Custom continental Saxon seax review.
May 8, 2019 17:29:27 GMT
Post by nerdthenord on May 8, 2019 17:29:27 GMT
Hello. A while back I ordered a custom seax from a group of local smiths. Disclaimer: One of the smiths is a co-worker and the one who introduced me to the smith group, but this in no way will affect my review.
The seax I commissioned is a historically plausible fantasy piece with a historically accurate type I/II transitional continental Saxon blade profile. The hilt is historical fantasy with a guard and a pommel based on the Petersen type A sword pommel that was very roughly contemporary to the blade profile. The blade is 1095 steel, the guard and pommel are brass, and the grip is red oak. The blade is 14.5" long. The seax is overall 20.5" long, on the large end of the historical range for this profile. The blade has distal taper from around 5 to 3 mm. I do not have a weight but it is not heavy and has a balance point right at the tip of the invocation rune of Tyr, 2.75" or so from the guard. It feels aggressive and wants to cut, which it is VERY good at. The edge appears to have a proper convex edge without a secondary bevel. It is very sharp. The Elder Futhark invocation of Tyr rune was etched with vinegar and a car battery and looks nice to me, much rawer than a laser etching.
The seax blade and hilt parts are covered in forge marks. I actually think this adds character to it but some wouldn't like this.
Now for the bad. The pommel, which is properly peened, is twisted. This doesn't affect function at all but it does irritate me. The guard is also not perfectly round and is somewhat misshapen. Not too bad but it is noticeable.
Overall I payed $290 for this custom seax and am very pleased with it, but it does have some flaws. Fortunately the flaws are cosmetic only. I like coming up with fantasy stories about my custom pieces. This one's fantasy story is it was a pagan Saxon seax that was used against the Franks for centuries until one of it's owners was forced to flee from Saxony to Norway after Charlemagne's conquest. It eventually found it's way to Vinland and was rehilted with Red Oak. I have named it The Vinlander because of the grip.
As for cutting, it cuts bottles like they aren't even there. This could probably take a limb off in real battle. The picture is of the very first cut I did with it. It didn't even spill the water out of the bottom half! I am not trained at all so that speaks highly of the seax's cutting power. This is my first real review, so if it needs any editing or updates feel free to let me know!
The seax I commissioned is a historically plausible fantasy piece with a historically accurate type I/II transitional continental Saxon blade profile. The hilt is historical fantasy with a guard and a pommel based on the Petersen type A sword pommel that was very roughly contemporary to the blade profile. The blade is 1095 steel, the guard and pommel are brass, and the grip is red oak. The blade is 14.5" long. The seax is overall 20.5" long, on the large end of the historical range for this profile. The blade has distal taper from around 5 to 3 mm. I do not have a weight but it is not heavy and has a balance point right at the tip of the invocation rune of Tyr, 2.75" or so from the guard. It feels aggressive and wants to cut, which it is VERY good at. The edge appears to have a proper convex edge without a secondary bevel. It is very sharp. The Elder Futhark invocation of Tyr rune was etched with vinegar and a car battery and looks nice to me, much rawer than a laser etching.
The seax blade and hilt parts are covered in forge marks. I actually think this adds character to it but some wouldn't like this.
Now for the bad. The pommel, which is properly peened, is twisted. This doesn't affect function at all but it does irritate me. The guard is also not perfectly round and is somewhat misshapen. Not too bad but it is noticeable.
Overall I payed $290 for this custom seax and am very pleased with it, but it does have some flaws. Fortunately the flaws are cosmetic only. I like coming up with fantasy stories about my custom pieces. This one's fantasy story is it was a pagan Saxon seax that was used against the Franks for centuries until one of it's owners was forced to flee from Saxony to Norway after Charlemagne's conquest. It eventually found it's way to Vinland and was rehilted with Red Oak. I have named it The Vinlander because of the grip.
As for cutting, it cuts bottles like they aren't even there. This could probably take a limb off in real battle. The picture is of the very first cut I did with it. It didn't even spill the water out of the bottom half! I am not trained at all so that speaks highly of the seax's cutting power. This is my first real review, so if it needs any editing or updates feel free to let me know!