Being 50 years old I have accumalated some things. Years ago I said to my self, "I will not collect knives or flashlights..." and promplty realized I have a knife and flashlight collection.
This weekend I realized I just did the same thing with my historical "Viking" age knives.
Today, a small catalog of what I have.
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| The Full Collection |
Here is all my belt knives I currently own. l-r In order of when I got them.
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| Helle Viking |
The first knife is, technically, pretty old. I got it in 1999 and used it for SCA. It is a Helle Viking, originally created by Helle in Norway to commemorate the 1000 year celebration of Lief Ericsson. Pre internet buying anything days, I knew a guy in a shop I worked at that was trying to get into knife distro and had a wholesale deal with Helle and he asked me if I would want one. Sure! Hard to get in 1999. It is based off some Norwegian style VA knives, it has a through-tang peened over with a diamond washer. Laminated blade, modern in a sense, and a very good knife. I've used it in reenactment and modern bushcraft. The sheath was made to better suit my current reenacting needs.
Cons - the blade shape is quite modern with the choil. Historical knives, in the VA context, do not have a choil.
Cons - the blade shape is quite modern with the choil. Historical knives, in the VA context, do not have a choil.
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| Not sure of make or provenance - I got for free. |
Someone that I only knew for about a year gave me this knife about 8 years ago. I've seen it online from many different sellers for cheap. It's almost purely decorative. I also have not found any provenance for it. I call it my "parade knife" and it's mostly for modern "vikings" in my opinion. That said, it's in my collection. I have tried to use it for knife tasks and it barely goes beyond cutting food in ability.
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| Custom work from Jon Von Hall. |
Last year I spoke to Von Hall and he made up some knives I advised him a little on - some good old basic knives based off some Hedeby types. I bought 2 of the 4 he made and these are them. The blades are a bit thinner than the use I got above from Helle. This is awesome. The thinner blades allow me to have more utility - food prep to lighter bushcraft duties. I'm not butchering meat but these would be great for this. I also love the one with the larger handle. I have larger hands and the larger handle gives me some good control options I never knew I needed!
He made the sheaths as well but I added the cord for suspension. On the left it's just some leather cord I cut from a scrap and the one on the right is some scarp goat skin I twisted and made into a good cord. It looks white but it's just pale flesh color.
He made the sheaths as well but I added the cord for suspension. On the left it's just some leather cord I cut from a scrap and the one on the right is some scarp goat skin I twisted and made into a good cord. It looks white but it's just pale flesh color.
I've only had these knives since last fall so I have not run them through some serious paces yet, this just takes time, but utility use is proven and I've feather sticked some with them and the blades do the work as long as I do mine.
Just got these in the mail and the impetus to this post as I gathered all my knives and noticed I have "collection".
The folder is a amalgamation of many of the early folders found from Eastern to Western Europe. Not an exact copy of a specific find. Frankly, Tod's prices are really good and that was the #1 decision in purchasing this knife. It's a good knife and his work is well regarded. I wanted a folder that did not look too fancy, would prefer a wood handle but, again, the price and provenance are right for this knife.
The belt knife is also of a middle class style. This knife is also an amalgamation of finds that stretch across europe and eras.
I've not had the time to really use either, it's been 24 hours. So far I like them. I will make a new sheath for the folder that hangs from my belt. Shipping via DHL was less than a week from the UK - incredible! Also was not very expensive but if you are only buying one thing you might as well buy 2 things to make it worth it.
All them knives and guess what? I have two more coming from Faye's Forge. I bought a custom job from her last year and I also am a Patreon of hers and I have a member knife coming as well. So, two more coming. When I get them I will blog about them.
Advice to a new reenactor about getting a knife? Spend what you can spend. Buy Once - Cry Once. There is a huge difference in knife quality and unless you get some outlier you will be spending money. Just spend what you can. A cheap knife is just going to be useless and cheap and will not work unless you are costuming or cos-playing and that is not what we are doing here - we are reenactors and historical experimenters. I suggest you be willing to put up $100 including shipping, that is your budget and you will find a good knife. One good basic knife is better than 10 cheap knives that don't work.
What about big ol' seaxes that a lot of reenactors like to have?
For my time era and region, almost no langseaxes in the record (Jutland 950 AD). I think there is one find and there is little context for that find.
That said I do have a big-fat seax I've had since the 90s in my SCA days. I don't have a good picture of it but it does have a name and a tale and maybe I will tell that tale some other day.
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| Tod's Workshop, just got them. |
Just got these in the mail and the impetus to this post as I gathered all my knives and noticed I have "collection".
The folder is a amalgamation of many of the early folders found from Eastern to Western Europe. Not an exact copy of a specific find. Frankly, Tod's prices are really good and that was the #1 decision in purchasing this knife. It's a good knife and his work is well regarded. I wanted a folder that did not look too fancy, would prefer a wood handle but, again, the price and provenance are right for this knife.
The belt knife is also of a middle class style. This knife is also an amalgamation of finds that stretch across europe and eras.
I've not had the time to really use either, it's been 24 hours. So far I like them. I will make a new sheath for the folder that hangs from my belt. Shipping via DHL was less than a week from the UK - incredible! Also was not very expensive but if you are only buying one thing you might as well buy 2 things to make it worth it.
All them knives and guess what? I have two more coming from Faye's Forge. I bought a custom job from her last year and I also am a Patreon of hers and I have a member knife coming as well. So, two more coming. When I get them I will blog about them.
Advice to a new reenactor about getting a knife? Spend what you can spend. Buy Once - Cry Once. There is a huge difference in knife quality and unless you get some outlier you will be spending money. Just spend what you can. A cheap knife is just going to be useless and cheap and will not work unless you are costuming or cos-playing and that is not what we are doing here - we are reenactors and historical experimenters. I suggest you be willing to put up $100 including shipping, that is your budget and you will find a good knife. One good basic knife is better than 10 cheap knives that don't work.
What about big ol' seaxes that a lot of reenactors like to have?
For my time era and region, almost no langseaxes in the record (Jutland 950 AD). I think there is one find and there is little context for that find.
That said I do have a big-fat seax I've had since the 90s in my SCA days. I don't have a good picture of it but it does have a name and a tale and maybe I will tell that tale some other day.
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