[Nick Trueman]

It seems they are belong to the baltic region. When found in russia, they are called norse, or viking knives.
In sweden it is norm to stress their eastern origin.
The type might be traceable to eastern cultures, but the making was most certainly local, as the decorations and construction method is exactly the same as the smaller utility knives knives often found in women´s graves.


Hi Pete

I agree, they seem to draw some elements from eastern/steppe peoples. Especially the suspension of the sheath.
Also and you would know this too as would many, allot of nomadic highly decorated belts are found in Sweden and other Baltic regions.

There certainly is a link.

Cheers

PS- Great pic of a original!!!

Nick

[Philip C. Ryan]

Well, from my personal experience, the size of the seax dictates where/how it is carried. Small eating/utility knives seem to work best hung vertically wherever they fit comfortably. My seax I use as a back up weapon is appx. 17 inches tip to tip, and I find it best to wear it horizontally (handle end slightly higher than point end) across my front side, handle to the right. However, others in my group wear this size blade, and larger langseaxes horizontally across their back. The smaller back up blades have the handle again pointing to the right, but the larger combat langseaxes can be handle to right or left (depending on which hand you use it in). yet others wear the larger langseaxes suspended on the left hip (right hand draw) either vertically or angled (same as a sword would be hung for both methods).

The reason I give my ways, and that of others in my group, is that for many years we have tried numerous ways, and these tend to work best....comfort, accessability, utility. Warriors in the Viking Age were not of strict military discipline as todays armies, so they would have worn their gear whatever way worked best for them, in our opinions.

Here is a pic of how my seax hangs (sorry if pic is too large, still trying to figure out how to get the size right). It never gets in my way, and follows my hip movements perfectly.

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Hi Phillip,

That looks pretty nice- I like your method.

Jeremy

[Ville Vinje]

Hi guys!

As already indicated there is a problem talking about "seaxes" since the term could fit knives of very different looks. When most guys here talk about seaxes they generally refer to the anglo saxon brokenback model (like Chads) or the eastern weapon-knife model (like the ones in Peters posts). Current archeology suggests that these two knives were not carried the same way. There are finds suggesting that the eastern knives, with two or three rings, were fitted to a new set of rings to form a pyramid shape. While this can seem impractical finds suggests that these high status knives were carried in this way. The rings were supported by bronze or brass spirals. This kind of knives are also common in Finland.

Below are a picture of a find from Latvia that shows the pyramid form and my reconstruction of belt and bronze spiral carrying system:







The weapon knife is made by Robert Lazinski.

/Ville

[Chad Arnow]

Ville,
Good point. I guess my question should have been: How do you wear an English style broken back sax of Honey Lane form in the 10th and 11th centuries?

[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]

[Peter Johnsson]

[Elling Polden]

One good reason to wear the knife with the handle to the right is that you can draw it without reaching across your body. If you are beeing attacked, there is a real chance that your opponent is so close to you that you can not draw your weapon from the left hip.

(of cource, there might be some seaxual deviants who have other preferences)

Edit: Bad pun added

[Nick Trueman]

[Michael Pikula]

So is it a safe statement to say a large seax/war knife would have a scabbard made using leather, with no wood core, and worn using a suspension system close to one that would be used for a sword? My understanding is that a large seax/war knife would be used/worn in place of a sword, so on the left hip, either hanging down vertically or in most cases at a slight angle. Also if worn in this fashion which direction would the edge be facing?

Edit: I was thinking about the parallel between the large seax and the single edged viking sword, so with that reference it should make sense to have the edge facing down/forward... But since the seax was usually the simple/cheaper option verses the sword, would having the scabbard use only leather and no wood be appropriate in this line of thinking?

[Marc Blaydoe]

As far as I have been able to determine, seaxes were generally worn edge up, and I find it rather frustrating that scabbards for most modern "production" seaxes seem to always have the edge down.

[Michael Pikula]

[Elling Polden]

A sword lenght seax would for intent and purposes be a sword, and be carried like one. However, the single edged swords mentioned by Gebig and Pettersen are just that; swords. They have fullered blades and rounded tips, like their double edged bretheren. Some of them where also quite long (Pettersen mentiones a 90 cm specimen)

[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]

[Michael Pikula]

Thanks for the feedback Jeroen, I am going to have to spend some time looking up the difference between a long seax, broad seax, and all the others/names that they are called and all the characteristics that separate each one. I wish I had years of research behind my belt so I could attempt to put together a classification system for the seax.

[Jeroen Zuiderwijk]