Seax

[frankdoc]

Hello All,
This is my first post to these forums.
My name is Frank and I am a knife designer and have always been interested in bushcraft and history, I have designed a knife based on the Anglo Saxon Seax.
I would very much like to show you a new Knife design I have come up with, it is an age old Anglo Saxon design but I have re-designed the format and added
some necessary changes to the knife.

Knife Description:
13 inches OAL
8 inch BL
5 inch Handle

It is sharp from Hilt to nose
It has a good piercing point
Saw back that works
Match striker/ or hammer
Screws in handle for quick change if needed
Brass Guard
Crusher

But if you look at the knife you can see that it is of the most robust construction, it has a full tang
and is guaranteed to give years of work without any worry about how the knife will stand up.
As you can see the prototype has been hand forged and is extremely tough.

Sincerely,
Frank Docherty (MCHC)

 

[Seoras]

Hi Frank

Thanks for sharing details of this knife.

I do like the Seax style of knife.

I have edited out some of your text as I read it as commercial.

Please contact me by PM and I will let you know the membership options open to you as a Maker.

George

 

[Dreadhead]

welcome to the forum

I love the original seax design which has been unchanged for centuries, and for good reason i think. Your knife seems a combination of seax and survival tool. I can see you have put a lot of thought and effort into the extra features which are good for a survival tool, but perhaps too much for a simple knife. I would have a simple seax anyday, but that is just my opinion. good luck with your knife, and would like to see a video review of how it performs as it may very well change my mind

 

[boatman]

Horrible saw back on that knife, never seen one on a seax.

 

[Dave Budd]

the only similarity that knife shares with a seax is the shape of the tip and the cutting edge (and even then,they aren't true to the originals).

That said, every knife if a unique creation (except woody clones which are all, well clones). Not a knife I would go for myself but as long as it fulfills its intended function then it is a good knife

 

[Tristar777]

Not for me, thanks.

 

[Goatboy]

Hi Frankdoc,

Welcome to the forum, I like the seax shape of knives and think yours looks beautifully made and finished. Though like the others I would lose the saw - they are always too short and get in the way ending up more of a hindrance than a benefit. (That's my opinion anyway). Like it though and good luck with it.

ATB,

GB.

 

[Perrari]

Nice & interesting looking knife, but again a thumbs down for the saw.

 

[Chris the Cat]

I do like a Seax.
I have a nice Walnut handled hand forged Dave Budd one
It get alot of attention.

Thanks for posting Frank.

best.

C.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Hi Frank, Welcome to the forum. Thats a nice looking knife, but like others I would lose the saw.

 

[frankdoc]

Thanks to everyone for their replies, and thanks for all the advice.

All I can say is that the knife is based on a Broken back style of Seax, and I am adding a companion knife that will be used as a skinner etc. I have added the url of an article I wrote about the Broken back style of Seax and later on this year I will be bringing out a book on the Anglo Saxon Broken Back Seax.

http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_seax.html

 

[Tat2trev]

nice effort bud .
loose the saw and line up the scale screwslots better looking if they are inline .

 

[boatman]

Nice article but the hafting could have been of deer antler with the tang jammed into the core. My own sharp sax has been hafted like this for over five years and survives even being thrown without loosening.

 

[Everything Mac]

Frankly words fail me. That thing is hideous.

You have talent in the making that is clear. I'd suggest going over to the British blades forum, you will find the information and advice there very helpful.

Andy

 

[frankdoc]

Hello,
I am a long time member of the British Blades forums and already have posted it there, It seemed to go down well. Hideous is not a word I would use but everybody has their own opinion of this knife. I realise that is something different from the norm but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. This knife does what it says on the box, I understand that some people wont like it, but some will, and it will serve them right for many years.

 

[spandit]

I think there are kinder ways of saying you don't like it!

I, for one, don't like it and I'm astonished you kept all your fingers intact in the video! The saw doesn't seem very effective and hitting it with a mallet wouldn't help whilst batoning. It also looks like a sharpen wouldn't go amiss - those shavings looked awkward to produce (and being unable to grip the back of the blade due to the saw lessens the usability)

It's obviously sturdy and nicely finished but not my kind of thing. I'm sure there are many more who will like it, though (and it's better than anything I've produced so far!)

I look forward to the Mk. II version

 

[frankdoc]

I do agree that it looks nothing like the knives that are made for bush crafters or survivalists today. But that doesn't make it bad at its job.
I have used this knife myself while at camp and I found it excelled at some jobs, but at others it wasn't so good such as for skinning. But
I am adding a partner knife that will take care of the jobs like skinning.

 

[Everything Mac]

Hello,
I am a long time member of the British Blades forums and already have posted it there, It seemed to go down well. Hideous is not a word I would use but everybody has their own opinion of this knife. I realise that is something different from the norm but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. This knife does what it says on the box, I understand that some people wont like it, but some will, and it will serve them right for many years.

I suggest you post this over on the jerzeedevil forum. If you want a fair and completely honest opinion of the blade you will get it there. This side of the pond we have a habit of being a little too restrained at times.

Hideous is not the word I'd use to describe myself after a few to many pints but nevertheless it is the truth. The blade is hideous.
The saw is completely out of place, it has no business being on a seax at all. As for its positioning on the blade itself it seems to me it is too far forward, almost in the position you would want to hit for battoning no?
The brass ferrule is also out of place. It looks to me like a pre-made one for a Bowie style blade. In which case it also appears to be on backwards....

Perhaps you'd care to post a picture looking down through the spine so we can see the fit and finish of the wood? I actually think this is the best part of the whole monstrosity, and as I said you clearly are capable of making a nice knife.

Tell me, how much of the blade was forged?

Your grind is not bad at all, what method are you using? It is a tad shaky towards the choil.

I think if you turned your attention to a more traditional style drop point blade, something like the bark river sts4 and made a blade similar to that, you would produce a nice, useable and ultimately saleable knife.


I'm trying to be cruel to be kind. You will find I am very much a function over form kind of guy. But I have my limits.

Regards
Andy

 

[crosslandkelly]

Who are you aiming this knife toward, as an everyday bushy type knife, it fails to win me over. You have a skull crusher and armour piercing point, which lends
itself to a fighting knife, so this would be the wrong forum to expect people to like it. As a fantasy knife or an experiment in knife making, it looks nice Imho.

 

[Everything Mac]

Look at his earlier work on BB. The guy has talent that much is clear.