This is the Skalby Seax, it’s a knife that was developed to closely follow the design of a seax (a small sword, fighting knife, or dagger) that was found 2021 in Skälby, Sweden at an archeological dig.
The original Skalby Seax was dated to 700-900 AD, making it an excellent example of the sort of blades that the actual vikings would have carried and used on a daily basis.
This is the Skalby Seax, it’s a knife that was developed to closely follow the design of a seax (a small sword, fighting knife, or dagger) that was found 2021 in Skälby, Sweden at an archeological dig.
History Speedrun: Grimfrost
Grimfrost is a Swedish company founded in 2014 by Arve, Sjöberg, and Johan Hegg (frontman of the death metal band Amon Amarth). The company grew out of decades of combined experience in Viking-themed goods, with Arve beginning his craft in weapons and armor in 1992, and Sjöberg starting out as a Viking Age bronze and silversmith in 1990.
The company’s mission is to build what they call “a bridge between the past and the present” by creating highly-accurate Viking equipment and apparel reproductions, as well as contemporary products inspired by Viking Age culture.
Grimfrost quickly became the leading leading player in the global Viking merchandise market, offering everything from simple pendants to unique high-end, museum-grade archaeological reproductions.
The company has built significant credibility through its scholarly approach and its focus on high levels of historic accuracy.
They’ve supplied equipment to major productions like the TV shows Game of Thrones, Vikings, and Beforeigners, and provided accurate reproductions of weapons and apparel to various museums including Birka Museum in Sweden, the Saga Museum in Iceland, and others across Norway and Canada.
A great deal of care was taken to get both the blade and handle accurate in this reproduction, right down to the unique carved patterning (see the original 1,000+ year old example below).
Based in Falkoping, Sweden, with 17 employees, Grimfrost is deeply focussed on its academic accuracy in its historic reproductions while carefully distancing themselves from the political extremism that can sometimes try to associate itself with Viking culture.
They work only with PhD-qualified archaeologists and historians to ensure authenticity, and this has made them one of the most respected names in the business.
The Skalby Seax By Grimfrost
A seax is officially described as being a “small sword, fighting knife, or dagger typical of the Germanic peoples of the Early Middle Ages, especially the Saxons. The name comes from an Old English word for “knife.”
As noted higher up, the Skalby Seax was uncovered in Skälby, Sweden at an archeological dig, and it has been prized for its excellent preservation – offering an accurate look at what period seaxes actually looked like.
This is the Skalby Seax was uncovered in Skälby, Sweden at an archeological dig. Image courtesy of Acta Konserveringscentrum AB
The team at Grimfrost developed their own accurate version of the Skalby Seax. It has a carbon steel 1045 blade that is 32 cm (12.5″) long, this is matched with a historically accurate carved wooden handle, a hand-stitched leather scabbard, and the total length of the seax is 44 cm (17″).
If you’d like to get one of your own you can visit the store listing here on Grimfrost, they’re selling for $249 USD apiece and they note that there are no US tariffs or import taxes.
Images courtesy of Grimfrost
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.