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G. Ghazarian
Industry Professional
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 Posted: Mon 08 Mar, 2010 4:14 pm Post subject: Seax after "The Knife of Charlemagne" |
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Here she is, and I must admit, I enjoyed every minute of making this elegant seax and wondering all along, how did these kinds of beautiful weapons fell out of use so early in history.....
Anyway, here are the specs :
Overall length :-------------------- 34 5/8 inches
Blade length :---------------------- 21 5/8
Handle length :-------------------- 13.0
Blade width at handle :--------- 1 1/4
Blade width at widest :---------- 2 3/4
Blade thickness at handle :--- 0.250
Center of gravity :---------------- 2 3/4 from handle
Blade steel :------------------------ 5160 spring steel
Weight :------------------------------ 2 lb 6,5 ounces
The handle is made of ebonized pearwood with fire oxidized brass metalworks.
Obviousely, this is a very beefed up version of The knife of Charlemagne, she behaves like a charm and handles just like a sword.
Your comments are welcomed.
Enjoy and thanks for looking.
Gabriel.
 Attachment: 31.56 KB
Attachment: 55.99 KB
G. Ghazarian
http://gloryships.com/
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Tony Brass
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| Posted: Mon 08 Mar, 2010 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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I often wonder how such great weapons fall into disuse. It would seem taht such a knife would be practical, and a formidable weapon for self-defense, and in battle.
The Falcata also fell into disuse, and I still wonder why we do not see a resurgence of that shape at falchions became popular.
I absolutley love the elegance of this weapon. Truly beautiful. Great work.
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Jeroen Zuiderwijk
Industry Professional
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M. Eversberg II
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G. Ghazarian
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 10 Mar, 2010 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for your comments gentlemen, they are very much appreciated
That's correct. That's the one.
Gabriel
G. Ghazarian
http://gloryships.com/
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Craig Johnson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 17 Mar, 2010 6:11 am Post subject: Very nice! |
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Gabriel
That is very nice. I really like the look and the dimensions are deceiving, when I saw the picture I imagined a smaller item then I noticed how large it was. It must be quite impressive in the hand.
Do we know how large the original is?
Great Job
Craig
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Jeroen Zuiderwijk
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 17 Mar, 2010 6:30 am Post subject: Re: Very nice! |
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| Craig Johnson wrote: | Gabriel
That is very nice. I really like the look and the dimensions are deceiving, when I saw the picture I imagined a smaller item then I noticed how large it was. It must be quite impressive in the hand.
Do we know how large the original is?
Great Job
Craig |
The original is 53cm (dimension included in the name of the picture file), not quite as large as this one, but still quite a beast. Gabriel's example is in the long sax size territory, although a bit wider then broken back style long saxes.
Jeroen Zuiderwijk
- Bronze age living history in the Netherlands
- Barbarian metalworking
- Museum photos
- Zip-file with information about saxes
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Craig Johnson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 17 Mar, 2010 6:56 am Post subject: Thank you Jeroen |
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Thank you Jeroen
That is a large piece. Thank you for the info I missed it in the pic text. Good way to add the info.
Thank you for sharing all the info on the saxes, its always been one of my favorite areas of study and you have contributed a great deal. Have you ever looked at the bird handled knives that have been found from this era?
Best
Craig
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Jeroen Zuiderwijk
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 17 Mar, 2010 7:32 am Post subject: Re: Thank you Jeroen |
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| Craig Johnson wrote: | Thank you Jeroen
That is a large piece. Thank you for the info I missed it in the pic text. Good way to add the info.
Thank you for sharing all the info on the saxes, its always been one of my favorite areas of study and you have contributed a great deal. Have you ever looked at the bird handled knives that have been found from this era? |
Yeah, I know several examples. Neither of them I'd consider saxes though. There's one very small knife (blade <10cm) from the Klingesmuseum in Solingen with a bone bird headed hilt. There's a straight backed large knife from the river Schelde at Belgium with a bird shaped hilt. This is described as being possibly a cut down blade (single edged sword?) and is not like any saxes I know. There's also a broad knife with a curved tip in the Klingesmuseum in Solingen with I believe a horse head or something, but again that's no sax either. There's no evidence that I know off that shows that saxes had such handles (the few scarce finds of hilts and contemporary images show simple straight hilts).
Jeroen Zuiderwijk
- Bronze age living history in the Netherlands
- Barbarian metalworking
- Museum photos
- Zip-file with information about saxes
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Craig Johnson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 17 Mar, 2010 7:42 am Post subject: Re: Thank you Jeroen |
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| Jeroen Zuiderwijk wrote: | | Craig Johnson wrote: | Thank you Jeroen
That is a large piece. Thank you for the info I missed it in the pic text. Good way to add the info.
Thank you for sharing all the info on the saxes, its always been one of my favorite areas of study and you have contributed a great deal. Have you ever looked at the bird handled knives that have been found from this era? |
Yeah, I know several examples. Neither of them I'd consider saxes though. There's one very small knife (blade <10cm) from the Klingesmuseum in Solingen with a bone bird headed hilt. There's a straight backed large knife from the river Schelde at Belgium with a bird shaped hilt. This is described as being possibly a cut down blade (single edged sword?) and is not like any saxes I know. There's also a broad knife with a curved tip in the Klingesmuseum in Solingen with I believe a horse head or something, but again that's no sax either. There's no evidence that I know off that shows that saxes had such handles (the few scarce finds of hilts and contemporary images show simple straight hilts). |
Hi Jeroen
Thanks for the info. I did not intend to imply the bird head grips where on saxes at all. Just thought you would have had some contact with the type and might know of some. There is not a great deal of research on these that I have been able to find. They also seem to have a more clip or curved cutting edge type of blades to them as you describe.
Thanks
Craig
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G. Ghazarian
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sat 27 Mar, 2010 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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Just completed the twin sister of the above seax with a Vera handle and fire oxidized bronze metalworks. She is 2 inches overall longer than her sister.
Why am I making two of the almost same ? Because I fell in love with this type of swords and I believe, in my opinion, they have a certain Elegance that has Class.
Enjoy
Thanks for looking.
Gabriel
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Attachment: 68.08 KB
G. Ghazarian
http://gloryships.com/
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Hugo Voisine
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| Posted: Sat 27 Mar, 2010 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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This last one has very interesting textures thanks to your choice of wood and the treatment you applied to the bronze parts. Fine work as usual. 
Regarding the first one: pardon my ignorance but how did you "ebonized" the wood? Was it blackened with fire or simply dyed black... ?
« Que dites-vous ?... C'est inutile ?... Je le sais !
Mais on ne se bat pas dans l'espoir du succès !
Oh ! non, c'est bien plus beau lorsque c'est inutile ! »
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Ken Speed
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| Posted: Sun 28 Mar, 2010 6:01 am Post subject: |
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Occasionally someone will post pictures of pieces they've made that transcend weapon status and become works of art. When that occurs I find I'm more likely to discuss the beauty and balance of the design than I am the apparent lethal qualities of the piece. These two pieces fall into the art category for me; I have to keep reminding myself that they're three feet long,. The proportions are so perfect that they could be swords, knives or letter openers and they would still be exquisite. Truly amazing when you think that they are recreations/ interpretations of weapons that have been out of use for a thousand years or so!
Congratulations!
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G. Ghazarian
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sun 28 Mar, 2010 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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Hugo, you are right, it is dyed black. You see, ebonizing wood simply means "to make it black" but in reality ebonizing means "to make it black to look like ebony. Any wood can be stained black but not all of them necessarily look like ebony just because they are black. Pearwood has the correct grain and texture to simulate ebony. A combination of chemical stain (a solution of steel dissolved in vinegar) followed by a dilute black stain gives pearwood the deep brown/black color of real african ebony.
Ken, thank you very much for your compliments.
G. Ghazarian
http://gloryships.com/
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This is a standard topic