Serpentcrown Hand Forged 1095 Steel Viking Arming Sword | 36 Inch Overall | Engraved Disc Pommel and Russet Leather Grip with Fitted Leather Scabbard | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1891

Serpentcrown is a single hand Viking arming sword built on the pattern that dominated northern Europe from the late ninth century onward. It carries a straight double edged blade of 1095 high carbon steel with a shallow central fuller running most of its length, a blackened steel crossguard that droops very slightly toward the point, a grip wrapped in russet leather over a shaped wood core, and a thick polished steel disc pommel cut with Norse knotwork. A serpent line is etched into the upper third of the blade, a single flowing beast that runs down the fuller and tapers away before the middle of the edge.

The disc pommel is the detail that dates a sword like this. Early Viking hilts used lobed and tea cosy pommels built up from several pieces, but by the eleventh century smiths across Scandinavia and Norman France had moved to a single heavy disc, because one solid mass of steel is easier to forge, easier to peen the tang over, and puts the counterweight exactly where the hand wants it. Serpentcrown is forged, ground, heat treated, hilted and finished by hand by hand in the Czech Republic, and it ships with a fitted leather scabbard closed with a steel chape.

Specifications

What the fuller actually does

People still call the groove down the centre of a blade a blood groove, which is folklore. The fuller is a stiffness and weight feature borrowed from beam engineering. Steel removed from the middle of a cross section contributes very little to how the blade resists bending, because bending stress concentrates at the outer surfaces. Take that middle steel away and you drop several ounces from the blade without meaningfully reducing how stiff it is edge to edge. On a 30 inch blade that saving sits far from the hand, so it shifts the balance point back toward the guard and makes the sword feel considerably livelier than its raw weight suggests. Our fuller is ground with a rotating wheel, walked along the blade in slow passes, then blended by hand so the shoulders stay crisp rather than washing out into the flats.

1095 steel and how we treat it

1095 is a simple high carbon steel, roughly one percent carbon and very little else. That plainness is the point in a sword. There is no chromium or vanadium to complicate the quench, so the smith controls the outcome with temperature and timing alone, and the result is a blade that takes a keen edge and bends rather than shatters when it is pushed. We normalise three times to refine the grain, quench in warm oil, then temper back to 54 to 58 HRC. That is deliberately softer than a hunting knife. A sword this long has to survive lateral load and flex back true, and a blade run at knife hardness will take a set or crack. The blackened guard is finished with a controlled oxide, and the pommel and chape are left bright.

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, the leather or the wood. 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 where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On Serpentcrown that means the etched serpent on the blade or the knotwork on the pommel face gives way to whatever you choose. Full details and lettering samples are on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

The balance point sits about four inches ahead of the guard. That is a deliberately close balance for a sword of this length, and it makes the point easy to bring back on line after a committed cut. In the hand the grip fills a medium palm with the heel of the hand resting against the disc, which is how these hilts were meant to be held. The pommel is not a place to put your little finger. It is a counterweight that lets you steer the blade from the front of the grip. Serpentcrown is a sharpened, functional sword rather than a stage prop, but it is sold for collecting, display and dry handling. We do not sell it for full contact sparring or for cutting against hard targets, and no sword should be swung near anyone.

Care

1095 will rust if you let it. Wipe the blade down after handling, because skin oil is mildly acidic and fingerprints etch into a satin finish within days in a humid room. Keep a light film of mineral oil or a dedicated blade oil on the steel and refresh it every few weeks. Do not store the sword in the leather scabbard for months at a time, since leather holds moisture and the tanning salts will pit steel that sits against them. Hang it on a rack and keep the scabbard beside it. Feed the leather twice a year with a neutral cream. Fuller cleaning notes are in our guide to steel care.

Made in the Czech Republic

Every piece we sell is made by hand in the Czech Republic. The smiths there work the way the trade has been worked for a long time, heating and hammering the steel, taking the bevels down by eye, and fitting the handle and the leather one at a time. There is no automated line anywhere in it, so small differences from one piece to the next are normal and expected.

Ransack Viking is a United States company based in Memphis, Tennessee. We bring the pieces in ourselves, inspect them on arrival and ship them from our own warehouse. If you add engraving, that is carried out here in the United States before your order goes out.

A note on handmade variation

This sword is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The exact sweep of the etched serpent, the depth of the knotwork on the pommel, the grain and tone of the russet leather on the grip, the hammer texture left near the tang, and the precise shade of the blackened guard all vary from one sword to the next because each is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the blade sharp when it arrives?

Yes. It ships with a working sharp edge, keen enough to cut but not taken to a razor polish, because a razor edge on a sword chips the moment it meets anything solid.

Is the scabbard included or sold separately?

It is included in the price. The scabbard is leather over a wood core with a steel chape at the tip, and it is cut to this specific blade rather than being a generic sleeve.

Can I hang this on a wall?

You can. It has no wall bracket built in, so pick a rack or a pair of horn hooks rated for at least five pounds and support the sword at the guard and the lower blade rather than by the grip alone.

Will the blackened guard wear off?

The oxide on the guard is thin by nature and it will lighten at the high points where your hand rubs it. Most owners like that, since it is exactly how an original would have aged.

Can I have runes cut into the blade instead of the serpent?

Yes. Choose the engraving option, enter your text in the rune converter, and tell us you want it on the blade. The serpent etching is left off that sword.

How long until it ships?

One to two weeks of processing, then free shipping inside the United States. If you need it for a set date, say so at checkout and we will tell you honestly whether it is possible.

What is in the box

• Serpentcrown Viking arming sword in 1095 high carbon steel
• Fitted leather scabbard with a steel chape
• Care card with oiling and storage notes
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See the rest of the arming swords, the wider Viking swords, the full sword range, and the guides for help choosing a length.