Saga Siglar - Red Curly Birch
3½” triple laminated carbon steel drop point blade with a red dyed curly birch handle. Includes a black leather belt sheath. Overall length: 7⅞”
Helle’s Saga Siglar Knife is a Thousand Years Old –
The Helle Saga Siglar Knife is a design based on a historical Viking utility knife from the ninth century. Beautifully simple, useful and unpretentious, the Saga Siglar knife is notable not only for its historical interest, but also as an excellent all-around utility knife.
In 1983, Norwegian explorer Ragnar Thorseth approached Helle to create a knife that would help raise funds to finance a trip around the world in a hand-built replica of a 1000-year-old wooden Viking long ship. Naturally, Helle was eager to participate as they have always had deep roots in Scandinavian tradition and history. Ironically, in 1926, a Viking grave and 9-meter boat were excavated while digging what would later become the Helle factory.
Ragnar’s recreation of the Viking ship, the Saga Siglar, was built in Norway using hand tools and traditional shipbuilding methods, including sealing the pine wood hull with tar. Helle, whose way of making knives is also based on traditional Scandinavian methods, was tasked with re-creating a Viking age belt knife that would match the craftsmanship and historical significance of the ship.
To ensure authenticity, Arne Emile Christensen, a Professor with the University Museum of National Antiquities in Oslo, devised a design based on a reconstruction of a knife found in a Viking tomb from around the ninth century. Based on this historical design, Helle set about to replicate a Viking age belt knife using laminated carbon steel and curly birch wood painstakingly ground, polished and oiled. The thong-style, tanned leather sheath is also shaped and stitched in the traditional Nordic way.
In 1984 hundreds of these Helle knives traveled around the world with Ragnar Thorseth and were sold at various stops along the way. After the voyage was completed Helle continued to sell the knife with a slight change — the blade was made longer to match consumer preferences at the time.
The current popularity of knives with shorter blades provided us an opportunity to release this historical design,” says Torodd Helle, director of Helle Knives. “Just as the Saga Siglar long ship proved Vikings could sail further than anyone previously expected, the Helle Saga Siglar knife proves traditional Scandinavian knife designs are never outdated and always useful.”
Since early times, the Norwegian knife has been an important companion in everyday life. Norwegian knife manufacturing today is clearly influenced by traditional shapes and materials that were established hundreds of years ago. A well-made leather sheath and handles of wood, leather, and antler seem to be a legacy that Norwegians want to preserve. A/S Helle Fabrikker is dedicated to honoring this legacy by developing knives that are on the leading edge of technology, yet still maintain the traditional look and feel of a truly Norwegian knife. Unique in Helle knives is the laminated stainless steel used to produce a tough, razor-sharp blade. The technology was developed by their company in cooperation with a Norwegian steel mill. This high performance steel is available only in their knives and gives each blade a unique combination of high strength and long lasting sharpness. Laminated steel is another Norwegian tradition that is rarely found in other parts of the world.
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