Ravenmark Hand Forged Black Damascus Viking Warrior Sword | 36 Inch Overall with 30 Inch Blade | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1238

The Ravenmark is a black Damascus Viking sword, 36 inches overall with a 30 inch layered blade etched dark and carrying an inscription worked into the face. Inscribed blades are a real and slightly mysterious part of the historical record. Alongside the famous Frankish maker names, swords of the tenth to thirteenth centuries turn up carrying strings of Latin initials that nobody has fully decoded: sequences like SNSNI and NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI appear on multiple unrelated blades across Europe, apparently abbreviations of prayers or invocations, cut and inlaid in iron or latten wire by workshops that clearly expected the buyer to know what the letters stood for. Whatever they meant, the intent is not in doubt. A sword was worth a fortune, it decided whether its owner lived through a summer, and marking it with something protective was entirely rational behaviour. This sword follows that tradition without pretending to be a copy of any particular original, which is why the inscription is our own work rather than a reproduction of a museum piece.

It is forged and finished by hand in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The billet is forge welded from alternating high carbon and nickel bearing steel, drawn to length, ground, hardened and tempered, then etched dark so the layers and the inscription come up together. The guard and lobed pommel are blackened to match, the tang is peened over the pommel, and the sword ships in a fitted black leather scabbard over a wooden core with a belt hanger, blade oil and a care card. Shipping inside the United States is free, and the engraving option above the add to cart button is open on every piece.

Specifications

How an inscription is put into a Damascus blade

There are three ways to mark a blade and they are not equivalent. The historical method is inlay: cut a channel, lay in a wire of contrasting iron or latten, and forge weld or hammer it flush so the letters are physically part of the blade. That is how the Frankish workshops did it and it is slow, expensive work. The second method is stock removal engraving, cutting the letters with a graver or a rotary tool so they sit below the surface. The third is chemical etching through a resist, where the design is masked, acid eats the exposed steel and the mask is removed.

On this sword the inscription is etched into the blade face and then the whole blade goes through the darkening etch, which sinks the letters and the surrounding steel to different depths and leaves the marking legible in the pattern rather than sitting on top of it. That interaction is the point. On a plain blade an etched inscription is a clean line on a blank field. On pattern welded steel the letters cut across the layers, so the figure of the Damascus runs through the marking and the two read as one surface. Get it wrong and the pattern swallows the text. Getting it right means controlling the depth of both etches and the order they happen in.

If you order a custom engraving on this sword, your work replaces the standard inscription rather than joining it. There is only one blade face and two competing marks on it look like a mistake.

Why Damascus steel and not stainless

The billet is 1095 alternated with 15N20. Both are high carbon steels that harden to the same range, so the finished blade behaves as one properly heat treated piece rather than a sandwich of dissimilar metals. The visible pattern comes from nickel in the 15N20 resisting the etchant while the plain carbon layers darken. Stainless steel cannot produce this. Its rust resistance depends on a heavy chromium content that causes coarse carbides and brittle behaviour in long sections, and it does not etch into a legible pattern, so anything sold as stainless Damascus is a printed or laser marked surface rather than folded steel. Real Damascus asks for oil and attention in exchange for being genuine. The comparison is set out on our Damascus versus stainless page.

The grip and the fittings

The grip is a shaped hardwood core, waisted so the hand indexes the edge alignment by feel, with cord risers bound under the wrap to give the fingers positive stops. Black leather goes over it, wet fitted so it dries tight, stitched along the back edge away from the palm. The guard and lobed pommel are blackened steel, filed and fitted by hand to sit with the dark blade, and the tang is peened over the pommel button so the assembly is locked mechanically with no adhesive doing structural work.

There is hardwood under that leather, so treat the grip as wood. Keep it dry, keep it out of hot vehicles, wipe rather than wash and never dry it with heat. Our note on wooden handle care covers the same core and the same problems, and a light conditioner on the black leather once or twice a year keeps the wrap and the scabbard from drying out and cracking.

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. That applies directly to this sword, which ships with an inscription as standard. Order your own rune line or pattern for the blade and it takes the place of the standard marking. Order it on the handle instead and the blade inscription stays. The engraving page shows the placements and how long a line will fit at this size.

Care and sharpening

A deeply etched blade needs oil more than a polished one, because the surface is microscopically open and will hold the moisture and salt from a fingerprint for longer. Wipe it every time you handle it and keep a light film on. Do not store the sword inside its scabbard for months, since leather holds damp and tanning residue that will pit steel over a season. Keep it on a rack with the scabbard alongside. Our steel care guide covers storage, early rust and how to re-darken an area where handling has polished the etch bright.

Sharpening is standard high carbon technique over a longer edge. Work in overlapping sections along a coarse stone and then a fine one at a steady angle, and finish on a strop. Keep the flat of the blade off the abrasive, because a Damascus face dragged across a stone comes back with a bright streak through the pattern and the inscription. The angle control in our guide to sharpening with a whetstone transfers directly.

Forged in Memphis

Everything under our name is made in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue, rebadged or bought in finished, which is why we can answer questions about which billet a blade came from and how deep the etch went. It also means we work to a queue. A Damascus sword with an inscription is one of the slowest things we make, because the billet takes a day before the sword exists and the marking has to be masked, etched and checked in stages. If yours is not on the rack, expect three to four weeks before it ships, plus a few days more for custom engraving.

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. Pattern welded steel cannot be repeated. How the layers stack, how the figure runs against the inscription, how deeply the etch bites and how the wood grain lies under the grip leather all vary from billet to billet because every stage is worked by hand from natural materials. What stays fixed is the specification: the steels, the layer count, the heat treatment, the dimensions, the construction and the finish standard are the same every time. The character is what changes, and on an etched Damascus blade it is most of the reason to own one.

Frequently asked questions

What does the inscription on the blade say?

It is our own marking in the spirit of the inscribed medieval blades rather than a copy of any specific museum sword, and we do not present it as a historical reproduction. If you want a particular phrase, name or date instead, order the engraving option and your text replaces the standard inscription.

Is the Damascus real, and is the sword functional?

Both. The billet is hand forge welded from 1095 and 15N20 and the pattern runs through the blade rather than sitting on the surface. It is through hardened to 56 to 58 HRC with a peened full tang and will handle target cutting on bottles, mats and pool noodles. It is not for contact sparring, steel on steel, or throwing.

Can I have the inscription removed and my own runes put on instead?

Yes, that is exactly how the engraving option works on this piece. Use the rune converter on this page for Elder Futhark, select the engraving option above the add to cart button, and tell us the blade is the placement. Your line goes on in place of the standard inscription.

Will the pattern and the inscription look like the photograph?

The inscription will be laid out the same way. The Damascus figure behind it will not, because every billet is different and every grind cuts a different section through the layers. Dimensions, steels and finish standard are constant, and the photograph is an accurate guide to the model rather than a picture of the individual sword.

What is the difference between this and the blackened plain steel version?

The plain version is a single high carbon steel with a black oxide finish, uniform and matte. This one is forge welded from two steels and etched so the layers themselves make the light and dark. Function is comparable, price is not, because the billet takes a full day of welding and drawing before any sword exists.

How long does shipping take?

Free inside the United States with tracking. In stock pieces leave within two business days. Made to order, allow three to four weeks of bench time for a Damascus sword of this length, plus a few days more for custom engraving.

What is in the box

• One Ravenmark black Damascus Viking sword, 36 inches overall with a 30 inch layered blade
• Fitted black leather scabbard over a wooden core with blackened throat and chape
• Leather belt hanger with buckle
• Blade oil and a lint free cloth for first storage
• Care card written for deep etched Damascus
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the Damascus swords, the full Viking swords range, our engraved and personalised pieces and the wider swords collection. Etching, steel and care are covered in the guides.