A belt knife from XIIIc London.

[AlexI]

Hi guys,

I have been too busy for any hobby work for almost two years (since a few months before my daughter was borrn), but now I am back (wouldn't be able to spend as much time on knifemaking as before, though).
Anyway, I finally found time to finish this knife (the blade was done before the baby became the top priotity, and was laying around since then).

See this page for description and pictures:
http://www.geocities.com/aindman/london_XIIIc_knife.htm

This project came about after I got the Museum of London's "Knives and Scabbards" book. I was fascinated with all the excavated example available, complete with handles and sheaths - a wealth of info compared to my previous project (small Anglo-Saxon handseax) were there was practically nothing but blades.
Interesting, how the distinctive seax completely went away, and instead this type became the norm. It looks just like a certain type of modern Scandinavian knives!
Does anybody have a theory on how to explain that?

Alex.

[TexasJack]

Guy you need to talk to is Don Halter. He's very familiar with knives of that period and even has small collection of originals.

[NJStricker]

I'm rusty on my history, but I think it was around the 13th century (1280???) when William the Conqueror invaded the British Isles. Before and after that there were Scandinavian (North Men, or Norsemen) that raided throughout coastal parts of northern Europe, some even staying to establish small kingdoms, such as Normandy. So, their takeover of many areas of northern Europe influenced ways of life at many different levels, including the tools and knives they used. It's also interesting that after the Crusades, by the 17th and 18th centuries the English and French trade knives take on the longer blade design similar to Persian knives.

[Jeff Mack]

The battle of Hastings (Duke William of Normandy Vs King Harold) was in 1066.

Jeff, A viking era geek.

[AlexI]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mack

The battle of Hastings (Duke William of Normandy Vs King Harold) was in 1066.

Jeff, A viking era geek.

Yep, and less then a century later seaxes disappeared from the scene completely. Norman conquest looks like the obvious reason, but on the other hand, it is not obvious why the common people didn't keep on using utility knives of the old style even under the new "top management". We are not talking about weapons here, just everyday tools.

Alex.

[NJStricker]

Maybe it was recognized as a superior design for the tasks at hand. How many of us still ride a horse to work? Yet only 100 years ago, that was still a common practice here.