The Story of The Tooth of the Asp:

During the endless winter, a young acolyte pilfered this blade from the Temple of Serpents.  Knowing not what he had stolen, the acolyte planned to sell the blade to the highest bidder.  For months he met in secret with a number of potential buyers.  One such meeting, outside the Lazy Griffon, ended in the youth’s untimely death and the blade’s disappearance from the land of Illantul.  Ten and two years later, rumors spread from neighboring Uhl, claiming that many had since possessed and used the blade to great acclaim, but only for the briefest of time. For it is said that the Tooth of the Asp, although unmatched in battle, has a mind of its own.  Whenever the blade decides it is time for a new owner it transforms itself into a deadly poisonous serpent in the hand of its wielder. The blade’s transformation can only be halted by uttering the word inscribed on the blade’s rune scroll, assuming one who knows the old tongue.  

Actual Design and Construction:

The blade was forged by Windlass Steelcrafts using 1085 high carbon steel. I added a fuller and completely altered the top half and the ricasso of the blade.  Each side is etched with the image of a serpent coiling around the fuller and topped with a rune scroll.  The curved guard is fashioned from mild steel. A black G10 liner separates the guard from a brass spacer leading to the hand carved and fluted African Blackwood handle.  A top the handle is a mild steel spacer and another G10 liner prior to the pommel.  The threaded brass pommel was crafted from two separate cobra heads (created by an artist in the Ukraine) which I combined with a steel epoxy so the final product could be tapped, completing this dagger’s through tang design. A hidden nut lies below the serpent head, providing a stronger mechanical connection for the entire hilt assembly.

Specifications:

Blade length: 12 inches

Overall length: 18 inches

Hand grip length: 4 inches

Blade width at widest point: 1.5 inches

Guard width: 5 inches

Weight: 18.25 ounces

Balance point: At the guard

Sheath Construction:

The Sheath is a traditional dagger sheath design (wet formed to the blade and stitching down the back), constructed of 4-5 oz. premium veg tan leather and is hand stitched. The body of the sheath is tooled entirely with interlocking dragon scales and stained black.  The leather throat contains a hand carved serpent image.  Both the throat and the chape are stained yellow with a black antiquing.