Wolfmark Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Ulfberht Style Viking Sword | 36 Inch Overall with 30 Inch Blade | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1230

The Wolfmark is a full size Viking sword built on the Ulfberht pattern, the best known blade type of the Norse world. It carries a broad fullered blade in high carbon steel, a short straight lower guard, and a brass lobed pommel seated over a leather wrapped grip. Overall it runs 36 inches with a 30 inch blade, which puts it in the same bracket as the originals recovered from Scandinavian graves and Northern European riverbeds. The historical Ulfberht swords are worth knowing about. Roughly 170 surviving blades carry the iron letters +VLFBERH+T inlaid into the fuller, made across a span of nearly three centuries from about 800 to 1100 AD, which makes that name one of the earliest maker marks in European metalwork and very close to the first branded product on the continent. The finest of them were forged from steel with a carbon content and a slag content that no ordinary Frankish bloomery of the period should have been able to reach, which is why a good number of metallurgists argue the raw stock travelled up the Volga trade route from crucible steel producers far to the east, paid for in furs, amber and silver.

This one is forged and finished by hand in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The blade is drawn out under the hammer, the fuller is ground in by hand along its full length, the sword is heat treated and tempered in house, and the furniture is fitted and peened rather than glued. It ships with a fitted tan leather scabbard over a wooden core, with a brass throat and chape that match the guard and pommel, and with a leather belt hanger. Shipping inside the United States is free, and the engraving option above the add to cart button is open on every piece we make.

Specifications

What actually makes a blade Ulfberht pattern

People often assume the Ulfberht is defined by the inscription alone. It is not. The whole geometry belongs to a family that arms scholars group under Petersen types X and later, and Oakeshott type X in the medieval numbering. The blade is broad at the guard, close to parallel for the first two thirds, and then draws in to a rounded spear point rather than a needle tip. A wide shallow fuller runs down the centre of both faces for most of the length. That fuller is the reason the sword feels the way it does. Removing steel from the neutral axis costs almost nothing in stiffness but takes real weight out of the forward half, so a 30 inch blade balances only three or four inches ahead of the guard and can be recovered from a committed cut without a wrestle.

The guard is short and straight, and the pommel is a lobed cap peened onto the tang. Those two pieces are not decoration. The pommel is a counterweight, and moving mass behind the hand is what lets a sword this broad move quickly. Norse swords were used with a round shield in the other hand, so the sword itself had to be a one handed instrument that answered instantly, cut through a mail sleeve or a padded coat, and stayed in the fight. The lobed profile also gives the heel of the palm somewhere to sit at the end of a hard downward cut. We reproduce the geometry rather than the letters, because the historic inscription was a maker mark belonging to a Frankish workshop and copying it would be a claim we have no business making. If you want lettering, we will cut what you choose into the fuller ourselves.

Why high carbon steel and not stainless

1095 is a simple, clean, high carbon steel that takes a hard edge and holds it. At 56 to 58 HRC it sits in the range a working sword wants, hard enough to keep an edge through a long session and soft enough to bend and return rather than snap. Stainless steel gets its rust resistance from a high chromium content, and in the sizes and section thicknesses a sword needs, that chromium encourages large carbides and brittleness through a long blade. Stainless swords over about 24 inches are display objects, and cheap ones can fail catastrophically. High carbon steel will develop a patina and will spot if you leave it wet, which is the trade you make for a blade that behaves properly. Wipe it, oil it, and it will outlive you. There is a fuller comparison on our Damascus versus stainless page if you want the metallurgy set out side by side.

The grip, the guard and the pommel

The grip is a shaped hardwood core, waisted slightly so the hand indexes the edge without looking, with cord risers underneath the leather so your fingers find a positive stop. Over that goes tan leather, wet fitted and stitched at the back edge where the seam sits away from the palm. The brass guard and pommel are filed and polished by hand and fitted tight to the tang, which is then peened over the pommel button so the assembly is mechanically locked rather than held by adhesive. Brass was a common choice on higher status Viking swords precisely because it polishes bright, resists corrosion better than iron, and reads as wealth at a distance.

There is wood under that leather, so treat it as wood. Do not soak it, do not leave it in a hot car, and give it an occasional wipe with a barely damp cloth followed by a dry one. Our notes on wooden handle care apply directly here, and the leather itself is happy with a light conditioner once or twice a year.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the handle. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us whether it goes on the blade or the handle. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. The wide fuller on this sword is the natural home for a rune line and is exactly where the original workshops put their own marks. If you are not sure how a phrase will transliterate or how long a line will fit, the engraving page shows worked examples and the character counts we can hold at this size.

Care and sharpening

Keep it dry and keep it oiled. A light mineral oil or a purpose made blade oil wiped on with a cloth after handling is enough, and it matters more than people expect because fingerprints are mildly acidic and will etch a polished blade within days in a humid room. Do not store the sword long term inside the leather scabbard, since leather holds moisture and the tanning salts will pit a blade over months. Hang it, or lay it on a rack, and keep the scabbard beside it. Our steel care guide covers storage, patina and how to deal with a spot of rust before it becomes a pit.

The edge comes sharp but not razor thin, because a sword edge is ground for durability rather than for shaving. When it dulls, a sword sharpens exactly like any other high carbon blade, just with more length to work through. Take it in sections along a coarse then a fine stone at a consistent angle, and finish with a strop. The method in our guide on sharpening with a whetstone transfers directly, and a long combination stone or a guided rod system both work well on a blade this size.

Forged in Memphis

Every piece under our name is made in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue, rebranded, or bought in finished and stickered. That means we can tell you which steel went into a blade and who ground it, and it also means we cannot pull a hundred identical swords off a shelf. A sword like this takes real bench time, so if the piece you order is not already on the rack, expect a lead time of two to three weeks before it ships. If a rune line or a custom engraving is added, allow a few days more. We will tell you honestly where yours is in the queue if you ask.

A note on handmade variation

This sword is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph on this page. The grain of the wood under the grip leather, the exact tone of the tan hide, the way the polish catches light along the fuller, the depth of the file work on the brass and the precise line of the point are all worked by hand from natural materials, and every one of them varies a little from piece to piece. The things that do not vary are the ones that matter for fit and function: the steel, the heat treatment, the stated dimensions, the construction and the finish quality are the same every time. The character is what changes, and that is the point of buying something a person actually made.

Frequently asked questions

Is this sword sharp when it arrives?

Yes. It arrives with a working edge, cut and honed by hand, ground for durability rather than for shaving. If you want it blunted for stage work, reenactment or a household with curious children, say so in the order notes and we will finish it with a rounded display edge at no extra cost.

Can I actually cut with it, or is it a display piece?

It is a functional sword. The blade is through hardened 1095, tempered to 56 to 58 HRC, with a full tang peened over the pommel, so it will handle target cutting on water bottles, tatami mats and green pool noodles. It is not a sparring sword. Do not use it against another blade, against steel, or against bone and hardwood, and do not throw it.

Can I have Norse runes engraved on it?

Yes. Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a phrase into Elder Futhark, and choose the engraving option above the add to cart button to tell us whether the line goes into the fuller or onto the handle furniture. Blade engraving on the fuller is the historically correct placement on this pattern.

Will mine look exactly like the photograph?

Close, but not identical. The dimensions, steel and construction are fixed, while leather tone, wood grain, polish and hand file work vary between pieces because each one is made individually. Expect the same sword with its own character rather than a duplicate.

What is the difference between this and a Carolingian sword?

They overlap heavily. Carolingian usually describes the Frankish swords of the 8th and 9th centuries with a long straight lower guard and a tea cosy or brazil nut pommel, while the Ulfberht pattern is the Norse and Frankish blade family that grew out of them, with a broader fuller and a lobed pommel. Both were carried by Vikings, because a great many Viking swords were Frankish exports.

How long does shipping take?

Shipping inside the United States is free. If the piece is on the rack it goes out within two business days. If it is being forged to order, allow two to three weeks of bench time first, plus a few days more for custom engraving. You will get a tracking number the day it leaves the shop.

What is in the box

• One Wolfmark Ulfberht style Viking sword, 36 inches overall with a 30 inch 1095 high carbon steel blade
• Fitted tan leather scabbard over a wooden core with brass throat and chape
• Leather belt hanger with buckle
• Cloth and a small bottle of blade oil for first storage
• Care and sharpening card
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the Viking swords, the wider swords collection, the Viking weapons range and the scabbards and sheaths we make to fit them. Background reading on steel, patina and edge geometry sits in the guides.