Serpentward Hand Forged High Carbon Display Sword with Serpent Etched Blade | Rounded Unsharpened Point | Wheel Pommel and Burgundy Leather Grip | Wall Display Gift | RK-2176

An arming sword finished as a display and reenactment piece. The blade is 1095 high carbon, broad and shallow through the section, and it ends in a rounded spatulate point rather than a spike. The edges are left unsharpened. Near the ricasso a coiled serpent is etched into the flat, the body doubling back on itself in the way Norse and early medieval smiths drew a beast when the space was narrow.

The hilt is deliberately plain. A polished wheel pommel with a recessed circular boss at the centre, a blued crossguard with wide spatulate ends, and a smooth burgundy leather grip with no risers or wrap. The wheel pommel is the piece that dates it. It arrives in western Europe around the eleventh century and displaces the older Norse lobed pommel almost entirely within a hundred years, largely because a flat disc is easier to make consistently and easier to weight. Made by hand in the Czech Republic, imported and checked by Ransack Viking, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse with a brown leather scabbard.

A single handed sword is the piece reenactors ask about most, and what reenactors actually want covers what gets used and what gets shelved. The serpent is Jormungandr, who circles the world and bites his own tail, which the children of Loki covers. The medieval helmets are the obvious thing to hang beside it.

Specifications

Why a rounded point is a feature, not a fault

People sometimes open a box like this one, see a rounded end, and assume something went wrong at the grinder. It did not. A rolled or spatulate point is how a sword intended for display and for reenactment lines is finished, and it is a deliberate choice made before the blade was hardened.

The reasoning is simple. A sharp point on a sword that lives on a wall or gets carried through a public event is a liability and offers nothing in return. Round the point and blunt the edges and the same sword can be handed to somebody at a living history display, hung at head height in a hall, or photographed in a crowd without anyone having to think about it. What you lose is any pretence that it is a cutting sword, which is why we say plainly that it is not one. This is a display piece. It is not built or tested for full contact sparring and it should not be used against another blade or on cutting targets.

The steel and the finish

1095 at 54 to 58 HRC. On a display blade the hardness matters less for edge holding and more for how the blade behaves when it is flexed, which happens more often than you might think when a sword is being handed around. In that range the blade bends under load and returns straight rather than taking a permanent set.

The blade is polished bright and the guard is heat blued to a dark grey, which gives the hilt its contrast against the pommel. Blueing is a controlled surface oxide, not a paint, so it will not chip, but it is thin and it will wear at the high points where hands touch it. That wear looks correct on a sword rather than damaged. The grip is vegetable tanned hide dyed burgundy, wrapped smooth over a shaped wooden core without risers, which is a plainer and earlier look than a banded grip.

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. This blade has an unusual amount of clear flat for a rune line, and the recessed boss in the wheel pommel is a good place for a single bind rune or a small mark. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives. See the engraving page.

Mounting and display

Because the point is rounded and the edges are blunt, this is the sword in the range that is easiest to live with in a room people move through. Hung on a pair of brackets at chest height it reads well and nothing about it is dangerous to brush past.

Mount it on brackets rated for the weight and set them so the scabbard hangs below the blade if you are displaying both. On a wall that gets direct sun, keep the leather out of the light, because burgundy dye fades faster than the hide beneath it. If you would rather stand it, a floor or table stand holds it at an angle that catches the serpent etch better than a flat wall mount does. Stands and wall mounts are listed separately in the display section.

Care

Wipe the blade after anybody handles it. This is the sword most likely to be passed around, and a room full of fingerprints on bright 1095 will show as grey shadows within a week if they are left. A soft cloth and a light film of mineral oil or blade oil is all it needs. Do not use abrasive polish on the blued guard, because it will cut straight through the oxide layer to bright steel. Feed the leather grip and scabbard with a neutral cream twice a year, and keep the blade out of the scabbard for long storage in a damp room. There is more in steel care.

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

Made by hand in the Czech Republic. Blade forged, ground and polished, point rolled, guard formed and blued, pommel turned, grip and scabbard cut and stitched by the people who make it. Nothing here comes from an importer catalogue. Ransack Viking imports them into the United States, checks each blade for straightness, each hilt for tightness and each scabbard for fit, and holds stock in the Memphis, Tennessee warehouse so an order ships from a shelf. Processing is one to two weeks, longer in that window when an engraving has been ordered. Shipping in the United States is free, returns run 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

Hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Heat blueing is the most visible variable here. The exact shade a guard reaches depends on how the heat ran across it, so one may sit closer to charcoal and another closer to a dark blue grey. Burgundy dye takes differently on different hides. The serpent etch is applied one blade at a time so its contrast varies. The steel, the geometry, the hardness and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this sword sharp

No. The edges are unsharpened and the point is rounded. It is finished as a display and reenactment piece and it is described that way on purpose.

Can I sharpen it myself

A grinder could, but we would advise against it. The blade geometry was ground for a blunt profile, and putting an edge on it will not give you the same sword as one built sharp from the start.

Can I spar with it

No. Blunt is not the same as rated for contact. We make no battle ready claim, and this sword is not built or tested for full contact sparring against another blade.

Is it safe around a household

It is far safer than a sharpened sword, but it is still a heavy steel bar with a wheel of steel on the end. Store it out of reach of children.

Can the serpent be swapped for my own runes

Yes. Order the engraving option and send your text. Your engraving replaces the serpent rather than sitting beside it, so tell us if you would rather keep the beast and put runes further down the blade.

Does the scabbard come with a belt

No, the scabbard ships on its own without a belt or hanger. Belts are listed separately in the shop.

What is in the box

• One 1095 high carbon display arming sword with a rounded point and unsharpened edges
• One brown leather scabbard
• Your Elder Futhark rune line or chosen Viking design, if 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

More in arming swords, swords, Norse arms and engraved and personalised pieces, plus the guides.