Making a Reenactment

Viking Seax

& Sheath
B. Armstrong
[email protected]
 Contents
ContentsSeax and sheath ............................................................................................. 2
Seax and sheath ........................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
List of materials:.......................................................................................................... 4
Consumables ............................................................................................................... 4
Order of work .............................................................................................................. 5
Making the sheath Part A ............................................................................................ 6
Making the handle Part A............................................................................................ 7
Making the sheath Part B ............................................................................................ 8
Making the handle Part B .......................................................................................... 11
Making the Seax blade .............................................................................................. 14
Hardening and tempering the Seax blade .................................................................. 18
Final finishing and polishing the Seax blade ............................................................ 19
Seax assembly ........................................................................................................... 20
Making the sheath Part C .......................................................................................... 21
Drawings ................................................................................................................... 22

2
 Seax and sheath

Introduction
These notes have been produced as guide for the manufacture of a reenactment Seax.
The methodology adapted may not be strictly traditional however it has been adopted to
allow for the easier manufacture by people who may not have a lot of experience at
woodwork or metalwork.
The strongest result would entail producing a tang on the blade long enough to go
through the handle and be peened over to hold the handle and brass end pieces in place.
By making the handle separately and simulating the peened over tang at the end of the
handle with a piece of steel rod allows the handle components to be glued together (with
industrial strength Araldite) and shaped separately before being mated with the blade.
This makes it much easier to pre-shape and finish the handle. There is some precedent
for this from the archeological record which shows a similar method was used for some
Seaxes found in Europe.
Similarly a blade would be shaped first before the knife edge is ground. Grinding the
knife edge first allows for the use of a simple jig to grind this edge (since it is not
curved). This would be much more difficult task once the blade is shaped.
Although a belt sander fitted with a jig is used in these instructions it is possible to file
the edge and the blade shape using simple tools (files, a hacksaw and wet and dry emery
paper) using the methodology set out here.
A forge has been used to harden the blade however a simple forge adequate for the
purpose may be constructed using a few bricks and “Heatbeads” for fuel since the
hardening and tempering process is not as critical as it would be for a sword or a knife
which had to retain a sharp cutting edge and have spring. All that is necessary is for the
blade to have a degree of hardness to resist dints and scratches in use. Many reenactors
do not have extensive metalwork or woodworking skills and do not have the money to
buy professionally produced equipment. I hope these notes may go some way to helping
to produce a Seax which is good looking practical and relatively easy to make.

3
List of materials:

The timber used for the handle was Jarrah an Australian hardwood which is extremely
hard and takes a very high polish. Substitute another suitable hardwood if you do not live
in Australia or are unable to obtain this timber.
Copper boat nails were used for rivets these are obtainable at any boat chandler.
The copper strips used were flattened plumber saddles used to secure piping.
SEAX Blade:
Annealed spring steel 370mm x 40 mm x 4 mm
Hardwood handle 110mm x 45 x 19mm (Jarrah used)
Brass handle front 25mm x 20mm x 9mm
Brass handle rear 40mm x 20mm x 9mm
Steel pin 6mm Diameter 35 mm long
Steel nails 20 mm x 1.5 mm (heads removed)
Sheath:
Calf leather 320 mm x 120mm wide
1/2“ Copper pipe 320 mm long
Steel strip 320 mm long x 6mm wide (16 gauge)
Brass or Copper strip 40mm x 15 mm (2 off)
Copper rivets 6 mm x 2 mm (6 off)
Brass wire 14 gauge x 150 mm
Sheath Jig:
Hardwood sheath jig 350mm x 50mm x 19mm (2 off)
Stretching former 350 mm x 3 mm MDF or plywood
Bolts and nuts bolts and nuts (with washers) 45mm

Consumables
120 grit wet and dry 1 sheet
180 grit wet and dry 1/2 sheet
240 grit wet and dry 1/2 sheet
320 grit wet and dry 1/2 sheet
Araldite (super strength)

4
Order of work

The order of work for the making of the sheath (part A, B and C) and the handle (part A
and B) has been broken down into multiple parts since a period of drying/curing is
necessary for both these components
The order of work is:
1. Sheath part A,
2. Handle part A,
3. Sheath part B,
4. Handle part B,
5. Making the Seax blade,
6. Hardening and tempering the Seax blade,
7. Seax assembly;
8. Sheath part C.
For workshop for which these notes were written only one day was available and
participants were supplied with a sheath jig and a handle completed to part A to enable
the work to be completed.
The rest of the steps 4 through 7 should be able to be completed by the participants
during the day and since workshop participants will have all the elements to complete the
sheath (part C) this may be accomplished at home.

5
Making the sheath Part A

In order to make the sheath start by laying out a

pattern on the reverse side of the leather. First
draw a centre line in the centre of the 320 by 120
mm leather. Next draw a line at 90 Degrees to
this across the leather. Across this line on either
side of the centre line we mark a distance of
45mm. Then rule lines from these marks to
intercept the centre line at the opposite end of
leather.

Soak the leather in cold water until saturated.

Using the lines previously draw on the leather
clamp the wet leather into the sheath jig.

The next step is drive the stretching former into

the leather pocket to stretch the leather to shape.
Some patience will be required. You may find it
useful to use your hands to smooth the leather
back up over the former and to rock it from side
to side to ease the driving of the former fully
home with a hammer (the small piece of grooved
wood shown in the top panel should be used to
protect the end of the former while using the
hammer.. When the former is fully home set the
sheath aside to allow the leather to dry.

6
Making the handle Part A

Laid out are the components of the Seax

handle. The rear brass piece is drilled
centrally with a 6 mm hole to fit the steel
pin. Also drill the rear of the wooden
handle with a 6mm hole to correctly locate
the brass block. The top of the brass block
should be flush with the top of the handle
and the bottom edge should overhang. This
is required to allow the brass to be shaped
to match the contour of the wooden handle
when the handle is sanded to its final
shape.
The front brass piece has three holes drilled
in it. A 4.0mm hole located centrally and
two 1.5mm holes spaced 2mm from the
edge of the central hole along the vertical
axis of the brass piece. The central 4.0 mm
hole is squared off by driving a tapered
square steel pin into the hole with a
hammer from both sides of the block (do
not use the tang of a file to do this as
hitting a file with a hammer may shatter the
file). Finish of with a small square file.

This photo shows the hole squared off

before the two 1.5 mm holes are drilled.
These pins will be covered by the Seax
blade when it is assembled to the handle.
Their purpose is to securely hold the front
brass piece in place while the handle is
ground and sanded to its finished shape.

Assemble the handle parts together using

industrial strength Araldite (5 minute
araldite is not strong enough). Clamp the
handle as shown and let stand for at least
24 hrs.

7
Making the sheath Part B

We will use the copper tube to make the

backbone of the sheath. Place the tube
between two pieces of steel in the vice and
flatten out the tube until the gap between the
side walls is about double the thickness of the
leather (2 mm). The tube could be flattened
with a mallet or hammer on a steel block
however the method suggested produces a
much smoother outer surface which will be
easier to sand and finish smoothly without
removing excessive material from the copper
section.
The end result of flattening the tube should
look like this.
Note we want to leave a gap wide enough to
insert the leather sheath into the copper “U”
section.
Using a fence (set to 90 degrees to the belt)
sand one edge of the copper away to form the
“U” section.

These two pictures show the end result.

8
Sand both sides of the copper section flat. First
using the belt sander and then finishing with
successive grade of wet and dry. Start with
120 and progress though 180, 240 and finish
with 320 grade paper.
NOTE The piece of steel strap has been placed
into the copper section to stiffen and support it
while the sanding and polishing are done.
This piece of steel will be inserted into the
copper backing along with the leather to stiffen
the sheath backbone.

The final step is to burnish and polish the

copper strip on the polisher.

The leather strip which we previously stretched

to shape is now trimmed down along the top
edge so it will fit into the copper “U” section as
shown in the pictures. If desired the leather
can be stained a different colour and embossed
or otherwise decorated at this stage. It can be
done later but it is slightly more difficult and
more care is needed.
The leather sheath is now inserted into the
copper section along with the steel strip Then
the copper section is closed up using a rubber
mallet to achieve the result shown here.

9
The sheath hangers consist of two copper strips
40mm long by 15mm wide. These are bent as
shown around the “D” rings. The “D” rings
are formed by winding brass wire tightly
around the former (shown here), removing the
coil and cutting down the centre of the flat face
forms individual “D” rings.

10
Making the handle Part B

After the glued handle has been allowed to

set for at least 24 hrs we can start to shape
and finish the handle. First the handle
should be “squared off” by removing the
excess brass and sanding the sides and top
and bottom edges smooth. This picture
shows the belt sander being used to sand
the sides of the handle and the attached
brass end pieces flat. The handle should be
cooled in a water bucket as required during
all the these operations to stop a heat build
up in the brass end pieces as this would
destroy the glue bond between the wooden
handle and the brass end pieces.`
Next we sand the top (convex) edge of the
wooden handle and brass end pieces to a
smooth flowing curve using the sanding
disk. It is important to check that the work
table is square to the sanding disk before
this operation is commenced. USE A
SQUARE TO CHECK THAT THE
WORK PLATE IS SQUARE TO THE
SANDING DISK EACH TIME IT IS
USED.
Now we use the end of the belt sander to
sand the lower (concave) edge of the
wooden handle and brass end pieces to
shape. How square and how well shaped
this edge is will be up to you as there is no
guide. CHECK YOUR WORK
REGULARLY TO ENSURE YOU ARE
NOT SANDING OFF SQUARE OR
PUTTING HOLLOWS IN THE LOWER
EDGE.

11
As shown in this and the picture above
different parts of the lower edge can be
sanded to shape by employing different
parts of the end of the sanding belt.

Here are two views of the squared off

handle. A view from the top and the
bottom edge. Note that we have not totally
removed scratches from the brass end
pieces or remaining bit of glue from the
handle.

Not shown in this picture montage is the

sanding of the ends of the brass pieces.
However it is achieved by using the
sanding disk and table. As far as possible
these two edges should be parallel to each
other. If they are not parallel even a casual
examination of the finished seax will leave
the viewer with the feeling that something
about the handle is “not quite right”.

Using a marker pen black out an area 3mm

wide on the front side and top edges as a
guide to sanding a 45 degree bevel on the
handle.

Note the top and bottom of the front brass

piece will NOT be beveled. If you so
desire you can bevel the end of the rear
brass piece however it probably looks
better just rounded off.

12
The guide fence on the belt sander is set to
45 degrees to use as a guide for sanding the
bevel on sides and top of the handle. The
concave under side of the handle will have
to be beveled by hand using the end of the
belt sander.

This shows the handle edges beveled off to

a 45 degree angle using the guide marks.
From here we will round off all the edges
using a finer grade belt on the sander, then
using fine files and wet and dry to round all
edges to a smooth curve. Finishing off
with 320 wet and dry. The handle can then
be buffed and polished.

This picture shows the finished handle

showing the front brass rounded off on the
sides ONLY.

Another view of the finished handle.

13
Making the Seax blade

The first step is to place a grinding guide 10mm

from the edge. The easiest way to do this is to
use a piece of 10mm aluminum angle against the
edge and using a waterproof marking pen scribe
a line along the knife blank. Repeat on the other
side.

The next step is to grind the edge on the blade.

A jig is set up on the belt sander to hold the
blade blank at the correct angle and spacing so
the correct angle and width of grind is obtained.
We wish to finish with a10 mm wide Seax edge
with a 1mm flat (required by the reenactment
weapon regulations) at the centre of the edge of
the blank after both sides have been ground.
During the grinding process it is important to
keep th blank moving back and forth across the
grinding belt so as not to develop “flats” or
“gouges” in the knife edge we are grinding. A
bucket of water should be kept handy to cool the
Seax blank and keep it from getting to hot to
handle..

Here we are about half way to completing the

grinding on one side. While the jig will help you
obtain an even grind small inconsistencies can
occur but will not be noticeable in the final
result. Large discrepancies on the ground edge
however will be noticeable. Consider small
discrepancies as adding “character” to the final
result. Remember the local blacksmith who
though an experienced craftsman probably made
them at price the average person could afford .
The final result is dependent on the time and
effort you wish to put to the project.

14
Grinding is complete on one side. We will now
turn the blank over and grind the other side.

The end product will be a Seax blank with a

10mm wide knife edge with a 1mm flat on the
edge.

Using the drawing make the outline of the blade

shape on the Seax blank. At this stage do not
mark out the tang (it will be done later).

Using a cutting disk or a hacksaw cut out the

blade shape. Use the belt sander or a file to finish
shaping the blade.

15
Here is the final result.

Mark the position and angle of the tang by laying

the handle over the knife with a drill inserted in
the handle as a guide. The front top edge of the
handle should be lined up with the slope of the
seax top edge. It is important that the handle is in
alignment with the back edge of the Seax or
otherwise the end result will NOT look right.
Mark the position and angle of the tang on the
blade. By using this approach we are making
sure the handle will line up in the correct
position and angle to the blade regardless of
inaccuracies in the blade or handle.
Cut the tang using a cutter or hacksaw. If you
use a cutting disk finish off the cuts using a
hacksaw so as NOT to undercut the tang.

NOTE: If you undercut the tang you will create

a weakness which could cause the blade to break
off at the handle in usage.

Hand sand the blade to a smooth finish using wet

and dry paper. Start with 80 progressing to
120,180,240,320 and finishing with 400 grade
paper. The amount of effort put in here will
determine the final finish of the blade.

16
After sanding finish the blade by buffing on the
stitched buff and then the cloth polishing disk.
The last step is optional as some people prefer a
smooth matt finish rather than a highly polished
blade,

Shown here is the finished blade along with the

handle of the Seax. Remember the blade has not
been hardened so it is a good idea to oil the blade
and wrap it in cloth to stop it being scratched.
Operative words “treat the blade with kid
gloves” you do not want to undo all the effort
you have put in to this stage.

The last step is to file cutouts into the tang with a

triangular file to help hold the blade in place
once it is glued into the handle. The edges of the
tang should also be rounded off. Remember to
wrap the blade in a cloth before clamping it in
the vice. This will stop the blade being
scratched.

17
Hardening and tempering the Seax blade

HARDENING

Remember wear gloves and exercise care

around the forge.

Place the blade (blade edge up) in the forge

and heat it to dull red. Allow to “soak” for
five to 10 minutes. It is a good idea to
move it around a little to ensure even
heating.

When the blade is ready grasp the tang with

tongs and plunge into the oil bath (do not
submerge the tang). Keep moving it
around and up and down until cooled.
Shown removing the blade from the oil
bath. Place in water to cool to room
temperature.
NOTE If this process is successful it should
be difficult to scratch the blade with a file.

TEMPERING
Here is the hardened Seax. Re-polish the
blade to remove the scale and place it in a
preheated oven (kitchen oven will do) set
to 200 C. Remove after 30 minutes and
plunge into water to cool. The blade has
now been hardened and tempered. While
this is an inexact heat treatment it will be
hard enough to resist scratches and knocks.

18
Final finishing and polishing the Seax blade

Give the blade a final sand, burnish and

polish.

19
Seax assembly

Trial fit the blade to the handle. The heel

of the blade should fit flush with the brass
front piece of the handle. If it does not
grind the heel of the blade until it does.

The final fit should show no air gap

between the heel of the blade and the
handle.

Using Industrial strength Araldite glue the

blade into the handle. Using two pieces of
leather and some cords cramp up the Seax
to make sure nothing moves. Set aside for
at least 24 hours (48 hours for glue to
obtain maximum strength) to allow the glue
to dry and harden.

The finished Seax. pictured

20
Making the sheath Part C

The final part of the sheath assembly is to

place the hangers in the correct position
and drill the holes for and install the rivets.
The position of the hangers is an individual
preference. The placement shown here is a
good starting point. Medieval woodcut
pictures show the Seax was hung from the
belt across the front of the wearer with the
Seax point hanging downwards. The angle
shown here is approximately correct.
After the rivets have been installed and
peened the front end of the sheath’s copper
backbone is cut and contoured to the shape
of the leather. Tap the edges together with
a small hammer and make sure the edge is
rounded off so it cannot snag anything.
Two leather straps should be made to
attach the completed Seax and sheath to the
belt at the angle the wearer desires.
It is a good idea to spray the copper parts of
the sheath with a clear lacquer to stop
tarnish.

21
Drawings

Drawing 1
Seax Blade Dimensions

Drawing 2
Handle Dimensions

22
 Drawing 3
Sheath Jig Dimensions

23