Mosscrown Hand Forged Damascus Arming Sword with Scabbard | 38 Inch Overall and 32 Inch Blade | Collector and Display Gift | RK-1341

This is a broad single handed sword with a blade forge welded from 1095 and 15N20 and a hilt cut from bone, with a carved Vegvisir disc pommel and a wide arched cross. It sits at the heavier cutting end of the knightly sword family, close to two inches at the shoulder and thirty two inches of blade, and it is worth saying what that actually buys you. The whole reason a broad blade exists is that until plate armour became common, the enemy in front of you was wearing mail over padding, and mail is very good at stopping a point and much worse at stopping a heavy percussive cut delivered with a wide edge. Blade width is not decoration on a sword like this. It is the difference between a cut that lands and a cut that skates.

The billet is stacked, welded, drawn and etched by hand in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The hilt is a tan leather wrapped grip between a bone cross with flared ends and a bone disc pommel carved with a Vegvisir stave. It ships in a plain brown leather scabbard. Shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

Balance point, sweet spot and why they are not the same thing

Two numbers describe how a sword behaves and most descriptions only mention one of them. The first is the point of balance, which is simply where the sword balances across a finger. On this piece it sits about four and a half inches ahead of the cross, which is normal for a broad cutting blade and is what makes it feel authoritative rather than whippy. The second, and the more useful, is the centre of percussion, the point along the blade where a cut lands without sending a shock back into your hand. On a thirty two inch blade that sweet spot falls roughly two thirds of the way out, and it is the reason experienced cutters aim with a specific part of the edge rather than just swinging.

The two are related but independent. Move the pommel mass up and the balance point comes back toward the hand, but the sweet spot barely moves, because it is set by the distribution of mass along the whole blade rather than by the counterweight alone. That is why a heavy pommel does not turn a bad blade into a good one. It is also why a sword like this, with the width carried well down the blade before the taper closes in, cuts far better than its weight suggests. Hit with the right part of the edge and it goes through a target with almost no vibration. Hit two inches from the tip and you feel it in the wrist.

Why Damascus and not stainless

The blade is a forge welded laminate of 1095 and 15N20. The nickel content of the 15N20 resists the ferric chloride etch and stays bright while the 1095 beside it darkens, and that contrast is the pattern. It is carbon steel, so it will take a patina and it will rust if it is neglected, and in exchange the repeated folding refines the grain and the blade runs at 58 to 60 HRC with long edge life. Stainless buys corrosion resistance with a heavy chromium load, which at this width and length costs the toughness a sword needs in the shoulder and tang, and stainless does not etch to a real pattern, so any stainless Damascus is a printed surface rather than a welded billet. The comparison is set out in Damascus versus stainless.

Bone furniture and the leather grip

The cross and pommel here are cut and carved from bone rather than cast in metal. Bone hilt furniture is well attested across the Norse and early medieval world and it has real advantages. It is lighter than steel or brass for the same volume, so a large decorative pommel can be fitted without dragging the balance back too far. It is warm in the hand. It takes a carved line cleanly, which is why the Vegvisir on this pommel has crisp radial staves rather than the softened edges you get in cast metal. And it ages to a soft ivory tone with handling that no coating imitates.

Bone asks for very little. Wipe it with a dry cloth and keep it out of direct sun, hot cars and radiator shelves, because sharp swings in humidity are what crack it. Do not oil it heavily and never soak it. The grip is leather over a shaped wooden core, so treat that as you would any wooden handle, keeping it dry and giving the wrap a light leather balm once a year. Our note on wooden handle care covers the routine in a couple of minutes.

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. On this sword that means your chosen design replaces the Vegvisir carved into the pommel, or we can cut a rune line into the bone cross instead and leave the pommel as it is. Tell us which in the order notes. Details are on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Etching opens the surface of a Damascus blade slightly, so it needs more care than plain polished steel. Dry it after handling, wipe it with light machine oil or a hard paste wax, and do not leave fingerprints on it overnight in a humid room. Never store the sword sheathed for long stretches, because vegetable tanned leather holds moisture and tanning salts against steel and rust starts where you cannot see it. A haze lifts with a clean cloth and oil and will not harm the pattern, which runs through the blade. Read steel care before the first outing, and sharpen with a coarse then fine stone at a shallow angle as set out in sharpening with a whetstone, then re oil.

Forged in Memphis

Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. The stack is welded and the blade drawn in our own forge in Memphis, Tennessee, the heat treat is run here, the bone is cut, shaped and carved here and the scabbard is made in the same building. A broad Damascus blade with carved bone furniture is slow work, so allow twelve to sixteen working days before it ships plus two to five days in transit. Custom carving or engraving adds about a week. If the bench is backed up we will tell you where you stand.

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. The Damascus figure is unique to the billet and differs between the two faces of the same blade. Bone varies in tone, density and grain from piece to piece, the leather takes dye differently from hide to hide and the depth of the carved Vegvisir varies because it is cut by hand. The dimensions, the steel and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is exactly what you are paying for.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Vegvisir on the pommel?

It is an Icelandic stave, sometimes called the Norse compass, associated with not losing your way in bad weather. We will be honest with you: it appears in the Huld manuscript of 1860 and related Icelandic grimoires rather than in Viking age material. It is folk magic from a later Iceland, not a tenth century artefact.

Is the pattern on the blade genuine Damascus?

Yes. It is a forge welded stack of 1095 and 15N20, and the layers run right through the steel. Grinding into the blade would show the same pattern underneath.

Is it sharp?

Yes, it ships with a keen working edge. Ask in the order notes for a blunt display or reenactment edge and we will leave a rounded quarter inch instead at no extra cost.

Will the bone hilt stand up to cutting practice?

For soft target cutting against bottles, mats and noodles, yes, and the tang is peened through the whole assembly. It is not the right sword for hard contact work or sparring, and if that is your plan we would put you on a steel hilted blade instead.

How does this compare with your steel arming swords?

It is broader and slightly longer than most of them, the blade is pattern welded and harder, and the bone furniture is lighter and warmer in the hand than steel. A plain 1095 sword is the better choice if you intend to use it hard and do not want to think about the finish.

How long does shipping take?

Free inside the United States. Twelve to sixteen working days in the shop, then two to five days in transit, plus about a week if you order custom engraving or carving.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 and 15N20 Damascus arming sword, 38 inches overall
• Brown leather scabbard
• Light protective oil coat on the blade for transit
• Care and sharpening card for pattern welded steel
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

Browse every pattern welded blade in Damascus swords, the rest of the arming swords, our Viking swords and everything under swords. Background reading is in the guides.