Westmead Artificer - Knife Making

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Artificer: [ART-IF-ISS-URR] : Noun: A craftsman who makes things

Blacksmith's Knife

Also sometimes known as a Viking Lady's Knife, although I have been unable to find any archaeological evidence.for this - there is apparently one, yes one, find of this type that dates to the correct period (from the Birka excavation I think, but don't quote me). Most small utility/belt knife of the period are stick tangs, as you might expect given the cost and difficulty of manufacture of the raw material: this integral type of knife would use a lot more more of the expensive steel than the stick tang design, so any time saving would be far outweighed by the extra material cost.

This started out as half of an old Footprint pipe-wrench, from the local dump, which I stuck in the forge and then just sort of started hammering! The tang drew out fairly easily, so I decided to extend it as far as I could, then fold it to make an integral handle. The blade is about 3" or so.
I had seen one of these with a twist in the tang, so I put one in!
The sheath is based on one seen on a re-enactment/Living History site.

Shown with a £2 coin for scale. For viewers not familiar with the £2 coin, it is about half as big again as a £1 coin!

Close-up of tang.

A simple pouch sheath, with a lanyard loop to fit on a belt.

The bird might just be one of Odin's ravens...