Okay, so I am not one for running around as a mere visitor of re-enactment fairs loaded with a whole armoury on my back. It´s awkward at best if you want to visit the booths and dismount them with your longsword, short sword, seax, dagger, quiver, bow, arrows, axe, ten knives and whatnot. Seldom do I even wear my (blunt) Viking spatha. It might be very disputable if people in the Viking age went to a market in full assault attire. The sagas do portray people in early medieval Scandinavia as people with a strong background in farming and householding most of the time. Plus, a Spatha was extremely expensive, so even people of higher social status might have preferred a plain seax or long knife for everyday use.
And even if I normally don´t carry that much bulk around, I noticed that a big blade might come in real handy when camp tasks are calling, such as firewood splitting and the preparation of it, preparing food and even carving and other chopping tasks. Plus, okay, I admit it, I am a big boy too;-).
So off to the smithy it was to make me one. I like the fact that it is a tool in the first and the weapon aspect is secondary. It was the weapon of the simple people and served them well every day as a tool while being a worthwhile companion when the going went bad.
I also like the fact that forging one is a great challenge, and I want to get better in swordsmithing as well, so, hey, I thought, what better exercise than that?
The blade is loosely modelled after a Torgard find. The tang, however, is a free interpretation to aid in cutting. The offset makes it real efficient for that. The handle will be made from the piece of elk antler, but I will fit a pommel for balance, maybe a Wheeler Type XIII, but I am still about on fitting and weighing it in. The blade is not yet as well stropped to make for a real test, but of course...
...I could not resist putting it through some first paces. Chopping full-tilt into mild steel rods dented the edge a bit, but no shards. The blade is tough enough to lever up a 65kg - anvil and to lever up a standard wooden room door. It sings when driven hard;-), sweet. It feels quite nimble in spite of the thick spine. I look forward to it!
