Valkcurve Hand Forged 1095 Steel Viking Katana | 40 Inch Overall | Valknut Etched Blade and Black Leather Wrapped Tsuka with Lacquered Saya | Norse Gift | RK-1900

Valkcurve is a full length katana carrying Norse work. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel, single edged with a long even curve and a bright satin polish, and a Valknut is etched into the flat just above the brass habaki. The tsuka is wrapped in black leather laid in overlapping turns, the tsuba is a plain round steel disc with no ornament to compete with the blade, and the saya is a deep charcoal lacquer. It is the piece we build for people who want a Japanese sword that says something Norse.

The Valknut is three triangles locked together so that no one of them can be lifted free without the others, and it appears carved on the Stora Hammars stones in Gotland and on a bed post from the Oseberg ship burial. In both cases it sits beside scenes involving death and the passage out of life, and it is closely associated with Odin. No surviving text explains it, so anyone who gives you a confident single meaning is filling in a gap. Valkcurve is forged, ground, heat treated, etched, mounted and finished by hand in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee.

Specifications

Where the curve in a katana comes from

Most people assume a curved sword is bent to shape. On a Japanese blade the curve largely arrives on its own, during the quench, and understanding why explains the whole design. The blade goes into the water nearly straight. The edge, being thinner, cools first and transforms into martensite, which occupies slightly more volume than the steel it came from. That expansion along the edge pushes the blade into a curve away from the edge, then the spine cools and pulls some of it back, and the sword settles at its final sori. A smith controls the amount by how thick the blade is, how the clay is laid on, and how hot the quench water runs. Valkcurve is set up for an even curve through the whole length rather than a curve concentrated near the tang.

The steel and the leather wrap

1095 at about one percent carbon is straightforward to work and gives a blade that takes a keen edge and bends rather than snapping. We normalise three times, quench in warm oil, and temper to 54 to 58 HRC, tough rather than glass hard, because a twenty eight inch blade sees lateral load in any handling. The tsuka is wrapped in leather rather than the more common cotton or silk cord. Leather is thicker, so the wrap sits fuller in the hand, and it grips better in a warm palm, at the cost of the open diamond windows that a cord wrap gives. It is stretched damp and laid in overlapping turns so it shrinks tight onto the underlay as it dries.

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 Valkcurve that means your line takes the position the Valknut currently occupies above the habaki, and the Valknut is left off that blade. See the engraving page for lettering and sizes.

Handling and balance

The balance point sits about five inches ahead of the tsuba, which is normal for a katana of this length and gives the blade its characteristic feeling of wanting to continue through a cut. The eleven inch tsuka takes two hands with a clear gap between them, and that gap is the mechanism. The forward hand steers and the rear hand pulls, so the sword rotates around a point between them rather than around the wrist. The blade is sharpened. Valkcurve is sold for collecting, display and dry handling, and we do not sell it for full contact sparring or for cutting hard targets.

Care

Never handle the polished blade with bare fingers. A fingerprint on a satin polish etches in within a few days and it will sit exactly where the eye lands. Wipe with a soft clean cloth and keep a very thin oil film on the steel, applied by cloth rather than sprayed, so the saya interior stays dry. Do not store the sword with oil pooled on the blade or the lacquer lining will go tacky. The leather wrap wants keeping dry and can take a light neutral cream once a year. Do not use metal polish on the etched Valknut, since polish will lift the etch. Notes on rust are in the guide to steel care.

Forged in Memphis

This is not an importer piece with our name added. The blade is forged, ground, heat treated and polished in our Memphis, Tennessee shop, the Valknut is etched here, the habaki is filed to fit this blade alone, the saya is shaped and lacquered at the bench and the tsuka is wrapped by hand. Fitting a habaki is slow and cannot be skipped, because it is the part that holds the sword in the saya. Processing runs one to two weeks. Shipping inside the United States is free, returns run seven days, and the lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings applies with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This katana 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 sori arrives in the quench and differs by a fraction between blades, the Valknut etch sits at its own depth, the leather wrap has its own tension and grain, and the lacquer holds its own sheen. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Valknut etched or engraved?

Etched into the surface of the blade, which gives a clean crisp line without removing enough steel to weaken the flat. It sits above the habaki where the eye finds it as the sword is drawn.

Why a leather wrap instead of cord?

Because it suits this sword. Leather sits fuller in the hand and grips better when warm, at the cost of the diamond windows a cord wrap gives. If you want cord instead, ask us before ordering.

Is the blade full tang?

The tang runs the full length of the tsuka and is secured through the handle in the traditional way. It is not a partial or welded tang.

Can I display it edge down?

You can, but the traditional orientation on a stand is saya down with the edge upward, which is also how it was worn through the sash. Edge down puts the edge against the cradle.

Will the charcoal lacquer scratch?

Any lacquer will mark if it is drawn across grit. Keep the saya off rough surfaces and wipe it with a damp cloth. A charcoal finish hides light marks better than gloss white.

How long does it take to arrive?

One to two weeks of processing, then free shipping inside the United States. The habaki fitting and the lacquer coats set the timeline.

What is in the box

• Valkcurve Viking katana in 1095 high carbon steel with an etched Valknut
• Charcoal lacquered saya
• Care card covering handling a polished blade and looking after a leather wrap
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the katana and Japanese swords, the wakizashi, the engraved and personalised pieces, and the guides.