? I am assuming that the long side of the seax is the sharp one kind of a wharnie on steroids?
Click to expand...

No, it rides below the belt. That example in my post has the blade upside down from how I want it.

In the "dual dangler" design, one goes in front of, and one to the rear of the belt loop on my side, set up in a sort of crossdraw. The second dangler is to help stabilize the rig.

This is how they were traditionally worn.
 
That design is easy to make and real easy to make adjustable. Just head the warning in a current thread in the makers forum and glue your welts. A guy put his own knife in or I should say through his own sheath and ended up cutting himself. Its a fun and useful hobby if you like using your hands. Nothing "metro" about double stitching 3 layers of 10oz leather together.
Definitely show pics of the end result.
 
The Seax historically came in all sorts of sizes. The 14" standard Seax H.I. offers is about average sized and is of the 'broken back' style more common in Anglo-Saxon lands of the British Isles. This style probably originated in Denmark, which is where the Angles themselves came from before migrating to Britain.

The larger version which H.I. now makes is a Langseax, the longer, more weapon-oriented seax. The Langseax was very popular in the Germanic cultures, even being a weapon preferred to the sword in the days when they battled the Romans.
 
Right.

"seax" is a term that translates to "utility knife". They range in size from a 3 inch blade to something that rivals swords.

The "broke baclk" version is probably most popular, or at least well known.
Some look very much like a Scottish dirk (which you could say is a type of seax).

If I was looking for a weapon, then the longer 20 inch version Yangdu has now would be preferred. But the 14 incher makes a better utility blade.

I've been using it a lot the last week. It's done kitchen duty, light machete duty, opening boxes, etc. Makes a dandy camp knife.

I think I've found another trio.
This, my Two Hawks "Voyager" -- much like a Norse axe with a flattened poll for hammering, and my R-6 would makle a great all-round set.
 
I'd like to get one of the Langseax's with an internal tang and make a Migration Period style hilt for it, which would make it more of the Grettirseax version.

Then we could plan a proper pillaging.
 
Wonder how hard it is to make a dragonship?

Oh, and as a nod to my Celt heritage, I'd have to bring my Claighmore, rather than a Viking sword.

That'd make some news, eh? "Viking dragonship spotted off coast of Somalia, pirates run scared!"
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Wonder how hard it is to make a dragonship?

Oh, and as a nod to my Celt heritage, I'd have to bring my Claighmore, rather than a Viking sword.

That'd make some news, eh? "Viking dragonship spotted off coast of Somalia, pirates run scared!"
Click to expand...

My mother's maiden name is scottish of celto-norse origin. I've always been fascinated by the vikings. I have some Viking swords to bring to the raid (a Gen2 and two Del Tins; I actually prefer the Gen2) but I'd probably match up my Seax with my pair of CS Norse Hawks.

And Thor would rather raid a locale with better food
Thorsmile2.gif
 
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