The Story of the Blade of the Basilisk:

For generations tales have been passed down of a Cockatrice or a Basilisk dwelling deep within the wastes of Illantul.   Villagers claimed that the Basilisk’s gaze or the touch of the Cockatrice would turn a victim to stone.    Although multiple accounts of human paralysis were documented throughout Illantul during the age of the winds, there was no actual proof that the existence of a Basilisk or the Cockatrice was more than a ghost story.  It is far more likely that the strange deaths were attributable to a magical blade forged by a secretive sect of dwarven magi. The Blade of the Basilisk passed between numerous adventurers during the windy years, and legend tells that gazing into the orange eyes of the Cockatrice pommel or being cut by the blades’ terrifying hooks, brought on paralysis and death.

Actual Design and Construction:

The blade was forged by Windlass Steelcrafts using 1085, High Carbon Steel.  I added three gut hooks to each side of the blade and both sides are hand-etched with three sets of crossed serpentine Basilisks depicted with Cockatrice style heads.  The guard is hand carved from brass, annealed and then manipulated to form crossing quillons on each side. The handle of the blade’s through tang design is carved from African Blackwood and Central American Katalox, set upon a brass spacer.   Finally, the pommel is a hand carved brass Cockatrice head with inset orange cubic zirconia eyes.  

 Specifications:

Blade length- 12 inches

Overall length-18 inches

Grip length- 4 inches

Blade width at widest point- 1.625 inches

Guard width- 6 inches

Weight- 18.6 oz

Balance Point-0.75 inches in front of the guard

 Sheath Construction:

The sheath is a traditional dagger design (wet formed to the blade with hand stitching down the back spine) constructed of 4-5 oz premium veg tan leather.  The body of the sheath is tooled entirely with interlocking dragon scales. The leather throat carries the carved image of the same crossed serpentine Basilisks which are etched into the blade. The entire sheath is stained a light brown with black antiquing.