Fallen Frankish Seax
Jan 21, 2017 12:02:25 GMT
Post by Jussi Ekholm on Jan 21, 2017 12:02:25 GMT
Introduction
Well I happen to be the lucky forum member who won this in the New Year prize draw. So after the year changed to 2017 I heard the lucky news that I will be getting a new item.
I've bought from L Driggers (fallen) some axes before and I've seen his work in this forum over the years, so I was very excited to see this item. I've often wanted to try out some of his blades and now this opportunity arrived thanks to SBG.
I hope the name Fallen Frankish Seax is ok but it can be of course changed.
Historical overview
I was informed by Fallen that this design is Frankish seax design. I am not well versed in seaxes this is the first one I ever have owned and I've only handled few smaller ones before this. I looked quickly at various seax typologies and I believe this would be a Frankish longseax. Seaxes similar to this were used from around 600 - 900 in area around modern France & Germany.
This image borrowed from SFI will explain it lot better than I can.
Full Disclosure
Well this is a free sword, I only paid 30$ postage cost for this. Winning a prize from a maker whos work I've been often eyeballing at the forum. SBG arranging a nice contest to kick our 2017 off. Of course I am biased...
Japanese antique swords are my thing and I have to confess even though I like Migration & Viking period stuff a lot I do not know much more than "basics" about them. So feel free to correct me with comments & discussion.
Initial Impressions
When this arrived I didn't know it was a sword that I am getting. This was the first time I have ever gotten a blade outside EU to slip in through customs without having to pay 24% VAT for it. I was going to the post wondering what package and from whom this would be. When I saw the package I must have had a stupid grin on my face at the post counter.
First impression when unpacking was, wow this is big! I knew it was going to be a large one but this is sized like a small sword. And when picking it up it felt lighter I would think it would feel.
Statistics
Blade Length: 51 cm
Blade Width: 4,9 cm
10 cm from point: 3,3 cm
Blade Thickness: 5,5 mm
10 cm from point: 4 mm
Handle Length: 17 cm
Overall Length: 68 cm
POB (Point of Balance): c. 11 cm
Weight: 833 grams
The Blade
The blade is wide and big. As you can see from the stats the seax has good bit of profile taper and distal taper. So because of the good shaping the sword feels good in hand. I am not sure about the steel Fallen used for this one but after having owned his axes and seeing comments of his blades of the forum this can take a lot of use. Lines are good and finish is ok. It is polished to a mirror polish and Fallen has made a good edge on the blade.
The Handle
Handle is made of wood slabs that are riveted on. I am not sure of the wood & finish used on the handle but I like the look. And I like the small details how this is shaped over the blade in slight curve. It gives a lot of character instead of just cutting it straight. Same thing at the bottom of the handle, there is a small groove which makes it a lot nicer than just cutting it straight down. And as you can see it has nice full length tang.
Handling Characteristics
Well I do not know how longseaxes are supposed to handle. Heck I haven't even played around that many short swords (falcata etc. similar). But I think this sword is pretty light for its size. Like I said earlier as this is so wide I thought this would be heavier.
Maybe the closest thing that comes to my mind are machete and billhooks when it comes to handling. Because this is a big blade with the feeling of being a blade heavy chopping thing. My impression when handiling this inside is that this is not a blade for fancy moves or some trick cuts, this is a blade you use when you want to hack & cut things to pieces. I can only image the brutal damage wide and heavy blades like this one did historically in battles.
I am no swordsman so my handling portion is not much of use. I guess I could sum the handling up that you do not need to be a skilled swordsman to be able to inflict serious damage with this seax. This is not a weapon of finesse but a brutal cutting weapon. This thing will cut and it will cut deep.
Conclusions
Well I have never owned another seax so I don't have much point of comparing this to anything else really. I have been impressed with the quality of items Fallen has been posting here on the forums. Now after seeing this one with my own eyes and getting a feel of this I agree that he makes very good quality products.
As I don't know even the basics about seaxes I cannot comment on the physical details of this seax. Weight, size, everything feels good to me. When spring & summer come I'll be sure to take this to countryside to my parents as I can't do any cutting in my city apartment. I feel that this seax can handle anything I decide to cut.
I've liked how active Fallen has been on the forums. It is great to see M&V's participate a lot. I hope that many people looking for more specific stuff could also take a look of our own M&V's. Many manufacturers here provide awesome custom work.
You can't find badass seax like this one from the production sword market.
I will be attaching all the pictures to the end. I've had some troubles with attaching so this will work the best. There is a pic to show the size of this over a short katana. There will be overall shot of sword, handle pic, spine pic and a tip pic.
Well I happen to be the lucky forum member who won this in the New Year prize draw. So after the year changed to 2017 I heard the lucky news that I will be getting a new item.
I've bought from L Driggers (fallen) some axes before and I've seen his work in this forum over the years, so I was very excited to see this item. I've often wanted to try out some of his blades and now this opportunity arrived thanks to SBG.
I hope the name Fallen Frankish Seax is ok but it can be of course changed.
Historical overview
I was informed by Fallen that this design is Frankish seax design. I am not well versed in seaxes this is the first one I ever have owned and I've only handled few smaller ones before this. I looked quickly at various seax typologies and I believe this would be a Frankish longseax. Seaxes similar to this were used from around 600 - 900 in area around modern France & Germany.
This image borrowed from SFI will explain it lot better than I can.
Full Disclosure
Well this is a free sword, I only paid 30$ postage cost for this. Winning a prize from a maker whos work I've been often eyeballing at the forum. SBG arranging a nice contest to kick our 2017 off. Of course I am biased...
Japanese antique swords are my thing and I have to confess even though I like Migration & Viking period stuff a lot I do not know much more than "basics" about them. So feel free to correct me with comments & discussion.
Initial Impressions
When this arrived I didn't know it was a sword that I am getting. This was the first time I have ever gotten a blade outside EU to slip in through customs without having to pay 24% VAT for it. I was going to the post wondering what package and from whom this would be. When I saw the package I must have had a stupid grin on my face at the post counter.
First impression when unpacking was, wow this is big! I knew it was going to be a large one but this is sized like a small sword. And when picking it up it felt lighter I would think it would feel.
Statistics
Blade Length: 51 cm
Blade Width: 4,9 cm
10 cm from point: 3,3 cm
Blade Thickness: 5,5 mm
10 cm from point: 4 mm
Handle Length: 17 cm
Overall Length: 68 cm
POB (Point of Balance): c. 11 cm
Weight: 833 grams
The Blade
The blade is wide and big. As you can see from the stats the seax has good bit of profile taper and distal taper. So because of the good shaping the sword feels good in hand. I am not sure about the steel Fallen used for this one but after having owned his axes and seeing comments of his blades of the forum this can take a lot of use. Lines are good and finish is ok. It is polished to a mirror polish and Fallen has made a good edge on the blade.
The Handle
Handle is made of wood slabs that are riveted on. I am not sure of the wood & finish used on the handle but I like the look. And I like the small details how this is shaped over the blade in slight curve. It gives a lot of character instead of just cutting it straight. Same thing at the bottom of the handle, there is a small groove which makes it a lot nicer than just cutting it straight down. And as you can see it has nice full length tang.
Handling Characteristics
Well I do not know how longseaxes are supposed to handle. Heck I haven't even played around that many short swords (falcata etc. similar). But I think this sword is pretty light for its size. Like I said earlier as this is so wide I thought this would be heavier.
Maybe the closest thing that comes to my mind are machete and billhooks when it comes to handling. Because this is a big blade with the feeling of being a blade heavy chopping thing. My impression when handiling this inside is that this is not a blade for fancy moves or some trick cuts, this is a blade you use when you want to hack & cut things to pieces. I can only image the brutal damage wide and heavy blades like this one did historically in battles.
I am no swordsman so my handling portion is not much of use. I guess I could sum the handling up that you do not need to be a skilled swordsman to be able to inflict serious damage with this seax. This is not a weapon of finesse but a brutal cutting weapon. This thing will cut and it will cut deep.
Conclusions
Well I have never owned another seax so I don't have much point of comparing this to anything else really. I have been impressed with the quality of items Fallen has been posting here on the forums. Now after seeing this one with my own eyes and getting a feel of this I agree that he makes very good quality products.
As I don't know even the basics about seaxes I cannot comment on the physical details of this seax. Weight, size, everything feels good to me. When spring & summer come I'll be sure to take this to countryside to my parents as I can't do any cutting in my city apartment. I feel that this seax can handle anything I decide to cut.
I've liked how active Fallen has been on the forums. It is great to see M&V's participate a lot. I hope that many people looking for more specific stuff could also take a look of our own M&V's. Many manufacturers here provide awesome custom work.
You can't find badass seax like this one from the production sword market.
I will be attaching all the pictures to the end. I've had some troubles with attaching so this will work the best. There is a pic to show the size of this over a short katana. There will be overall shot of sword, handle pic, spine pic and a tip pic.