Fellsaw Hand Forged 1095 Steel Sawback Fantasy Sword | 30 Inch Overall with 21 Inch Blade | Spiked Steel Guard, Cord Wrapped Grip and Black Scabbard | Collector Gift | RK-1951

The Fellsaw is a hand forged fantasy short sword with a sawback spine, a spiked steel crossguard and a fitted black scabbard. The blade runs about twenty one inches from guard to point and carries a long row of deep saw teeth along the back edge, stopping short of the tip so the last stretch of spine stays clean. A chevron mark is etched into the flat just ahead of the ricasso. The grip is wrapped in black cord over a full tang and finished with a squared steel pommel.

Sawback blades are older than most people assume. European hunting hangers carried them in the eighteenth century and Napoleonic pioneer swords carried them into the nineteenth, and in neither case were the teeth meant for fighting. They were working teeth, cut for fascines, tent poles and brush, which is why they are raked back along the spine and why they always stop before the point where the blade needs to stay stiff and narrow. We carry, grind, heat treat and finish every one of these by hand in the Czech Republic. Each sword ships with the black scabbard shown, a light film of protective oil on the steel and our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings.

Specifications

What the sawback spine is actually doing

A sawback is not a second edge and it will not cut a person any better than a plain spine would. What it does is give you a set of hooked teeth on the part of the blade that is otherwise dead weight. On the historical pioneer swords the teeth were filed with a backwards rake so that the saw bit on the pull stroke, which is the stroke you can control when you are working one handed and braced against a log. We cut ours the same way. The teeth are ground after heat treat so the points stay hard, and the gullets between them are rounded rather than left as sharp vees, because a sharp vee is where a crack starts.

The teeth also stop about six inches short of the point. That is deliberate and it is how the originals were made. The last stretch of a blade takes the most bending load in a thrust, and a row of notches there would be a row of stress risers waiting to fail. Leaving that section solid keeps the point stiff. It also gives you a clean run of spine to put a thumb on if you choke up for close work.

The steel and the finish

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel, a simple plain carbon steel with about one percent carbon and nothing else of note in it. That simplicity is why smiths keep coming back to it. It quenches hard, it takes a fine edge, it sharpens back easily on a stone and it forgives a small mistake in the fire. We normalise, harden and temper in house and bring the blade back to 54 to 58 HRC, which is the band where a long blade stays tough enough to take a knock without chipping.

The finish is a hand rubbed satin rather than a mirror. Satin hides handling marks, it does not glare under gallery lighting, and it lets you see the grind lines, which is honest. The chevron on the flat and the spiked guard are ground and filed by hand, so the spike tips and the chevron spacing will differ slightly from one sword to the next.

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 this sword the natural place for a rune line is the clean flat between the ricasso and the start of the teeth, and the chevron can be replaced there if you would rather have your own mark. Full details are on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

At about thirty inches overall this sits between a long knife and a full arming sword, which is a length that suits a lot of people who have never held a sword before. The point of balance sits roughly two to three inches ahead of the guard. That is close in, so the sword feels light in the wrist and turns quickly rather than swinging through like a chopper. The spiked guard is wide enough to keep a hand off the blade and the squared pommel gives your little finger something to sit against.

This is a forged and heat treated blade, not a soft display casting, and it will cut. It is not for sparring and we do not sell it that way. Do not use it for full contact work against another person or against another blade. Cutting practice on tatami, water bottles and cardboard is fine. Steel on steel is not.

Care

1095 is plain carbon steel and it will rust if you leave it wet. Wipe the blade down after handling, because fingerprints are salty and they etch. Keep a thin film of mineral oil, camellia oil or a gun oil on the steel and refresh it every month or two, more often if you live somewhere humid. Do not store the sword permanently in the scabbard, since a closed scabbard traps moisture against the steel. Hang it or lay it out and keep the scabbard for carrying. Full guidance is in our steel care notes.

Sharpen on a stone rather than a powered wheel. A grinder will draw the temper out of a thin edge faster than you would believe. The saw teeth do not need sharpening in normal use, and if you ever do want to touch them up, a small triangular file worked from the same side each time is all it takes.

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

Every one of these is made by hand and not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The number and spacing of the saw teeth, the exact reach of the guard spikes, the depth of the chevron etch, the tone of the satin finish and the tightness of the cord wrap all vary because a person made each one. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is the point of buying something forged rather than stamped.

Frequently asked questions

Is it sharp when it arrives

Yes. It ships with a working edge that will cut paper and light targets. It is not a razor and we do not put a razor edge on a long blade, because a very thin edge on something this size chips rather than dulls.

Can I use this for sparring or reenactment combat

No. It is a sharp forged blade, so it is not legal or safe for full contact work and no reenactment group will pass it. If you want a sparring sword you need a blunt with rolled edges and a rounded tip, which this is not.

What are the saw teeth for

Practical camp work. Cutting green poles, notching wood and clearing brush. They are a tool feature, copied from historical pioneer swords, not a fighting feature.

Is the scabbard included

Yes, the black scabbard in the photograph comes with the sword and is fitted to that individual blade. It is not sold separately for this piece.

Will mine look exactly like the photo

Close, but not identical. Tooth spacing, spike reach and the finish tone shift a little from sword to sword because each is ground and filed by hand.

How long does it take to arrive

Processing runs one to two weeks, plus transit. Shipping inside the United States is free. Engraved orders sit at the back end of that window rather than the front.

What is in the box

• Fellsaw sawback fantasy sword in 1095 high carbon steel
• Fitted black scabbard with steel throat and chape
• Protective oil film on the blade for transit
• Care card and lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in fantasy and movie swords, swords and scabbards and sheaths, or read the guides for how we grind, heat treat and finish a blade.