4 1/2 inch blade Seax

[tombear]

Although Ive banged on about this in another thread I thought i'd finish it here with its own.

A couple of days back I recievd some blades from this chap

http://www.knivesbynick.co.uk/knife_kits.htm

who did a Anglo Norse axe head and small seax for the middle son.

Anyroad. with a bit of yew I got from a dead branch a year or so back and a piece of horn I was kindly given by a member of this parish I knocked this up, just sharpened to a scary vanity level on the good old Tormek-7.

I rather overdid polishing the blade and lost most of the forge marks, much to the derision of my lads. Its made from a old Landrover spring and arrived good and sharp before I polished it blunt, D'oh! The yew has been soaked in warm double boiled linseed oil/teakoil/Danish oil/whatever has ended up in the old SRD rum jug I keep the soaking stuff for about 16 hours. Normally I give it the full 24 but this time the size doesn't merit it.

The wood I went down to 100 grit sandpaper on and the horn to 1200 grit wet and dry via 400 and 800. The whole handle received a couple of coats of my home made wood polish, bees wax, mutton tallow, real turpentine and pine resin, mainly.

I'm really pleased with what I got from Nick and his prices are very good in my opinion.


ATB

Tom

 

[crosslandkelly]

That looks great, a nice usable blade.

 

[British Red]

Looks good Tom.

I am not a fan of forge marks (although I am a big fan of forged blades) -they serve no purpose and in fact offer dents and rough spots for sap , blood and muck to get stuck in. I think tidying them to a smooth finish enhances the function and longevity.

Looking forward to seeing the big brother!

 

[tombear]

Cheers, its definately a user. yeah I must admit I am not a huge fan of forge marks and I followed my own subconsious inclination to make a forged knife look like its been made by stock removal. Since these three blades are meant to be also for period demonstrations (for want of a better name) and a overly finished look wouldn't go with the social level of the costume/rest of the kit. If i had the money I would have gone for a beautiful highly finished pattern welded job copied from a find which I know he, and several of the makers here can do.

But sometimes I can't stop myself. I see all those top quality files I've amassed and all the other tools and finishing gear ( I have a big draw just for sand paper and wet and dry and another just for sharpening tools, I am such a victim ;D) and I just have to go overboard.

Ill try for a happy balence on the next two.

ATb

Tom

 

[tombear]

Well that's a downer, none of the pieces of veg tan I have are both big enough and thick enough to make a sheath. There will now be a short pause while I score some.

atb

Tom

 

[Clouston98]

That's a beauty mate, well done!

 

[mr dazzler]

Its turned out ok then....nice job
will you do a sheath for it next

 

[Dreadhead]

nice! can't resist a good seax

 

[tombear]

Yup, I thought I had some veg tan the right thickness left over to wet form a sheath but I was way out. I'll do the traditional horizontal wear seax sheath, when I've got some leather.

atb

Tom

 

[HHazeldean]

That looks very nice, love the grain of the yew

 

[tombear]

Thanks!

Since its been a while since I got any, does anyone know a cheap source of 3mm veg tan leather suitable for wet forming a sheath? Or does any one have some to trade?

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

since it wasnt actually raining I took the lads past the yew tree I got the dead branch from before and since I'd took my folding saw along for the remainding 4.5 mile of our walk they carried two +36" x 3+" diameter lengths of dead branch between them. well one insisted on carrying his all the way and the other two shared. The branch/secondary trunk has been dead for at least 4 years as I first noticed it that long ago when the eldest was still at the school its near.

It should last me. Now all depends if it splits horribly, it sawed like seasoned not green wood and the thinner piece I took off before only cracked a tiny amount at one end after being left in a living room for over a year. Any tips on getting it to dry out faster or at least reduce the potential for splitting?

You'll note Ive cleared up the 20" Frankish Seax blade as far as I intend to. Its a bit shinier than I want in places but will dull down in use soon enough.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Well that was a waste of time. I just spent 2 and a bit hours boiling a piece of cow horn in the hope of being able to flatten it and after two hours it still refused to bend even a bit. i then took my eye of the ball and let the small pan boil dry and the stink was nasty! So does anyone have a piece of blackish horn 7cm by 4 cm by say a cm thick ( or thicker) to trade or sell? Its for a plate/cross guard on the Frankish longseax I'm finishing. Please drop me a PM if you do.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

I'd been given a scrap of 3mm leather that had been badly stored for about 15 years and was stiff and stained with all sorts. A drop a strip in boiling water test indicated it was either chrome leather or the fats had long gone from veg tan, the former I have to assume. Anyroad I thought I'd make a practice sheath for the 4.5" seax so I would vaguely know what I was doing when I got some decent veg tan. I'm glad I did as I made a pigs ear of almost every aspect of it. I think I've learnt a lot, especially that I need to do more reading.

And why the knifes next to the sheath, well it don't currently fit. I'm hoping several more coats of neetsfoot applied to the inside of the handle part will soften it enough to let the wood slide in easily, currently you need a hammer.

Since its just a test piece and all the stains and black splodges wouldn't sand or scrape off I decided to see how good a leather stain the oak gall ink is. I must point out that oak gall/iron dyes are not good for leather, given long enough it will even eat through paper but it was certainly used back in the day. To be honest I'm rather pleased how well it goes on, it's absorbed into the surface and hardly any buffs off. I applied home made polish to the outside and neetsfoot to the inside in the vague hope the leather will stop behaving like cardboard.

 

[tombear]

Problem solved. The neetfoot oil has revived the leather somewhat and I had a lump hammer with just the right handle to stretch the handle pocket to just the size I wanted it. Ill keep it on tha hammer for a few days just so it dries out right and I don't have to cut it off the knife.