My second forged knife - Seax with ambidextrous cross draw: Sheath finished

[tomsm44]

Well, my first one didn't work out but this one did.  I've been wanting to build a seax for a while and finally got around to it.  From what I've read, a traditional broken back seax from the British Isles was pretty simple:  straight blade with no ricasso, no gaurd, and a plain wooden handle.  I wanted to update mine a little and decided to add a ricasso and a gaurd. Though I did go with a minimal gaurd instead of the large ones that are common on modern bowies.  I also went with a more modern sculpted handle.  Wasn't sure how this would turn out because there aren't a lot of seax style blades built with Bowie style handles/guards, but I'm pretty happy with it.  I knew it looked good on paper but I've learned that that doesn't always guarantee good end results.  As always, I would appreciate any critiques that you guys could offer.

1075 blade, SS guard, wenge handle.

   

[D.Ellis]

Matt, I like the finish and the blade shape is fine.........I am still on the fence about the sculpted handle combined with the primitive blade shape. Don't get me wrong, I like contrasts and thinking outside the box with stuff like this, I am just not sure if this works esthetically........should be a great grip for a using blade though. My opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it......no offence intended.    
Darcy    

[tomsm44]

Not offended at all Darcy as I'm kinda with you there.  I definitely won't be using the true traditional handle since most of what I've read suggests something shaped like the end of a broom handle. Do you think a handle that starts slim at the guard and flares slightly toward the end would work with this style blade.  Maybe with a slight curve similar to the natural shape of a stag handle.  That might work with the primitive blade but still add a little class and comfort over a straight handle, but I'm not sure how well the curves would flow with the sharp angles this blade has.  The fun thing is that there's only one way to find out if it works.   :D   I definitely think that any more guard than what I used would have been too much.  I like this blade style so I want to keep working with it to find something that really works.  

I appreciate you giving an honest response instead of just a nice compliment.  This kind of input from other makers has seemed to really speed up the learning curve.  

Matt

[D.Ellis]

You can get quite a bit of comfort and handle retention with either subtle tapers, or texture.
Here's one I did a long time ago with a small cross guard similar to the one you used on this seax.
 
And here I helped out the grip with a slight taper in thickness and width(top to bottom) as well as checkering.
 
All these handles are fairly straight and simple, but provided good grip........antler works great and would have been a very fitting handle for your blade in this case I think.......both style and function wise. IMHO  
Darcy  

[tomsm44]

Those look great.  I think something similar to the antler one would work well with a seax.  I considered an antler handle but this knife was one of those family charity jobs (pretty much the only jobs I do) so I was trying to use materials I had laying around and there wasn't any antler.  A $30 piece of antler would put my cost about $20 over what I'm selling it for.

[D.Ellis]

I understand the need to keep costs down at times. I think you could have done a simple wood handle and had it suit the style better. If you are on bladeforums, check out Petr Dohnal's work in the custom and handmades section. I'd post a link, but don't want to break any rules here.
Darcy

[D.Ellis]

Also consider the Japanese and Scandinavian styles.........very simple lines, but beautifull and very much made for use. Subtle tapers and shaping can add a lot to the grip.
Darcy  

[tomsm44]

Got most of the sheath done after supper tonight.  Just need to stitch it up tomorrow once it all dries.  Going with black since it's going to a biker.  I figured a cross draw would work well for riding and why not make it ambidextrous just for fun.

 

[D.Ellis]

Leatherwork's looking good Matt.
Darcy

[tomsm44]

Finished the leather up this evening.  This is my first cross draw sheath and I really like how it rides on a belt.  As I said, this is going to a biker, but unfortunately I can't grow a good enough beard to be a biker myself.    :D   Maybe once I'm all grown up.  Because of that I didn't have any biker related things to put in the picture with it, so I used the closest thing I could find.

 

[D.Ellis]

 You stole my helmet!
Nice sheathwork!
Darcy