Bonewhorl Hand Forged Damascus Celtic Dagger | 14 Inch Overall with 9 Inch Double Edged Blade | Carved Bone Handle, Elder Futhark Etching and Leather Sheath | Norse Gift | RK-1964

The Bonewhorl is a double edged dagger with a pattern welded Damascus blade and a pale carved bone handle cut with deep Celtic interlace. The blade widens from a squared ricasso into a long symmetrical taper and finishes in a strong point. A row of runes is etched down the polished ricasso where the pattern stops. The handle is bracketed by steel collars top and bottom with a small scroll carved into the butt, and a leather thong runs through the pommel. A burgundy leather sheath with a steel throat and a knotwork chape comes with it.

The runes on the ricasso are not decoration chosen at random and they are not a word. Read from the guard upward they are fehu, uruz, thurisaz, ansuz, raido and kaunan, followed by gebo and wunjo. Those are the first eight runes of the Elder Futhark in their fixed traditional order. The Elder Futhark had twenty four characters arranged in three groups of eight, and each group was called an aett. This is the first aett, and its opening six sounds are f, u, th, a, r and k, which is where the name futhark comes from, exactly the way the word alphabet comes from alpha and beta. Every one of these is forged, welded, ground, heat treated, carved and fitted in our Memphis, Tennessee shop and ships with the sheath shown and our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings.

Specifications

Reading the first aett

Runes were cut, not written, and that is why they look the way they do. Every character is built from straight strokes because a knife or a chisel travels badly across the grain of wood and badly across the surface of stone. There are almost no curves and almost no horizontal lines in the Elder Futhark, since a horizontal cut on a wooden stave would follow the grain and disappear.

The eight on this blade run in the order they always ran. Fehu means cattle, which in a livestock economy simply meant wealth. Uruz is the aurochs, the wild ox that survived in Europe until the seventeenth century. Thurisaz is a giant or a thorn depending on which tradition you follow. Ansuz is a god, and specifically one of the Aesir. Raido is a ride or a journey. Kaunan is a torch or an ulcer, and the two meanings sit uncomfortably next to one another in the sources. Gebo is a gift, which in Norse terms carried an obligation to return it. Wunjo is joy.

What matters for a blade is that this is a real sequence rather than a string of shapes picked for looks. If you want your own name or a date instead, that is the whole point of the engraving option below.

Damascus steel and carved bone

The blade is folded and forge welded from 1095 and 15N20 in alternating layers, drawn out, ground and etched. The nickel content in the 15N20 resists the acid and stays bright while the plain carbon 1095 goes dark, so the wave pattern you can see is the layer structure of the billet cut through by the grind. It is not printed and it cannot be. Heat treated together the two steels finish at 58 to 60 HRC, which is a point or two harder than plain 1095 and gives noticeably longer edge life on a short blade.

Bone has been the standard handle material for daggers and knives for as long as there have been either, for the simple reason that it is dense, it takes carving cleanly and it is available anywhere anyone keeps animals. It also carves in a way wood does not. Wood has a grain direction that fights deep undercutting, while bone is more uniform through its section, which is why interlace with genuine depth to it turns up on bone and antler far more often than on timber. Bone is a natural material and every piece is slightly different in tone, with fine natural markings and occasional darker flecks. That is the material, not a fault.

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 the Bonewhorl the first aett running down the ricasso is the existing design, and it is the obvious place for a name or a date instead, since the space is already sized for eight characters. The sheath leather also takes a stamped line well. Details are on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

A double edged dagger of this size balances close to the guard, usually within an inch of it, and that is what makes it feel quick. The carved handle is not slippery in the way a smooth polished handle is, because the raised interlace gives your fingers something to sit against, though it is a decorative texture rather than a purpose cut grip pattern.

The squared ricasso is worth knowing about. It gives you an unsharpened section at the base of the blade where a thumb or forefinger can go if you want to choke up for close controlled work, and it also means the sheath throat grips something flat rather than something sharp. There is no crossguard to speak of beyond the steel collar, so keep the hand behind it.

This is a sharp forged blade rather than a display casting. Both edges are live and the point is acute. It is not a throwing knife, and daggers are the wrong shape for throwing.

Care

Etched Damascus is a slightly textured surface and it holds fingerprints and moisture better than a mirror polish does, so wipe the blade down after every handling and keep a light film of mineral or camellia oil on it. Rust will show first as freckling in the dark bands. If it appears, oil it and work it gently with cork rather than attacking it with abrasive, which flattens the etch and greys the pattern permanently. Full guidance is in our steel care notes.

The bone handle wants very little. Keep it out of prolonged direct sun and away from radiators, because bone will dry and can craze if it is baked. A wipe with a barely oiled cloth once or twice a year is enough. Do not put it in water and never in a dishwasher. Feed the leather sheath twice a year and do not store the dagger sheathed for months at a time.

Forged in Memphis

The billet is welded and drawn in Memphis, Tennessee. The blade is ground, heat treated and etched here, the bone is carved here, the runes are cut here and the sheath is made to the individual blade here. Nothing about this piece is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Hand carved interlace in bone is slow work, so allow one to two weeks of processing before dispatch and a few days more for engraving. Shipping inside the United States is free.

A note on handmade variation

This dagger is hand made and not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Damascus cannot be repeated, so your blade will carry a pattern no other blade has. Bone is a natural material and its colour, its fine surface markings and the way the carving catches light will all be particular to your handle. The depth of the interlace, the crispness of the rune line and the tone of the sheath hide vary too. The length, the steels, the heat treat and the construction do not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the handle real bone

Yes, carved bone. Because it is a natural material, expect small variations in colour and fine natural markings across the surface. Two handles are never identical.

What do the runes on the blade say

They are the first eight runes of the Elder Futhark in order, the group known as the first aett. They spell out the beginning of the alphabet rather than a word.

Can I have my own name instead of the runes

Yes, and it is the most common request on this piece. Use the rune converter and the engraving option, and your line takes the place of the first aett on the ricasso.

Is it sharp on both edges

Yes. Both edges are ground and sharpened and the point is acute. Treat the whole blade as live.

Can I throw it

No. A double edged dagger with a carved handle is the wrong shape and the wrong balance for throwing, and throwing it will chip the point and can crack the handle.

How long does delivery take

One to two weeks of processing and then transit. Shipping inside the United States is free. Engraved orders take slightly longer.

What is in the box

• Bonewhorl Damascus Celtic dagger in 1095 and 15N20 pattern welded steel
• Carved bone handle with steel collars and a leather wrist thong
• Burgundy leather sheath with steel throat and engraved chape
• Care card and lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

More in daggers, Viking knives and Anglo Saxon and Celtic pieces, or read the guides on the Elder Futhark and pattern welding.