Thornfang Hand Forged 1095 Steel Fantasy Sword with Barbed Serrated Guard & Hooked Blade Spurs | 38 Inch Overall | Knotwork Faceted Pommel and Black Scabbard | Fantasy Collector Gift | RK-1992

Thornfang is a fantasy sword and it makes no pretence of being a reproduction of anything that was dug out of a barrow. The guard is a pair of swept wings, each one saw toothed along its trailing edge and drawn out to a long forward point, so the whole crossguard reads as two barbed thorns growing out of the blade root. Below the guard the shoulders of the blade step out into a second pair of notched flares, and about two thirds of the way down the blade two hooked spurs sweep back toward the hilt. The pommel is a faceted cap with a cut knotwork panel on its front face, and the grip is bound with fine cord over a shaped core.

Designs like this are not as invented as they look. Barbed and hooked crossguards have real ancestors in European fencing: fifteenth and sixteenth century swords grew forward curving side rings and parrying hooks specifically to trap and bind an opponent blade, and a hook that points back toward your own hand is the same idea, catching a sliding blade rather than deflecting it. The saw tooth edge is theatre, but the geometry underneath it comes from somewhere real. This sword is hand made in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports it, checks the grind, the guard seating and the pommel, and ships it from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse. It arrives with the black scabbard shown, fitted with a decorated metal throat.

Nothing here claims to be historical, and display or battle ready is worth reading before you decide what you want it to do. Knotwork carried meaning as often as it was pure decoration, and our note on Norse symbols works through the recurring shapes. If you would rather have something historical at the same length, look at the claymores.

Specifications

What barbs, hooks and notched shoulders actually did

Every one of the aggressive features on this sword has a historical cousin, which is why the design holds together instead of looking like a random pile of spikes. Start with the notched shoulders just below the guard. On real swords that region is the ricasso, the unsharpened stretch of blade a fencer grips with a finger over the guard to shorten the lever and gain point control. Cutting a notch there gives the finger a positive stop, and Italian and German swords of the fifteenth century do exactly that.

The hooked spurs partway down the blade have a real relative too. Boar spears and some hunting swords carried crossbars or lugs to stop a charging animal running up the shaft, and swords with forward set hooks appear in Renaissance treatises as a way to catch a descending blade rather than absorb it. A hook that faces back toward the hilt is fundamentally a trap, and the physics is the same whether it appears on a hunting sword or a fantasy one.

The swept guard is where fantasy takes over. A real crossguard is a straight bar or a modest curve because anything longer gets in the way and anything with teeth catches on your own clothing. These wings sweep well past the width of the blade and they are there to be looked at. That is a legitimate design choice for a display sword and we would rather say so plainly than pretend it improves the handling.

1095 high carbon steel and the satin finish

The blade is 1095, a simple high carbon steel with about one percent carbon and almost nothing else in the mix. It is the workhorse of hand forging because it behaves predictably under the hammer, quenches without drama and lets the smith control where the hardness ends up. This blade is taken to 54 to 58 HRC, the right band for a long blade, hard enough to hold a working edge and soft enough that the steel flexes and returns rather than cracking when something loads it sideways.

The finish is a satin grey rather than a mirror polish, and it deepens toward the point. A satin surface on a sword this shape is a sensible choice. Mirror polish shows every fingerprint and every scratch, while satin hides handling marks and gives the complicated geometry of the guard and the blade spurs somewhere to catch light without turning into a glare. The cord binding on the grip is wound under tension and finished at both ends so nothing unwinds in the hand.

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 wide flat of the blade below the guard, where there is a clear run of steel and nothing to compete with. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives. Placement is set out on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

The grip takes a full hand with a little room to slide, and the faceted pommel sits behind it as a counterweight rather than a decoration. The balance point is forward of the guard because the blade is broad and the guard is steel rather than a light alloy, so the sword feels weighty in the hand. That is characteristic of the type and it is part of the appeal.

Handle it carefully. The guard wings and the blade spurs are ground to points and they will catch a sleeve or a finger if you swing it in a room. This is a display and collector sword, not a sparring blade, and the projecting geometry makes that more true rather than less. It has not been proofed for full contact work and it should not be used for it. Draw it, photograph it, hang it where the light hits the guard.

Care

1095 is not stainless and a satin finish gives corrosion slightly more purchase than a mirror one. Wipe the blade down after handling and keep a light film of oil on the steel, especially in the notches and the tooth roots on the guard where a cloth does not reach easily. A cotton bud with a drop of oil sorts those out in a minute. Mineral oil, camellia oil or a light gun oil all work. Do not store it sheathed for months on end in a damp room. If a spot of surface haze appears, deal with it early with oil and a soft cloth rather than late with abrasive. Our steel care notes cover the detail.

If it is going on a wall, hanging swords and axes safely covers mounts, fixings and what not to do.

Made in the Czech Republic

This sword is hand made in the Czech Republic. It is not drop shipped from an importer catalogue with a sticker on the box. Ransack Viking imports it, opens every one, checks the grind on the guard teeth and the blade spurs, the seating of the guard against the shoulders, the pommel fit and the way the blade sits in the scabbard, and only then does it go on the shelf in our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse. Processing runs one to two weeks, longer with engraving because that work is done here in the United States after the sword arrives. Shipping inside the United States is free. Returns are accepted within seven days. There is a genuine lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

This sword is hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The teeth on the guard wings are cut and finished by hand, so their exact depth and spacing shift slightly from one piece to the next. The satin grain runs a little differently across each blade and the darkening toward the point is a finish that varies in reach. The knotwork panel on the pommel is cut to the same pattern but sits a fraction differently in its recess. The steel, the dimensions and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is what buying something worked by hand actually means.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a copy of a sword from a film or a game?

No. It is an original fantasy design and it is not licensed by, endorsed by or connected to any film, game or franchise. We designed nothing around a screen prop and we are not going to imply that we did.

Are the guard teeth and the blade spurs sharp?

They are ground to points and finished, so treat them as sharp. Pick the sword up by the grip, not by the guard, and keep it away from children and from anyone who wants to wave it around indoors.

Can I fight with it or use it at an event?

No. It is a display and collector sword. It has not been proofed for full contact sparring and the projecting guard and blade spurs make it a poor idea even if it had been. Most reenactment groups will not pass it for combat use.

Is the scabbard included?

Yes. The black scabbard shown in the photographs comes with the sword, with its decorated metal throat fitted. Note that the guard wings sit outside the scabbard mouth by design, so the sword seats to the guard rather than disappearing into it.

Can I get runes cut into it?

Yes. The wide flat below the guard is the best canvas on this sword. Use the rune converter, pick the engraving option and tell us where you want the line to sit.

How long does shipping take?

Processing is one to two weeks from our Memphis warehouse and a little longer if engraving is added, since that is cut here in the United States after the sword arrives. Shipping within the United States is free.

What is in the box

• Thornfang fantasy sword in 1095 high carbon steel
• Black scabbard with a decorated metal throat
• Protective wrap and a padded shipping carton
• Care card covering oiling and storage
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse

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