Greetings from the Crusader Monk shoppe. I've been wanting a nice stout langseax for sometime. A couple months ago, I spoke with fellow forumite and bladesmith, Wes Beem about creating me a large seax blade with a nice long tang. The blade arrived in good time and in good order last week. Over the rainy weekend, I was unable to get any sanding done in the shoppe, so I was able to complete this monster.

I named her, Dauðrnagl, which means Death Nail. I wanted my seax to be significantly different than most others out there, so it is an integration of both historical and fantasy design elements into my own personally-appealing design. I was thinking along the line of 13th Warrior meets LoTR Dwarves meets historical Vikings for the look.

A few weeks back, I ground the furniture out of mild steel on a wheel grinder and had my machinist cut the blade slot in the guard and tang hole in the pommel. I cleaned these up somewhat, then intentionally beat them up to give them a good antique look. I then heat-blued them and drew the finish back to a dull satin one, leaving the bluing within the pits and scratches on the pommel.

When the blade came, it still had the fire scale on it; which I had requested. It was a little too uniform, so I cleaned off the scale and chemically aged the piece to a nice deep grey color. I then cleaned up the edge and gave the bevel an even satin finish. Using a file, I notched the blade three times on the rear of the spine for aesthetics.

I fitted the pommel and guard (which amazingly fit nearly perfectly - I had cut the slots prior to the blades arrival). I wedged the guard into place then hot-peened the tang though the pommel for a solid fit. I did the grip scales and wrap the next day.

The original grip was rather austere, so I tore it off and re-did it with the same riser scheme I use on many of the Viking swords coming though my shoppe. I am quite happy with the overall look of the piece. It looks like something that could be found in the hands of a dwarf in the depths of Moria, at the side of Buliwyf has he fought off the Eaters of the Dead, or resting in the grave of a Viking warrior in the 9th century. It has been made to appear exactly what it is, an austere killing implement that looks as if it has a spirit of malice about it.

In the hand, it's quite versatile. It has enough presence and weight to be used like a short sword, yet remains nimble enough to be used as a large dagger or in conjunction with a hand axe in the off-hand. It's a vicious, no nonsense blade that would do it's job in either the fantasy or historical realms very efficiently. It's a brutal weapon, something made to fullfil it's one purpose without being pretty, ornate, or adorned.

I am thinking creatively on the scabbard for this one, but I can tell you now, it will be just as unique as this piece is. I will update when I get it completed. :)

Stats:

OAL: 29.50"
Blade Length: 22.25"
Grip Length: 6.50"
Weight: 2lbs, 3oz
PoB: ~3.5"

I hope you guys like it! :)

Glad you like it Sarge, this one was really fun to make, even more fun to play with before i shipped it out, i slaughtered me a good sized water bottle army. No doubt this one would take a head in one swing.

I like that - it does have a certain LOTR feel to it.

That is THE BEST looking seax I have ever seen. Superb. Such a warrior look......I remain speechless from this point............McM

I don't know.........Just something about it that's.........me. Glad you appreciated the compliment.....and I meant it from the very soul. That is awesomeness unequaled in my book. Awesome............McM

And, yes, there are some truly beautiful examples out there.........but this one speaks volumes. I see it hanging from a chieftains belt, frost on the pommel.......ready to carve some deer meat.....then be stuck in a log next to the fire, ready for an enemy that might invade his sleep. Sorry for the bit of poetic liscence, but............it just speaks. My only question: How much?...................McM

Excellent work, Wes & Jonathan, can't wait to see the scabbard.

Jon

Really nice! Has a very menacing and strong look about it... all business.

I reeeeeally want to see that suspension rig! That sounds totally bad-a**!...........A seax-n-axe. Brutal! :D .....McM

Very cool... Nice feel. I have a picture showing that the type of bolster you have on this blade was sometimes wrapped around the blade and then welded or brazed. nice...

Got the scabbard done up. Went with a simple design, which I am going to be trying out. I always wanted to add an axe to a Viking blade on a baldric suspension. Historically accurate? Nope. Do I think it's an awesome way to carry this rig? Yep. :D

I kept it simple to give it a test run over the next few months. The basic scabbard with aged tan wrap was given three leather cuffs, each bearing a ring made from tooling leather. This holds the axe securely along the scabbard and keeps the haft from swinging around. A baldric suspension makes it easy on, easy off, and easy to move around in at events such as faires or conventions.

For the axe, I shortened the haft on a Paul Chen bearded axe by 6" so it matched up with the scabbard tip. I had originally planned on using an A&A Nordlund axe, but the bigger Paul Chen one has a more menacing fantasy appeal. Big seax, big axe. Also, it already has a leather edge cover which can be left on for events down the road. Keeps me from having to make one... :lol:

It works just as intended. I am surprised someone did not invent this 1,000 years ago. It just makes good sense, at least for my usage of the package. :lol:

That is too cool for words............When I get my Kris Cutlery seax, I will absolutely HAVE TO make a similar rig to go with my Cold Steel Norse hawk. Kick ass, Sarge! I knew it would be!................McM

that little kit certainly appeals to the hunter/woodsman in me. as you say it just seems very piratical to have this kind of set up.

I like it. Especially the hilt components and aged look. Perhaps I missed it in the description,but what kind of steel was used in the foging of the blade?