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Michael Pikula
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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 8:27 am    Post subject: Pikula Project Progress, "Little Seax"         Reply with quote

Because the world would be a better place if everyone had a little seax!

Well, I might not be able to make enough for the whole world, but 100 of them is a decent start. Each seax has a blade length under 3 inches, is handmade by me with only the heat treat being outsourced to a commercial heat treat company for 50-60 rockwell. They will be finished and ready for purchase by the end of November, and $140 will put them at your door step, shipped within the continental US, with a leather sheath featuring bronze hardware.

Stay tuned for more updates!



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Russ Ellis
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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 8:48 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Now that's a very neat idea! I'm looking forward to seeing what these look like when they are finished. One quibble, I'm not in love with the script on the top of the blade, preferring my stuff to look a little more in period. I suppose I can grind that off myself, or turn it into filework or something. Will there be some with and some without? Just a thought, and feel free to completely disregard.
TRITONWORKS Custom Scabbards
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Kai Lawson





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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 10:41 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'm in. I love these things.
"And they crossed swords."
--William Goldman, alias S. Morgenstern
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Jean Thibodeau




PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 10:51 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Put me down/reserve me for one and get back to me with details about shipping and all that in e-mail. ( Or I will contact you when this project gets closer to completion ).

Great idea, and if it works business wise, other semi-production runs of these or other ideas would be very interesting.

Looks like it's going to be a great little utility knife and really really " neat ". Big Grin Cool

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Ken Speed





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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 12:44 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

OK, Who can resist a resist a little seax once in a while? Please add me to the list of purchasers and send me the required details.

I'm very curious to see the grip and sheathe.

I like the pun on the back of the blade but I can understand that someone who's a reenactor might look at things differently.

I agree with Jean that this is a great idea and that these look like handy little knives. I hope the heat treatment is closer to the 60 end of the range so they'll hold a keen edge.

Ken Speed
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William M




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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 1:37 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Fantastic, these are really nice and I love the idea. I am also not so keen on the script on the blade as I too prefer things to be more historical.

I will probably get one anyways Happy
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Jean Thibodeau




PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 3:20 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ken Speed wrote:
I hope the heat treatment is closer to the 60 end of the range so they'll hold a keen edge.

Ken Speed


I agree with a very short blade there isn't as much of a concern about shock resistance and a hard edge can hold it's sharpness better: Maybe something between 56/58 r.c. to 60 r.c. would be aimed for.

Very handy little knife good for all sorts of things.

Some could be done without the markings and with a handle treatment that would work for a reenactor and some could be modern interpretations using either natural materials or even synthetics ?

For me the markings are fine and either some very nicely figured wood ( Osage Orange maybe, cocobolo, macassar ebony, purpleheart, boxwood etc .... ) or horn ???

Anyway, I'm sure you already have some ideas, and to keep the price down, may have to make most the same way, but variants might be interesting if it doesn't increase production time or materials costs: So just enthusiastic suggestions. Big Grin Cool

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Tim Lison




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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 8:04 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I would buy one without script for sure. With the script...probably not. Cool little blades!
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Jeremy V. Krause




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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 9:17 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

These really do look like cool little items but I also am not bit on the script.
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Colt Reeves





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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 9:32 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hmmmm... Curious, how thick are they? Also, what would you charge if I wanted only the blade and nothing else?

Here's what I have in mind: I have been considering knife abuse, with activities like cutting open cans. Now I have small thin blades and I have long thick blades. The small ones might snap if you were to do such a thing with them, while the long ones are awkward and potentially hazardous to use for such a thing. Thus, I've been looking for a short but thick blade. Not that I intend to abuse it thusly, but in order to have something that I know could handle it. But of course, this means I'm not looking to spend a lot of money on a knife I may abuse...

"Tears are for the craven, prayers are for the clown.
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As my loss is grievous, so my hope is small.
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Ken Speed





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PostPosted: Wed 24 Oct, 2012 10:13 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I suspect that these blades are completed except for some final polishing and sharpening but if these were to become a regular item it might be a good idea to make either an unstamped version or one stamped in runes rather than in English. I think a blade with a runic inscription might be acceptable to reenactors.

I can't really get a handle on the thickness of the blade from the photos but I suspect that the knives may be a bit too heavy for a neck knife although they look like a knife that would fill a similar role. Largely, it's their utilitarian nature that appeals to me.

I expect a wooden handle but I'd be surprised if the handle were anything more exotic than curly maple or perhaps walnut.
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Michael Pikula
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PostPosted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 7:03 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thank you for all the responses! All of the blades are stamped with the script, so this batch will all have "little seax" stamped into the spine. If this batch sells then I'll reconsider stamping all the blades in the next batch.

I suppose I can include some context to the project as well. I wanted to create a knife that can be used as an everyday carry knife, hence the blade under 3 inches, and many of the designs that I see now days are simply too modern or tacky. This was an attempt to find a balance between something that would appeal to the historical enthusiast as well as the modern knife collector. The seax was a tool, a symbol of being a free man. In todays society carrying a knife is not aways viewed in such an open and accepting way. With a this project I am trying to offer a knife that can start a conversation in a light hearted way, on top of being a functional tool. If someone if drawn back, or set off by the presence of this tool you can say "clearly you haven't had a little seax" show the stamp, and start a conversation not only about how this isn't a weapon, it is a cutting tool, the connection to history, as well as practical applications.

I hope that this idea will develop and continue to become clearer as the elements come together, especially with the sheath.

Colt, these are not made with the intent of abuse, these will have virtually no secondary bevel, giving them a very keen cutting edge. These are made with slicing in mind, aka administer pressure to edge in direction of spine. I will only be setting these as a complete set of mounted blade with a sheath.

The handles will be made of Walnut, they will be undecorated, however I fully expect that someone will take the time to do some carving or decorating on the handle at their own leisure.

With trying too keep a production mindset, there will be as little variation in these as possible, and no customization on my part.
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Daniel Wallace




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PostPosted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 8:45 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Michael Pikula wrote:
With a this project I am trying to offer a knife that can start a conversation in a light hearted way, on top of being a functional tool. If someone if drawn back, or set off by the presence of this tool you can say "clearly you haven't had a little seax" show the stamp, and start a conversation not only about how this isn't a weapon, it is a cutting tool, the connection to history, as well as practical applications.



i really like this idea Micheal. Happy
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Marc Blaydoe




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PostPosted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 10:10 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

As someone who is never without a knife (except when flying commercially Sad ), I love this idea and I am totally interested in getting one just because.

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Sam Barris




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PostPosted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 7:02 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Michael Pikula wrote:
I wanted to create a knife that can be used as an everyday carry knife...

That's exactly the impression I got when I saw them, and exactly how I intend to use mine. I agree that, in future iterations, having "little seax" spelled out in runes would be a neat period-appropriate inside joke, but since I don't plan to use mine with a costume, I'm not bothered by the modern script. Happy

Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
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Jean Thibodeau




PostPosted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 7:57 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sam Barris wrote:
Michael Pikula wrote:
I wanted to create a knife that can be used as an everyday carry knife...

That's exactly the impression I got when I saw them, and exactly how I intend to use mine. I agree that, in future iterations, having "little seax" spelled out in runes would be a neat period-appropriate inside joke, but since I don't plan to use mine with a costume, I'm not bothered by the modern script. Happy


A good reason to buy one for general ( MODERN ) use and maybe buy one from another production run without markings or with period runes.

I certainly look forward to getting mine. Big Grin Cool

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Sam Barris




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PostPosted: Thu 25 Oct, 2012 10:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Jean Thibodeau wrote:
A good reason to buy one for general ( MODERN ) use and maybe buy one from another production run without markings or with period runes.

Exactly! I mean, it isn't as if you can have too much seax in your life! Wink

Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
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Derek Wassom




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PostPosted: Fri 26 Oct, 2012 12:14 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Count me in for one!
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Derek Wassom
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William M




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PostPosted: Fri 26 Oct, 2012 12:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hahaha, my girlfriend is going to be annoyed when I mention i'm getting a little seax from America.

Ohhh I can't wait for these little knifes to be available! Too bad they are not legal to carry in the UK but I will still use it for BBQ events and the like. That and I don't mind the "little seax" blade stamp anymore as like Michael said, it makes it more of an everyday tool than a weapon and thus more acceptable to the general observer.

This looks to be the inspiration of Michaels seax

From: http://pinterest.com/pin/83316661827431160/
"Saxon (AD 450 - 1066) Iron knife with inlaid silver decoration: c. 1000 Description: Iron knife with inlaid silver decoration on both sides. The decoration consists of twisted silver and copper wires hammered into the blade it has also a silver plate with lettering. On one side it reads: "OSMHND", which was probably the owner's name - Osmund."
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Michael Pikula
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PostPosted: Fri 26 Oct, 2012 10:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Back when I first came up with the idea for the "little seax" the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "I bet I can sell 100 little seax for $100 each." Since then I realized that a sheath was needed to complete the concept of a knife that can be carried and used daily, and I wanted to include shipping.

But this leaves a very important question, what about the bet?

The attached image is of a seax that I am working on, and it will become the prize seax. Should the batch of 100 sell out within two months of being completed, each person will have their name entered into a drawing, and one lucky patron will be selected to receive this seax, completed, with a sheath, for free. This is my way of saying thank you and giving back to community that supports me and my work.

Speaking of work, time to get back to it!



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