[Jesse Frank]

Hey everybody,

I have a new seax up for sale. It is made from 150+ year old wrought iron with a three bar construction. The spine is two opposing twists, and the edge is a san mai style construction, with the high carbon center portion made from the same wrought iron, which I carburized, not from modern high carbon steel. This is a period method of construction, given a period style finish.

The handle is spalted ambrosia maple with a twisted silver wire ferrule, and th buttcap is elk antler, with my makers mark (my initials on either side of the trunk of the tree, Yggdrasil) scrimshawed into it. The handle is finished with linseed oil.




Price without sheath, $600.

I will start on a sheath for it today or tomorrow, unless there is interest for it without one.

Thanks for checking it out!
Jesse

[Jesse Frank]

Here is a better shot.

[J. Padgett]

Very cool. I'm poor right now, but I bookmarked your site fo future reference.

[Jesse Frank]

I'm glad you like it. Here is a closer shot of the pattern. It isn't terribly visible in the pics, but it really shows up in person. It looks like an antique

[Edward Hitchens]

Ummm, shouldn't this topic be in the Marketplace?

BTW, those are very nice pictures of a very nice seax!

[Alexi Goranov]

[Chad Arnow]

[Darwin Todd]

Hey Jesse,
That is a pretty sharp looking piece (no pun intended) . How do you find working the wrought iron? I have not tried working any myself yet but I have heard it feels different under the hammer from modern mild steel.

[Jesse Frank]

Thanks guys

The wrought iron works like butter, but it needs to be worked HOT. It's better to use a solid fuel forge instead of gas, but I just hooked up a bigger blower, so now it gets plenty hot

[Jesse Frank]

I changed the second pic up there with a better one if you a ll are interested.

[Edward Hitchens]

Sorry for the confusion, everyone. My bad!

I can't wait to see what the scabbard will look like with that seax. BTW, Jesse, what are its measurements?

[Jesse Frank]

No problem.

The blade is 9.5"
Handle is 4.5"

[Jesse Frank]

Now with sheath, price reduced to $500.

[Thomas Hoogendam]

[Daniel Parry]

Jesse,

Is the steel you used able to take a good edge ? And is the tang a full tang through to the pommel and well secured? If the answers are yes, then I'll take it at that price. I'll add shipping to the UK. My only caveat to you is that the only reason I ever buy knives is to use for cooking - a greater passion for me than fencing or antique swords, so your piece of craftsmanship will be, as i see it, a perfect implement for cutting pork belly and steak before entering the pot- do you mind? I'll be away in Belgium from tomorrow until Sunday for work but can probably pick up PMs here.

Regards

Daniel

[Jesse Frank]

Hi Daniel,

I just tested it for edge retention again, and it does hold a good edge. The test was to perform 50 3/8" deep cuts into some old 3/16" thick leather (not very supple. Quite abrasive as far as leather goes) with only the last 1" of the blade, and then have that portion still shave, and it passed just fine. Honestly, I couldn't tell a difference from how it was before I started.

I know you are quite knowledgeable, I'm *not* trying to insult your intelligence, but I do want to make sure that I make some things clear before you decide, so here are some things to know before using it for your intended purpose:

It will take a considerable amount of upkeep compared to your run of the mill stainless knife with a plastic handle. I've soaked it repeatedly with linseed oil, put quite a bit in it actually, but it won't hold up to a dishwasher. The spacer between the blade and handle is leather. Soaked in linseed oil, but it's still leather, so after washing it will need to dry thoroughly. We have a couple kitched knives that we use that have leather spacers, and have never had a problem, other than when I forget to dry them Also, since the wood is spalted, there are some pin holes in the wood that I could address that are fine for about anything other than dedicated food preparation.

Here is a diagram I just made showing the construction. Notice that the full width of the tang does enter the buttcap, only the very peened end has a smaller diameter of about 1/8".


Having said all that, I personally wouldn't hesitate to use it as a kitchen knife. The wrought iron should get a really nice patina to it. That would be really cool for you to use it like that, actually. The edge is fairly aggressive with slicing due to the stratification of the layers.

[Daniel Parry]

Hi Jesse

Thanks for the info and yes I'll take it. I have never been a fan of stainless steel knives for any purpose, and I fully understand the issues of leather and organic construction versus plastic. All my cooking knives are made of similar materials (wood, bone , leather & carbon steel) and I would never leave them to the whims of a dish-washer. So no worries on that front, all will be cared for in the proper fashion. My favourite cooking pans are old French cast iron ones - a lot of TLC but great heat distribution. All I need is stylish and a good edge.

Daniel

[Jesse Frank]

Awesome.


If you would like to PM or email me your info, I'll get right on it

[Daniel Parry]

Sent an email to your website address. However you want to work it payment-wise. Only thing is I'm in Belgium for work, then a friend's wedding in Paris for the next few days so if we don't conclude tonight , don't lose heart - sale's still on, just might take a couple of days to get back to you.

regards

Daniel

[Jesse Frank]

Great.

Thanks again, Daniel. I'll mark it as sold.

Jesse