I'm considering buying this piece from Viking-shields.com, does anyone have any information on it? I don't know about Deepeeka's quality, but I like the look of this sax. Has anyone handled it?

Hi Shelby,

I am familliar with the Deepka Seax to which you refer. In my opinion, they are not worth owning unless you just want something to hang on the wall. Their heat treatment is poor (and in some cases almost non-existent) so the blades will not even hold a decent working edge. Their overall fit and finish is also quite crude. As with all things in life, you get what you pay for. I classify these repros as "junk blades".

There are a few other manufacturers who produce comercial seax reproductions that are better choices at a similar or slightly higher cost. For example, you might consider ther Paul Chen (Hanwei) Seax -- while by no means perfect, I have handled one of these, and they are fair value for the money spent -- particularly the latest series that has come from their factory.

AB

Thanks for the heads-up Andy. Which of the Paul Chen seaxes are you refering to, the double edged one? I also like the look of the crusader sax from Windlass, and I hear that their quality has improved lately. Would this be a good seax to start out with?

I've been looking for a Seax myself for a buddy for x-mas, and haven't been too impressed with what is out there. It seems like there are quite a few crappy cheap ones, or you can get very expensive hand forged ones, (I remember seeing a particularly breathtaking hand forged piece here on myArmoury about two years ago) but there seems to be a gap in the market for these in the mid-range, something just solid, simple, decent quality materials and well put together, with a recognizable historical shape and appearance. Heres my $.02 on what I have found available so far on the cheaper end.

Shelby Hatfield wrote:

Thanks for the heads-up Andy. Which of the Paul Chen seaxes are you refering to, the double edged one? I also like the look of the crusader sax from Windlass, and I hear that their quality has improved lately. Would this be a good seax to start out with?

yeah I notice at least two windlass and two paul chen / hanwei, plus some other versions by windlass, deepka and others.

Here are the two paul chen designs
[ Linked Image ] [ Linked Image ]

Both retail for about $60-$70. To me the first one looks like an oversized butter knife, the second one looks MUCH better but who knows what the quality is. Probably ok.

Windlass has this one standby
[ Linked Image ]
which to me looks a little strange with the knobs on the grip and whatever kind of decoration that is on the blade. My friend has one and wasn't too thrilled with it. I think it's overpriced at $75

..and they have this newer 'crusader' seax for $80which I like the look of much better
[ Linked Image ]

The deepka one
[ Linked Image ]
looks to me like it doesn't know whether to be a bowie knife or a gurkha knife. I know they made saxes with all different kinds of blade shapes but I'm most drawn to that classic long strait cutting edge and curved spine look. I'm glad some of these outfits seem to be finally moving in that direction.

I found this page which has a bunch of Viking Stuff, including all of the above, in one place.
http://www.kultofathena.com/viking.htm

Finally ,there is this one from Highland Arms which is showing up on Ebay for about $40. They claim it's carbon steel and a full tang, and it looks pretty good compared to some of the other cheaper ones so I'm going to get one and see for myself. [ Linked Image ]

Jean

I think 've got it down between the Windlass crusader and the Paul Chen scramasax. They both look fairly solid though I think I'm going to end up going with the scram. Let me know how that sax from Highland Arms turns out, I may buy that one in the future. Thanks for your help guys.

While I agree with Andy's comments about heat treatment and sharpening, the Deepeeka Seax really isn't too bad. They are solidly constructed and aren't bad-looking. But, they are more for ornamentation than actual use. The Paul Chen Scramsax (not the practical version) is nicely put together and reasonably well-tempered. It does have an edge although not much of one. It is a good value for the price. The practical version does look a little strange but I am sure it is also fairly well made, although I have not examined one in the flesh. The MRL stuff I know nothing about, but agree that the one illustrated here is also a bit strange looking.

There were many styles and sizes of seaxes used during Viking times. There are a number of different styles out there and most are reasonably authentic in appearance. And, fortunately, most are reasonably priced. I would go with the Paul Chen version myself, but then I have had the opportunity to examine a number of them.

Here is a nice one made by custom smith Antoine Marçal: http://antoinemarcal.wordpress.com/past-works/

Depends on what you are looking for and how much you can afford ? But it's good to see what the top end looks like.

Link to homepage: http://antoinemarcal.wordpress.com/

For forged and patterned welded steel the prices seen good.

Shelby,
I have two sax's of very different shape and price. And per usual, price dictates alot about the quality.
One is a Del Tin Lombard Scramsax. This was, initially at least, the cheaper of the two. The blade is wavy,
and of indifferent quality, the handle absolute rubbish as is the scabbard. I liked the shape of the blade
because of the period it represents so paid Christian Fletcher to re-hilt it and he did a bang up job, it
now matches my Berserkr. Christian also made an apropriate scabbard for it as well. The other is an
Eric McHugh Anglo-Saxon seax. It's a real pleaser if hardly inexpensive, and is a pleasure to handle.
I think he still has one.
Whichever sax you wind up choosing, my experience tells me that cost will dictate quality, so get the
one you're comfortable with and enjoy.

Doug Gentner

I'm on a really limited budget, and I'm only looking for a decent entry level piece, so I think I am indeed going to go for the paul chen. Maybe one day I will own one from someone like Eric McHugh, but thats beyond me right now. Thank you all for your imput on the matter.

[ Linked Image ] paul binss

[ Linked Image ] armour class

both are well made. both are highly respected within the reenactment circles. and both are really very good overall in shape, size and price

Hi

Apart from from the seaxes Chuck posted those other pieces are nothing like the originals. I wish big market makers ( not all of them some are good) would get serious about this making proper reproductions of viking seaxes. Even the sheaths are totally wrong.

N

A copy of a original, and a original blade

N

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Another, fancier version

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same one with sheath,

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A work like seax everyday use, simple and efective.

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Please note that you can attach up to 8 photos per post. You do not need to make a separate post for each attachment as you do on some other sites out there.

I just got the Hanwei one pictured above, and I am actually really impressed with it. If you can afford the time to lurk on ebay, you can get them for anywhere between $35-$60, and at that price, its a good value. I spent about 2 days redoing the edge to a sword bevel, and it cuts milk jugs and 2 liters very nicely now. I would say it is a strong solid option for you.

Sorry, I got the Scramasax http://casiberia.com/product_details.asp?id=SH1075