Knotdrift Hand Forged Damascus Viking Sword with Etched Celtic Knot Panel | Three Lobed Pommel and Black Leather Grip | Steel Mounted Scabbard | Norse Collector Gift | RK-2050

The Knotdrift is a Viking age sword built on the pattern that dominated Scandinavian graves through the ninth and tenth centuries. It has a broad double edged blade, a short curved lower guard, a black leather grip over a full tang, and a three lobed pommel seated on a curved upper guard. The blade is pattern welded, so the layers read as a rolling wood grain figure once the steel is etched, and a band of interlaced Celtic knotwork has been cut into the flat about a third of the way down from the guard. A smaller circular knot device sits just below the guard on the same side. The sword is supplied with a black leather scabbard mounted with a polished steel throat and a long leaf shaped chape.

The three lobed pommel was never only decoration. An early Viking blade is broad and the point of balance sits well forward, and mass behind the hand is the cheapest way to pull that balance back toward the grip. Smiths built the pommel as a tall central lobe flanked by two lower ones, seated it on a curved upper guard, then passed the tang through and peened it over the crown, which is why so many excavated examples still show a flattened tang button on top. This sword is made by hand in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports it, checks the grind, the hilt fit and the way the blade seats in the scabbard one piece at a time, and ships it from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse. It arrives with the scabbard shown and with our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings.

The best Norse blades of all carried a maker name in the fuller, which the Ulfberht blades covers. Insular knotwork travelled with the Norse and came back changed, and the symbols guide covers the shapes that recur. A board from the round shields is what usually stands beside one.

Specifications

Why the lobed pommel and the curved guards matter

Look at the hilt from the side and you will see that both the lower guard and the upper guard curve gently toward the blade. That is not a stylistic flourish, it is how a Viking hilt fits a hand. The curve of the lower guard gives the base of the index finger somewhere to sit, and the curve of the upper guard rolls the heel of the hand up onto the pommel rather than jamming it flat against a bar. Between the two, the grip is deliberately short. Period grips are famously tight, often only just long enough for a hand, because the fingers were meant to be locked in place rather than shuffled along the handle.

The three lobes themselves come from a much older habit of building pommels in separate pieces and riveting them together, and by the ninth century the shape had become a signature rather than a construction method. Archaeologists use the number and profile of those lobes to sort surviving hilts into types, which is how a sword found in a river in Norway can be dated to within a few decades. On this sword the lobes are worked as one solid piece of polished steel, which is stronger than a riveted assembly and keeps the counterweight exactly where it needs to be.

Pattern welded steel and the knot band

The blade is forge welded from alternating layers of 1095 high carbon steel and 15N20, a nickel bearing steel. The two take an etch differently, so once the finished blade is polished and etched the 15N20 stays bright while the 1095 darkens, and the folded structure appears as a grain that runs the length of the blade. That is why no two Damascus blades carry the same figure. After hardening and tempering the blade sits at roughly 58 to 60 HRC, which is hard enough to hold a clean edge and still forgiving enough not to be brittle.

The knotwork band across the flat is cut and etched into the finished surface rather than being part of the weld structure. Interlaced knots of this kind are found on Insular metalwork and on Norse mounts from the same centuries, and the endless single line of a knot was read as continuity, a line with no beginning and no end. The circular device below the guard repeats the same idea in miniature. Both sit slightly proud of the etched ground and catch light from a different angle to the rest of the blade.

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 that means a rune line or a pattern of your choosing takes the place of the knot band on the blade flat, and the engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives. See the engraving page for what fits and how long it adds.

Handling and balance

This is a single hand sword and it handles like one. The broad blade puts mass forward, the heavy lobed pommel pulls it back, and the result is a point of balance a few inches ahead of the guard where a Viking age sword belongs. Held loosely it wants to rotate around the wrist rather than around the elbow, which is exactly what a short gripped hilt is designed to encourage.

Treat it as a collector and display piece and as a reenactment prop for drill and photography. It is not built for full contact sparring and it should not be used for edge to edge contact with another blade. If you plan to hang it, support the scabbard rather than the blade so the leather does not take a permanent bend, and keep the blade dry before it goes on the wall.

Care

Etched Damascus is more sensitive to moisture than a plain polished blade because the etch leaves a microscopically open surface. Wipe the blade down after handling, since skin salts are the usual cause of the first spot of rust, then put a thin film of mineral oil or a light gun oil over the whole flat and let it sit. If a spot does appear, take it back with a little oil on a soft cloth or the finest grade of abrasive pad rather than anything coarse, which would cut through the etch and leave a bright patch. Our guide to steel care covers the full routine.

The scabbard is leather over a wooden core. Keep it out of direct heat, feed it once or twice a year with a neutral leather conditioner worked in with a cloth, and never store the sword in it for long periods in a damp room, because leather holds moisture against steel. The polished steel throat and chape can be brought back with a metal polish on a cotton cloth.

Damascus wants oil more than plain steel does, because the etch that shows the pattern also opens the surface, and caring for a Damascus pattern covers what to use.

Made in the Czech Republic

Every part of this sword is made by hand in the Czech Republic, blade, fittings and scabbard alike. Nothing here is pulled from an importer catalogue and relabelled. Ransack Viking buys the pieces, inspects them in Memphis, and ships them from our own warehouse with free shipping inside the United States. Processing takes one to two weeks because pieces are checked and, where you have asked for it, engraved before they leave. Returns are accepted within seven days. The lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings has no end date and needs no receipt.

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 Damascus figure is different on every blade because the billet is folded and drawn by hand, so the swirl and the density of the grain will not match the pictures. Hammer texture, the exact depth of the etch, the tone of the leather and the precise profile of the pommel lobes all shift a little from one piece to the next. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is the point of buying something worked by hand.

Frequently asked questions

Is the blade sharp when it arrives?

It comes with a working edge rather than a razor edge. That is normal for a display and reenactment sword and it is safer in transit. If you want it sharper, a fine stone and a light hand will take it there without touching the etched pattern.

Is the Damascus real or is it a printed pattern?

It is real forge welded Damascus. The figure runs through the steel rather than sitting on the surface, which is why you can see it on the edge bevel and on the spine as well as on the flat. A printed pattern stops at the surface and disappears the moment the blade is sharpened.

Can I use it for sparring?

No. This is a display and reenactment piece and it is not built for full contact or edge to edge work. Use it for drill, for photography and for the wall.

Will my sword have the same knot band?

Yes, unless you order engraving. The knot band and the small circular device are cut on every one of these swords. If you choose runes or your own design, that engraving replaces the knot band rather than sitting next to it.

Does the scabbard come with a belt?

No belt is included. The scabbard is supplied plain with its steel throat and chape, which leaves you free to hang it on a baldric, on a scabbard suspension of your own, or on a wall mount.

How long does shipping take?

Processing is one to two weeks because each sword is checked and any engraving is cut before it ships. Shipping inside the United States is free and goes out from our Memphis warehouse.

What is in the box

• One Knotdrift pattern welded Damascus Viking sword
• Matching black leather scabbard with polished steel throat and chape
• Elder Futhark rune engraving or your own Viking design where ordered
• 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 Viking swords, Damascus swords and swords, or read the guides.