Flamewhorl Hand Forged 1095 Steel Flame Blade Short Sword | 28 Inch Overall | Blackened Swept Ring Hilt with Teardrop Pommel and Black Leather Scabbard | Collector Gift | RK-2108

The Flamewhorl is a flame bladed short sword, the shape German speakers called a Flammenschwert and Italians a spada ondulata. The blade runs in a series of deep symmetrical waves from the ricasso almost to the point, then straightens out for the last few inches so the tip still behaves like a tip. Against that bright polished steel the hilt is blackened: a swept guard of looping bars and side rings, a slim black grip and a teardrop pommel, and there is a short engraved line of characters cut into the ricasso.

The historical version of this blade appears from the sixteenth century onward, most famously on the great two handed swords carried by the Landsknecht doppelsoldner. There is a persistent myth that a wavy edge was designed to make wounds that could not be stitched. The likelier truth is duller and more interesting, and it is covered below. This one is made by hand in the Czech Republic, imported and checked by Ransack Viking, and shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse with the black scabbard shown.

If this is your first sword, how to buy a first sword covers what actually matters. For where 1095 sits on the hardness scale and what that buys you, see the steel and hardness page. Thrusting blades with the same kind of hilt sit in the rapiers.

Specifications

What a wavy edge really does

Start with what it does not do. A flame blade does not cut a wound that cannot be closed, and no period surgical text supports the idea. What the waves genuinely change is behaviour in the bind, the moment when two blades are in contact and sliding along each other. A straight edge slides smoothly. An undulating edge catches and releases repeatedly, which sets up a rasping vibration that both fighters feel through the hands, and it makes it much harder for an opponent to control your blade by pressing along it.

There is a second and simpler effect. Because the edge follows a longer path than the blade is long, a wavy sword has more cutting edge in the same overall length. Where the wave presents its shoulder to a target, the contact patch is small, and a small contact patch means high pressure. On soft material that reads as a sword that bites in rather than glancing. The cost is a blade that is fussy to sharpen, since you must work each curve individually.

Steel, blackened fittings and the swept hilt

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel at 54 to 58 HRC, polished bright. The choice of a plain carbon steel rather than pattern welded Damascus is the right one for this blade, because a flame profile is already visually busy and a layered pattern would fight with it. It also means the wave geometry is what your eye follows down the blade.

The hilt is finished in a black oxide over steel. That is a conversion of the surface rather than a coating, so it will not flake, though it can wear thin at the points where your hand and the scabbard rub. The swept bars and side rings are the transitional form between the medieval crossguard and the fully developed rapier hilt of the seventeenth century, and they do the same job as a basket while leaving your fingers free to roll the grip. The scabbard is black leather with a steel locket at the throat and a steel chape at the tip.

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, so a rune line ordered for the ricasso takes the place of the character line already cut there. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, and the black leather scabbard is a good alternative surface if you want to keep the ricasso as it is. Details are on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

At twenty eight inches this is a short sword rather than a side sword, quick in the hand and comfortable indoors where a longer blade is a nuisance. The swept hilt puts a useful amount of steel behind the guard, so the balance point sits within a couple of inches of your hand and the tip moves with your fingers rather than your shoulder. The side rings mean you can hook a finger over the guard for point control, which is exactly how these hilts were used.

This is a hand forged sword with a real edge, sold for display, collections and controlled cutting practice on soft targets. It is not a full contact sparring sword and the wave profile in particular should never be crossed against another steel blade, because the crests are where stress concentrates.

Care

1095 is not stainless and a mirror polish shows every fingerprint, so wipe the blade after handling and keep a thin coat of mineral or camellia oil on it. Do the wiping with the cloth running along the blade rather than across it and mind the crests, which are sharper on the outside of each curve. The blackened hilt needs only an occasional oiled wipe and should never be scoured with an abrasive pad. Feed the scabbard with leather balm two or three times a year and do not store the sword sheathed for long periods. Our steel care notes cover polishing and rust removal.

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

The Flamewhorl is made by hand in the Czech Republic. A flame blade is genuinely harder to make than a straight one, because every wave has to be forged and then ground symmetrically on both sides or the blade will look wrong from one angle and fine from the other. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Ransack Viking buys these outright, brings them into the United States, unpacks and inspects each sword, and holds stock in our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse. Allow one to two weeks of processing. Shipping inside the United States is free, and 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

Hand made is not machine made or bulk produced, so the sword that arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. On a flame blade the variation is easy to see. The depth and spacing of the waves are set by hand, so no two blades undulate identically, and the polish catches the light differently as a result. The blackening takes with slightly different depth across the bars, the sweep of the guard is bent by eye, and the engraved line at the ricasso sits a fraction differently. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build stay the same every time.

Frequently asked questions

Does the wavy edge really cause worse wounds

No, and that story has no support in period medical writing. The real effects are on blade contact and on how much edge fits into a given length.

Is it hard to sharpen

Harder than a straight blade, yes. Use a small round or oval stone and work each curve on its own instead of drawing the whole edge across a flat stone.

Does it arrive sharp

It ships with a cutting edge. Ask in your order notes if you want it blunted for display or reenactment and we will roll the edge before it leaves us.

What does the engraved line on the ricasso say

It is a decorative character line rather than a translated inscription. If you want a phrase with a known meaning, order the rune engraving and we will cut your own text there instead.

Will the black finish rub off

It is a black oxide conversion of the steel surface, not paint, so it does not chip. It will thin at contact points over years of handling, which most collectors consider an improvement.

How long is processing

One to two weeks, then free shipping inside the United States. Returns are accepted within seven days of delivery.

What is in the box

• Flamewhorl flame bladed short sword in polished 1095 high carbon steel
• Blackened swept guard with side rings and a teardrop pommel
• Black leather scabbard with steel locket and chape
• 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 the rest of the short swords, everything under swords and the wider Norse arms range. Background reading is in the guides.