02-24-2009, 01:51 PM
Quote:Yes, it is a kind of scramasax or langsax, as you want to call it. Exemples that long are somewhat rare but they became more common in the VIth century, especially in continental context. I got some documentation about anglo-saxon ones too.
Very rare I would say until the 9th century or thereabouts. The largest 'fighting knife' I've come across (and had made) are Baltic battle knives from Latvia and Lithuania dating to the C5th. They look more like machetes in profile and were up to 38-40cm in blade length. Larger varieties existed but not until the 8th-9th century as in the rest of Europe.
Having said that, Paul Binns used to have a basic 'migration' period blade on his 'old' website with a handle/grip just like yours. Not sure if it was single edged or double though, but think it was just a simple hacker produced by Germanics or the simple rehilting of a Roman blade, possibly ground down?
Kuura/Jools Sleap.
\'\'\'\'Let us measure our swords, appraise our blades\'\'\'\' The Kalevala.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/homepages/palacecompany/">http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/homepages/palacecompany/
\'\'\'\'Let us measure our swords, appraise our blades\'\'\'\' The Kalevala.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/homepages/palacecompany/">http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/homepages/palacecompany/