[Carl W.]

This was the red, 7" blade seax in http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=16740 . I asked Michael if he would consider customizing the blade (not recommended), handle (yes), & make a sheath (yes). My carved grip idea required starting over, so he suggested adding pins, & a constellation theme. Sounded good, but have you ever tried to decide anything looking at star maps? He noticed the Big Dipper, Draco, & Hercules clustered together & translated them faithfully to the grip, using bronze pins for Draco (vs. silverish for others) to tell apart. Besides adding visual interest, pins feel secure. The blade is sturdy, but still the seax feels light & quick.

I wanted an all leather sheath. He suggested tooling Hercules & invented a nice suspension to get around my irrational veto of brass. I'm not a reenactor but he made it to also hang from belt on left side, with handle pointing right. His fancy top knot is stitched & glued down to keep it from slipping off (good since I can't retie that one :-). He said the sheath is double layer, but it is somehow also both thin & stiff. Fit is very snug - at least for now no way will it fall out.

This was my first (semi)custom project, & Michael was A-Ok to work with. Besides skills, he does research, puts thought into everything, & was extremely patient & fair with me.

[Tim Lison]

Wow! I really like the star pattern. What a cool idea. The seax looks great, and I know it's a quality piece as it was done by Michael Pikula! Enjoy your awesome seax.

[Scott Kowalski]

I agree with Tim. That is a great looking seax and MIchael's craftsmanship looks first rate. Congratulations on a great looking piece Carl!