[Leo Todeschini]

Hi Guys,

Jeremy Krause has asked me to post these pictures of of a new Seax that I made for him, that as of tomorrow will be somewhere between the UK and Boston.

The blade is about 12" long wrought iron with a laminated steel edge with silver and copper inlay along its length and along the spine. The blade is about 1/4" thick going on a straight taper to the edge. The handle is in box wood with copper inlay pins and tha scabbard is in brown vegtan leather with brass edging and design based on a scabbard found at Aarchen

So here it is

I hope you like it

Tod

[J. Pav]

That is, without a doubt, the best looking seax I have ever laid my eyes upon...

I don't have a diverse enough vocabulary to communicate how amazing your work is.

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Thanks Tod- for posting these great pictures!

I am so excited to see this project come to completion. I began discusing this project on another post titled "Hard fact reccommendations for a seax."

The ammount of work that Tod must have put into this is amazing and my price was very fair given that work.

So this is my FIRST high quality non-sword item, and may prove to be the crown of my collection,
Jeremy

[Leo Todeschini]

Hi,

Thanks for giving the opportunity Jeremy, being challenged is the only way to get better.

I did forget to say that the bare blade was made by my friend Owen Bush who also made this blade on a seax I finished recently.

[Felix R.]

The more I see of your nice work, it is more and more difficult to wait for my Baselard dagger.

[Tim Lison]

Absolutely gorgeous! I'm a big fan of seaxes. I think it's great to see such a high end repro. I love the inlay. Stunning. Just stunning. Not to hijack the thread, but can we get another ppicture of the other seax?

[Allen Andrews]

I really like the seax, and the scabbard is AMAZING. Well done indeed

[Leo Todeschini]

Here is another picture of the other seax that shows the whole knife better

Tod

[Mike Capanelli]

I'm going to have to stop beating around the bush and order a seax from you already. So how much did these run if I may ask?

[Victor R.]

To use a Southern colloquialism - that is one sexy pig-sticker! (No disrespect intended). Makes me want to re-think the era of my collecting. Beautiful work from a master artisan!

[Jean Thibodeau]

Jeremy's seax and the other one are both extremely attractive and look as if someone has a time machine to go back in time and trade plastic beads for original seaxs.

Great knives and great art.

[Leo Todeschini]

Well thank you very much for your nice comments, they are appreciated.

The seax with the pattern welded blade was $1100 and I will let Jeremy answer about his if he chooses too.

Tod

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Thanks everyone,

My aim with this project was to capture not only the form of the broken back seax- as many fine artisans have done, but to also attempt to capture the highly decorative nature found on some surviving pieces. I will go more into this when I receive the seax.

I would reccommend that anyone interested in obtaining a quote from Tod to contact him directly as there are so many variables- plus I am a little conserned I may have gotten a deal that was great for me but may have been arthritis inducing for Tod!

On a side note- I am even thinking of breaking my cardinal rule of NEVER naming a piece in my collection. I mean this thing has "Leutfrit" plastered on the side already. Hasn't it (or Tod) already given it a name?

Jeremy

[Owen Bush]

Those are looking great .
from a smiths point of view it is very satisfying to send someone a good blade and se them turn it into a great knife .
working with these materials (wrought iron ,piled steel,leather wood and bone) and with some skill is a journy back in time for sure

[Hugo Voisine]

The best work of inlay I've ever seen on a modern-made saex, that's for sure.

Tod, I like your rondels and ballock daggers, but this one (the first one posted in this thread) is definitely my favorite.

[G Ezell]

Yup, that's without a doubt a seax, and a fine one at that. It's good to see one done right. Well conceived and well done!

[Brandon Minton]

Arrghh!! Now that's man's work right there. I've never been into the big-knife as the seax seems to be, but after seeing that piece makes me want to grab my massive mead horn, throw on my Normanita helm and make a song for it...
Badass if no one minds my saying.

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Hello Everyone,

So about two weeks ago I received a very special delivery from England via Royal Mail Service (how appropriate for such an item as this fine Anglo-Saxon broken back seax!)
The packaing was secure and entirely protective of its' precious contents.

First the Sheath: The pics above show, better than I could, much of the detail on this very handsome sheath. What comes across in person. and is perhaps missing from mere photographs. is the 3 dimensional facet of this beautiful design. I was and am impressed in that different components of the sheaths’ decoration have been applied using different tools and techniques. This kind of attention to detail results in an overall piece that gives an authentic and historical impression. Some of the parts of the decoration (like the series of vertical lines extending along some the length) have deeply carved and sharply defined edges, while other elements like the zoomorphic figures in the design have a softer and more rounded edging. I am very pleased with the extra attention that I requested from Tod, and which I received regarding the decoration of this sheath. The brass lining at the top of the sheath has a nice amount of detail which plays well with the sheath decoration and the piece overall.
The brass rings used for suspending the scabbard are substantial and well done although they do not move completely freely back and forth due to friction with the connecting knot designs that hod them. I hope that with time and usage some of the metal will be worn away on the connective knots so that the rings will swing freely The color of the leather is a brownish red which Tod calls chestnut. This works quite well as a complement to the spalted box wood and the copper inlay in the grip and the blade. The leather is extremely thick and sturdy. Fortunately Tod has taken the step in burning the top end of the sheath to eliminate that unsightly fuzzy stuff often seen on unfinished leather edges. The fit of the blade is secure and perhaps a bit tighter than a typical sword scabbard. I imagine this is due in that seaxes like this were carried horizontally and not diagonally down or vertically as swords are hung.

Second the Grip: The spalted box wood used in this grip is especially striking. The fungus that had begun to turn the tree has created irregular blackish stains running through the wood that really set this grip apart from just plain box wood. I was surprised and pleased to note the inlayed copper pins in the grip which look really cool and complement the copper inlay in the blade. Tod used linseed oil to seal the grip in a subtle very low gloss finish. The grip to this knife is both beautiful and very individual.

And the blade: The blade is really something. The grain in the wrought iron is very interesting to look at, and the transition to the more shiny steel edge is well defined and attractive. The inlay on the blade and the spine is well done and, for me, is the heart and real attraction to this particular piece. The effect in sunlight of the bright blade and the copper and silver inlay, along with the bright steel edge, is truly impressive and gives this piece such a special air about it. The cross section of the blade is a very strong triangle. The tip is almost needle like but due to it's shape should have enough beef to give a sound structure.

Fit and Finish: This seax combines an intricate and expansive design and execution with a handmade and historical feel. Many surfaces on the piece are not %100 flat and even and all lines are not %100 straight and exact but that is not the kind of knife I was going for.a I am so happy to have this new toy.

Handling: This is a very handy weapon with a bit of a point forward feel that must come from the gradually widening blade. It invites hard and fast strikes that rely on the weight of the heaviest section of the blade in a hewing fashion. This seax feels great using the handshake grip and less so- using the hammer grip. Admittedly, I am more of a collector than a practitioner so I cannot really speak in more detail about the finer points of how the knife feels in various uses because, frankly, I do not know entirely know how the seax was used. For instance, I do not know if a seax such as this would have been ever reversed in the hand and used in a stabbing motion.

I would recommend that anyone wanting a truly authentic seax using authentic materials and methods to contact Tod. He was prompt and patient with my questions and comments throughout the six-month process on planning to delivery. I will certainly be contacting Tod in the future to provide me with more very special progects.
It is my hope that the US economy can pick up to address the current poor exchange rate between the US Dollar and the British Pound thus making tods’ prices even more attractive!

Thanks for those who took the time to read my post !
Any comments of this review or thoughts/questions about my new seax are more than welcome.

Jeremy

[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]

Now that's a sax! Just the only comment I have on it is that I would have used a longer hilt. Other then that, it's excellent. Congrats!

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Thanks Jeroen,

That coming from you is a real compliment! I really leke this seax and I think I may want more in the future! Tod has done such a great job with this knife. Next I may do an all silver inlay or something maybe very small (as in blade size not in complexity of execution.)

I may or may not use this to cut mats with- I'm not sure.

The brass on the sheath looks much better even after just a little patination.