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Long Seax, Viking Sax Knife, Bone Handle with Norse Motif in Jellinge Style, 10th c.
This Viking Age sax knife or scramasax features a long EN45 spring steel blade with a thick spine and a pointed tip. On both sides, twin fullers run the top half of the blade along the spine and end about two thirds down its length.
The eye-catching, gorgeous grip is made of polished bone. It is adorned with engravings in Jelling (also: Jellinge) style, a 10th century Norse art style typically characterized by intertwined, band-shaped / ribbon animals with striated bodies, usually depicted in profile. The motif (a pair of S-shaped, interlocked dragons or serpents) is based on the designs that can be seen on the famous 10th c. silver cup from Jelling, which gave its name to this particular Viking art style and is now part of the collection of the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.
The long Viking seax comes with a beautiful sheath made of 3 mm thick, vegetable tanned leather with antiqued brass fittings, including three hanging rings. The bottom metal strip that terminates with an animal (possibly a wolf’s) head finial is loosely based on an 8th c. Middle Anglo-Saxon find retrieved from the River Thames in London in the 19th c. and believed to have been part of a knife or seax scabbard mount. It also features a runic inscription that has not been satisfactorily interpreted to this day. The original piece is held in the British Museum (no. 1869,0610.1).
Please note that this Viking knife is primarily designed as a collectible, decoration piece or prop and by no means suited for combat re-enactment! The blade’s point is not rounded, and the edge is not sharpened, yet slightly ground (approx. 0.5 to 1 mm thick).
Details:
– Blade material: EN45 spring steel (high carbon steel, not stainless)
– Handle material: animal bone grip, blackened steel guard and pommel
– Overall length: approx. 62.5 cm
– Blade length: approx. 48 cm
– Hilt length: approx. 14.5 cm (grip approx. 10.5 cm)
– Blade width: approx. 3.3 cm at collar / 4 cm at broadest point
– Blade thickness: approx. 4 mm (approx. 2 to 2.5 mm towards the point)
– Point of balance: approx. 10 cm from the guard
– Weight: approx. 770 g (approx. 1155 g with sheath)
– Leather-and-brass sheath with carrying rings
Specs may slightly vary from piece to piece.
The steel used here is not rust-proof and might show slight surface tarnishing in places. We recommend you to maintain the blade on a regular basis, for example using Ballistol Universal Oil, which is ideally suited for steel care.
Please keep in mind that bone is a natural product and variations in colour and grain are quite normal. Besides, as the knife is fully hand-crafted, the ornaments may slightly vary from piece to piece. Each Viking seax has thus its own very unique handle and above pictures are for reference only.
