Slatewick Hand Forged 1095 Steel Arming Sword with Etched Valknut | 36 Inch Overall and 30 Inch Blade | Square Bar Guard and Black Grip and Black Scabbard | Norse Collector Gift | RK-2125

The Slatewick is a stripped back single handed arming sword in 1095 high carbon steel, with a Valknut etched into the flat of the blade just below the guard. There is no brass, no colour and no applied decoration anywhere on it. The crossguard is a plain square section bar, the grip is black leather over wood, and the pommel is a flat steel disc with no boss and no chamfer. The blade is double edged, runs with nearly parallel edges to a rounded tip and carries a satin finish rather than a mirror. It ships in a plain black leather scabbard.

Swords like this are the ones that turn up most often in the archaeological record, and there is a reason for that. A hilt with nothing on it has nothing to break, nothing to work loose and nothing to catch on a belt, a cloak or a doorway. Ornament went on the swords of men who could afford to replace them. This one is made by hand in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports it, checks the taper, the peen and the scabbard fit before it is listed, and ships it from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse. It arrives with the black leather scabbard shown.

If you have seen the phrase battle ready and wondered what it covers, display or battle ready explains it. The valknut is the three interlocked triangles, and what we actually know about the valknut is a shorter list than the internet suggests. The medieval helmets are the obvious thing to hang beside it.

Specifications

Why a plain sword is the harder one to make

Put a plain sword next to a heavily decorated one and most people assume the decorated piece took more skill. It usually took more time, but not more skill in the part that matters. On a plain sword there is nothing to look at except the geometry, so every mistake in the geometry is on show.

The thing to look at is distal taper. A blade is not a flat bar with edges ground on it. It has to get thinner from guard to point as well as narrower, and the rate at which it thins is what decides whether the sword feels alive or dead in the hand. Get it wrong and you have either a whippy strip that will not hold a line or a crowbar that cannot be stopped once it is moving. There is no way to hide that behind engraving. The other tell is the peen. On a sword with no pommel cap or decorative nut, the peened end of the tang sits in plain sight on the face of the disc, and it either sits flush and even or it does not.

The steel and the satin finish

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC. That is deliberately softer than a small knife blade. A thirty inch blade sees bending and shock loads a knife never does, and steel run hard in that length cracks rather than flexing back. At this hardness the sword takes and holds a working edge and returns to true.

The satin finish is hand worked with progressively finer abrasive and left there rather than buffed. It shows the grind lines honestly, it is far less prone to showing every fingerprint than a mirror polish, and it is repairable. A scratch on satin blends back in with a fine abrasive and a bit of patience. A scratch on a mirror finish usually means starting the whole flat again. The Valknut is etched rather than deep cut, so it sits at the surface and catches light against the satin.

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 or the leather. 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 chosen mark on the blade flat replaces the etched Valknut. On a sword this plain there is a lot of clean steel and clean leather to work with, and it takes a rune line better than almost anything else in the range. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

The disc pommel sits behind the hand as a straightforward counterweight and the balance point falls a few inches ahead of the guard. There is no shell, no ring and no knuckle bow to add mass out front, so the sword feels neutral and honest. Hold it with the pommel against the heel of your hand, keep the wrist relaxed and let the tip lead. The square bar guard gives a clear reference for hand position and a flat face to index a thumb against.

This is a hand finished collector and display sword. No sparring or full contact claim is made for it. It is a good sword to actually pick up and hand around, because there is nothing fragile on it.

Care

1095 will rust if you leave sweat on it. Wipe the blade down after handling, then leave a light film of mineral oil or gun oil on the steel. Do not store the sword long term inside the black leather scabbard in a damp room, since leather draws moisture and traps it against the blade. A satin finish is easy to keep looking right, so deal with any rust freckle early with oil and a soft cloth before it can pit. Feed the leather with balm once or twice a year. Our steel care guide has the full routine.

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 and imported by Ransack Viking. It is not drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Every piece is opened, checked and photographed here before it is listed, then shipped from our warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. Processing runs one to two weeks because these are built in small runs rather than held in bulk. US shipping is free, returns are accepted within seven days, 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

This sword is made by hand, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. On a plain sword the variation shows up in the finish rather than in colour. The satin will run at a slightly different direction and depth, the peen on the pommel face will sit in its own shape, and the black leather will take dye at its own tone. The length, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the blade Damascus

No. This one is plain 1095 high carbon steel with a hand worked satin finish. Look under Damascus swords if you want a pattern welded blade in the same shape.

How sharp is it out of the box

It has a working edge, not a razor edge. That is deliberate on a display sword this long, and it can be taken further on a stone if you want it keener.

Is the Valknut etched or engraved

It is etched into the surface of the blade flat rather than deep cut. It is permanent and will not rub off, but it sits shallower than a cut engraving.

Does the scabbard come with it

Yes. The black leather scabbard shown ships with the sword and is fitted to this blade.

Is this a good sword to add runes to

It is the best one in this batch for it. There is a large area of clean satin steel on both flats and a plain leather scabbard face, so a rune line has room to sit properly.

How long does it take to arrive

One to two weeks of processing, then free US shipping on top. Tracking arrives when it leaves Chicago.

What is in the box

• One Slatewick 1095 steel arming sword with etched Valknut
• Fitted black leather scabbard
• Protective oil film on the blade for transit
• Care sheet for carbon steel and leather
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse

Explore the range

Browse more in arming swords, Norse arms and engraved and personalised pieces, or read the guides on buying your first sword.

Compare it with these

For a straight comparison, see the Crimsonring arming sword, high carbon steel. Worth putting side by side with this is the Wynthorn arming sword, 37 inches overall. In the same category sits the Broadmarch arming sword, 33 inches overall.

From the same corner of the shop, there is the Nightwheel scimitar. Pick the steel, the length and the fittings yourself on the custom Viking sword page.