Description
This Seax is collaboration between myself and Petr Florianek. Petr is a good friend and talented Bladesmith he works from his workshop out side of Prague, he has a wonderful imagination and is a very thorough knowledge of historical forms as well as the fantastical. I really love our collaborations and they represent some of the best Work I’m involved in Making. In this case my seax blade was just the canvas fir Petr to work his magic on.
This is a horse lords saddle Seax, I had a chat with Petr about the notion of this seax. He says he was inspired by the Essential “Saxon ness” of the blade and that it led him to the extrapolation of the Saxon like Horse lords from the works of Tolkien. The name Steadfast came to me. Petr pointed out its Old English derivation Steadfaest meaning unwavering, dutiful and resolute and Steda , meaning stallion. So “Steadfaest a horse lords saddle seax” was named.
I love seeing collaboration the pieces that Petr works on. The disassociation that I feel when I see a collaboration allows me to appreciate the piece in a way I can’t with my own work. Petr’s Son believes this to be our best work to date, I really couldn’t comment as I love all the children of my hands equally…..Honest!
Steadfaest
The wind upon the lonely grass.
The wind beneath my Stallions hooves.
The sky above the endless plains, the distance always beckon’s.
Steadefaest my companion, Tempered Steel at saddle side.
Certainty, loyalty, honor and hearth.
A beacon in my horseman’s heart.
For ere I ride, as Horsemen Roam.
Steadfaest my companion, my faithful horse will see me home.
The 21 inch long blade is a 5 bar construction! There is a layer of vintage church bell clapper wrought iron at the spine. We then have two twisted layers of Patternwelding one layer twisted clockwise the other anti clockwise, the twist’s have been heavily ground into revealing a XXX like pattern found only in the very center of the bar . There is then another layer of pinstripe wrought iron. The edge bar is made up of 500 layers of damascus steel, heavily worked to show a lot of movement in the pattern. This blade is made using the same techniques that are used in the making of legendary Saxon and Viking swords.
The handle and Sheath are Made by Petr Florianek with intricate carvings in bronze and antler. This seax has a handle made from wood that has been bound in leather and edged with carved bronze. The guard is Wrought iron and carved Antler. The pommel consists is a Horses head with carved knot work, very pretty peridot eyes with silver demure eyelashes! The horses Mane is Wrought iron and acts as a rivet block for the tang that passes all the way through the handle. I would say that despite the prettiness of its eyes the iron mane makes it a warhorse, such is the duality of these wonderful beasts.
Broken back seax blades have a very distinctive and stylized geometry, where the blade is thicker at the broken back and tapers towards the tip and back towards the handle. The Anglo Saxon broken back seax is the iconic tool and weapon of the Saxon. And found almost exclusively in the UK. Historically the blades have lots of subtle differences in profile but often share communality with the broken back part of the blade being the thickest and also widest. This is a fantastical seax and pays homage to the Saxon seax shape, this is a very pointy seax, fast and saber like.
The sheath is Oak tanned leather, that has carved Knot work There is a Dragon and other carving on to the bronze fittings.
