[JE Sarge]

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!

[Eric W. Norenberg]

[Wes B.]

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.

[Aaron Hoard]

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

[Mark Moore]

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

[Jeremy V. Krause]

[JE Sarge]

[Mark Moore]

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

[Mark Moore]

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

[J. Hargis]

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

Jon

[JE Sarge]

[P Ullrich]

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

[Mark Moore]

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

[Scott Roush]

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...

[JE Sarge]

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.

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...

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.

[Mark Moore]

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

[Daniel Wallace]

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.

[Isaac H.]

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?

[Wes B.]