Silverthorn Hand Forged Elven Style Fantasy Sword | Etched Vine Scrollwork Blade | Fluted Crown Pommel with Black Leather Grip and Steel Mounted Scabbard | Fantasy Collector Gift | RK-2013

The Silverthorn is a slender single hand sword built in the elven register of high fantasy rather than in any one historical pattern. The blade is straight, double edged and tapering, etched down the forte with a long run of flowing vine and leaf scrollwork. The guard sweeps down toward the blade and finishes in a pair of tight spirals, the grip is black leather over a raised riser, and the pommel opens out into a fluted crown of polished steel with pale cream coloured inserts between the flutes.

The shape borrows from a real medieval family even if the styling does not. A guard that curves toward the blade rather than sitting square is a genuine late medieval development, and the reason it exists is grip safety rather than decoration. Curve the arms forward and an opposing blade that slides down your edge is steered away from your fingers instead of into them. The spiral terminals here are a fantasy flourish on top of that real idea, and they do the same practical job of putting mass at the ends of the guard where it steadies the sword in the hand.

Every Silverthorn is made by hand in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports them, checks each one for grind, fit and finish, and ships from the warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. It arrives with its black scabbard and steel mounts, and a lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed. This is our own design language and it is not connected to, licensed by or endorsed by any film, book or game.

The elven look owes everything to one film trilogy, and the swords of Middle Earth traces the real blades behind them. For where 1095 sits on the hardness scale and what that buys you, see the steel and hardness page. If you would rather have something historical at the same length, look at the claymores.

Specifications

How the vine scrollwork is put into the blade

The pattern running down the forte is not printed and it is not laser marked. It is acid etched, which is a process older than most people assume and much simpler than it looks. The polished blade is coated in a resist, the design is cut through the resist by hand so bare steel shows in the lines of the pattern, and the blade goes into a mild acid bath. The acid eats only where the steel is exposed, so the design sinks a few thousandths of an inch below the polished surface. When the resist is stripped and the blade is buffed, the etched lines hold a slightly different tone and catch light at a different angle, which is why the vines seem to appear and disappear as you turn the sword.

Because a person cuts the resist rather than a machine, the leaves and tendrils are never identical from blade to blade, and the etch runs deeper in some passages than others. That is the tell of a hand etched blade and it is worth looking for.

The steel and how it is hardened

The blade is hand forged from 1095, a simple high carbon steel with roughly a hundredth of an inch of nothing clever in it and a very long record of doing exactly what a smith asks. There is no chromium and no vanadium, so it hardens predictably, grinds cleanly and takes a mirror polish that alloyed stainless will not match.

It is taken to 54 to 58 HRC. That is deliberately a little softer than the Damascus blades we sell, and for a long slender sword it is the right call. A long thin blade that is too hard becomes brittle across its width, and a sword that snaps is worse than a sword that bends. At this hardness the edge still holds well and the body of the blade has enough temper in it to take a knock and come back straight.

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 Silverthorn the ricasso medallion and the clear polished section of blade above the vine work are the two places a rune line sits best, and the leather of the scabbard will take a stamped line as well. Details are on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

This is a single hand sword and it is meant to be held with the pommel resting against the heel of the hand rather than clenched in the middle of the grip. The fluted crown is heavy enough to pull the balance point back toward the guard, which is what gives a slender blade its lively feel, and the raised riser under the pommel stops the hand creeping upward.

It is a display and collector sword. It is hand forged and hardened, and the edge is finished by hand, but it is not sold as a sparring sword and no claim is made that it is safe for full contact. Never bring it into contact with another blade, with a shield, or with a hard target. Displayed on a wall or in the hand at an event it is exactly what it is meant to be.

Care

1095 is a carbon steel with no stainless content, so it will spot if you leave fingerprints on it. Wipe the blade down with a dry cloth every time you handle it and lay on a thin film of mineral oil or blade oil before it goes back into the scabbard. Do not store it sheathed for months at a time, because leather holds moisture and tanning residue against steel. A wall rack with the blade in open air is kinder to it than a closed scabbard. If a haze of surface rust appears, lift it with oil and a nylon pad rather than abrasive paper, since paper will cut the etched vines away. See steel care for the longer version.

The leather grip and scabbard want a light feed of leather balm once or twice a year, worked in thinly and buffed off. Keep them out of direct sun, which dries and cracks leather faster than anything else.

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 made by hand in the Czech Republic by people who forge, grind, etch and fit for a living. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Ransack Viking buys the pieces, inspects each one on arrival in Memphis, and ships the ones that pass. Because they are made in small runs rather than warehoused by the thousand, allow one to two weeks of processing before your order leaves. Shipping inside the United States is free.

A note on handmade variation

This is a hand made sword, not a machine made or bulk produced one, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The vine etch is cut by hand and the leaves fall differently on every blade. The pale inserts in the pommel vary in tone from cream to warm ivory, because they are finished individually. The leather on the grip and scabbard takes dye unevenly by nature, so one may read a shade darker than another. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a licensed replica of a sword from a film

No. It is our own design in a fantasy style, and it is not connected to, licensed by or endorsed by any film, book or game. Any resemblance is to a genre rather than to a specific property.

Can I spar or fight with it

No. It is hand forged, hardened and hand finished, but we do not sell it as a sparring sword and it must never be struck against another blade or a hard target. It is a display and collector piece.

Does it arrive sharp

The edge is finished by hand and arrives with a working edge. If you would rather have it blunt for display in a house with children, put a note on the order and we will send it that way at no extra cost.

Will the etched vines wear off the blade

No. The pattern is bitten into the steel rather than printed on it, so polishing the flats will only brighten it. Avoid abrasive papers and wire wool, which can cut through a shallow etch over time.

What are the pale parts of the pommel made from

They are pale cream coloured inserts finished to a soft sheen. We describe the finish rather than claiming a material, because tone and translucency vary from piece to piece and we would rather be accurate than impressive.

Can I get a name engraved on it

Yes. Use the rune converter for Elder Futhark or choose your own design in the engraving option. The clear polished section above the vine work takes a name or a date well, and the scabbard leather can be stamped instead.

What is in the box

• Silverthorn elven style fantasy sword
• Black leather scabbard with polished steel throat and chape
• Blade lightly oiled for transit
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse

Explore the range

See more in fantasy swords, arming swords and swords, or read the guides.