Langseax Viking Seax Knife – 13.5" Rune-Etched Blade

This is a langseax

Seaxes run a long scale. At one end is a palm-length work knife; at the other is the langseax, long enough that graves containing them tend to contain no sword, because the langseax was the sword. That is where this one sits. The blade is broad through most of its length and carries a straight spine that turns down hard at the tip — mass forward, weight behind the cut. Pick it up expecting a knife and it will surprise you. If you want the full picture of the family, we wrote a guide to what a seax actually is.

The runes and the beast

The etching is the reason this one costs what it does. A band of angular runic characters runs the length of the blade, and at each end it resolves into a Norse beast — a gripping, coiling creature of the kind that runs across Urnes and Ringerike-style carving, all interlaced limbs and no clear beginning. It is etched into the steel rather than printed on it, so it catches light from the side and disappears when you turn the blade flat. Straight answer on the runes: they are decorative Elder Futhark characters, not a translated inscription, and we would rather tell you that than invent a saga line for them.

A pommel that was forged, not cast

The butt of this one is not a cast animal head like the smaller pieces in the range. It is a single lump of steel drawn out and flared into a broad T under the hammer, left with the tool marks still on it, then set against the leather. It gives the knife a real counterweight — the balance sits close to the hand instead of out at the tip — and it stops the grip dead. Different maker's answer to the same problem the raven pommels solve.

Two loops, not one

The sheath is thick leather closed with hammered rivets rather than stitching, and it carries two belt loops instead of one. Two loops let a long sheath sit flat against the hip instead of swinging off a single point, which matters a great deal more at thirteen inches than it does at five.

Who it's for

This is the piece for someone who already owns a belt knife and wants the thing at the top of the range — serious collectors, reenactors building a full kit, and display buyers who want the blade to be the object people ask about. It is worked by hand, so no two etchings sit identically.

See the rest of the Viking seax collection, or start smaller with the Boar's Head seax.

This is a hunting and collector's knife. It is not intended for kitchen or cooking use — handle, store and carry it responsibly and in line with your local laws.