This is what I'd call a historical fantasy piece.  It was inspired by baltic war knives and the novel Katabasis.  I asked myself what kind of blade would Baba Yaga have carried?  This was my answer.  It uses many parts from originals (the serpent hangers, the silver medallions in the handle, and the overall shape), some parts derived from original pieces (the raven design of the chape, the pattern of the carving on the handle), and some are just purely from my imagination (the front and rear ferrules, the scabbard design).  It's meant to be a long enough blade to fight with fairly effectively, but not as big as a sword or a langseax or other weapon carried by a professional warrior.  It's really meant as a scandinavian wakizashi in terms of function.

The blade is a 3 bar pattern weld.  The top bar that forms the spine is wrought iron to provide a bit of shock absorption.  The middle bar is a twist of 24-ish layers of 1095 and 15N20.  The edge is a 432 layer bar hammered to produce a pool and eye pattern. The blade is 22", and the knife is 32" overall.

The handle has bronze fittings, a bog oak handle, a moose antler spacer, and sterling silver medallions.  The sheath is a wooden core lined with felt and covered in leather.  The fittings are bronze and the two stones in the chape are onyx.

This piece appeared in the April 2020 issue of Blade Magazine.