Help requested!

What is this for a knife? Time and nature are unknown to me. Has someone an idea?

Unfortunately missing the pommel.

Thank you and many greetings to all interested!


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Sorry for bad english!

It looks like a small seax but for the period im not enough documented...

Hello,
It looks like a small broken-back seax from c. 800-1100. You said it is missing its pommel, though I doubt it ever had one. From the picture it appears to be a wittle tang knife which means the grip of wood/antler/bone was glued directly onto the tang. The "guard" though unusual is not unheard of (see picture below).
The difficulty in dating a knife like this is that this shape appears frequently throughout history, I have seen Roman knives in this shape to modern American Bowie knives, so without seeing the piece in person take what I have said as an educated guess.
Do you have any measurements (width, length, thickness at spine, etc.) as these would help, also a few more pictures from a few other angles.
Best,
Hadrian

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Viking era knife

Hello Etienne and Hadrian,

thank you for postings.

Total length is 22 cm (8,661 inch), length of blade is 12 cm (4,7 inch). Hope the inches are correct determined.


First I also thought it could be small seax. But is there a similar small seax with that form of blade-catcher? I am not sure.

The second idea I have: it is a modern knive, 20.th century.

Or may be a an older one, a special kind of knive for peasants…

greetings

With a blade length of 4.7 inches, and if the shape of the point has remained true to form, it could be a pen knife similar to those found in "Knives and Scabbards"

Hello R.D.

thank you for answer. I do not know that book. Time to chance :) ! Becauce im really interested in medieval daggers and knives.

Can you explain what a pen knive is?

greetings

Pen knives are for sharpening quills (feathers) for writing with, but I would say that is far too big for a penknife. I would say seax, but the guard is unusual for that, but judging by condition it is at miniumum a couple of hindred years old.

Tod

Hi sabine.
I agree it is a sax but would point out that the sax style was made for a lot longer than most people think there is a sax style blade in the museum of London dating to the mid to late 1400s. The original bowie design was sax in fact the bowie is simply a modification of the sax design the style is still used in Iceland as a fisher mans knife. I suspect your blade could be middle ages onwards the guard makes it unlikely to be viking Saxon..

yours Bob palmer.

As always, more information can help is narrow the scope. For example: Where was it found, and under what circumstances? Does it have a context? Northern Europe, Central Europe or something else?

To me, unless it has a good reason for being medieaval or earlier (such as being found at an archaeological site, or acquired from a collection) it is most likely not. My best guess would be an "early modern" utility knife say 19th/early 20th century.