I have been commissioned to make a sax for a person who plays in the SCA. His persona is that of a Rus trader and he wanted something sufficiently "viking" and with a bear theme. So... The requirements are about 7" in the blade, dark wood handle of a wood native to that region of the world, "Gotland" style sheath and, a bear theme. He also mentioned that he is hard on knives and has broken several in the past. After a bit of back and forth we settled on a Borre style of art for the fittings and sheath.
The first thing I did was look for Norse bear motifs. There are not many.
Th