Scramasax
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This is a page about the weapon known as the scramasax. For the weapon/tool known as the scramaseax, see seax.
The Scramasax is a European bladed weapon, vaguely resembling a butcher knife or a machete. Its blade is gently curving, usually tapering to a point, sometimes sporting a false edge on the back up to a third of the whole length.
The total length could range from as little as half a foot (150 mm) to a full yard (910 mm).
The name 'sax' stems from the Germanic word 'sahs', designating a knife or blade. The tribe of the Saxons, who customarily carried this type of weapon, took their name from it. It was also worn by Lombard warriors as a tool, a last resort weapon, and sign of rank from the 4th century AD to the 9th century AD, and was probably well known to many other Germanic tribes around Europe.
The Vikings distinguished between the sax (a longer straight backsword) and the scramasax.
Being cruder than a fully fledged sword, yet nonetheless an effective weapon against an unarmoured foe, it became a staple with poorer soldiers, and it was still a weapon of choice for English bowmen as late as 1450. The blade was more often than pressed to service as a general tool, and in some quarters was used as an 'eating knife' of sorts, resembling as it did a large kitchen knife. It would have been used as a garden or farm implement, with many peasant-stock soldiers fetching their own from home, where it would have seen use in the kitchen as well as the dining table, much like the Gurkha Kukri.
See also: Backsword
