Longspire Hand Forged Damascus Dagger Knife with Rosewood Handle & Leather Sheath | Large Collector Display Gift | RK-477

Twelve inches of double edged Damascus on a 5.0 inch rosewood grip, 17.0 inches from pommel to point. The Longspire is the largest dagger we make, and at this length the piece stops behaving like a knife and starts behaving like a short blade in the older sense of the word. It has reach, it has presence on a wall, and it needs a full hand on the grip to control properly. Why the profile is ground this way is explained in blade shapes explained.

There is a real historical category here. Once a double edged blade passes about ten inches it enters the ground that Renaissance Italy called the cinquedea and northern Europe called the baselard, blades too long to be a belt dagger and too short to be a sword, worn by civilians who wanted the authority of a sword without the legal problems of carrying one. Museums still argue about where the line falls, which tells you the ambiguity is not a modern invention. This piece sits squarely in that tradition.

It is forged, hardened, ground and fitted in the Czech Republic, and it ships in a fitted leather sheath with free shipping inside the United States.

Specifications

Distal taper, and why a long blade needs it

The single most important thing about a blade this long is something you cannot see in a photograph: how the thickness changes from the shoulders to the point. That change is called distal taper, and it is the difference between a blade that feels alive in the hand and one that feels like a length of bar stock with edges on it.

The physics is simple. Weight out at the tip acts on a long lever, so a blade of even thickness gets exponentially harder to control as it gets longer. Thinning the steel progressively toward the point removes mass exactly where it is doing the most damage to the balance, and it does so without losing stiffness where it matters, because the thick section near the hand is what resists bending. Original medieval and Renaissance blades all show it, and modern reproductions that skip it are immediately obvious to anyone who has held both.

On top of that, this is still a dagger, so both edges have to be ground to the same width and both have to arrive at the point on the centre line. Doing that over twelve inches by hand, while also managing the taper, is the reason a piece this size takes longer than three small knives. Sight down it from the pommel and you can check the work yourself: straight centre line, matched bevels, level plunge lines at the shoulders.

Why Damascus and not stainless

The blade is built from alternating 1095 and 15N20, forge welded into one bar at welding heat and drawn out to 352 layers before the shape is cut from it. Because the layers run through the steel, grinding reveals the pattern rather than removing it, and the figure on a long blade like this stretches out into something you can read from across a room.

For a blade this length toughness is the deciding property, and that is exactly what the pairing buys. The 1095 gets hard enough at 58 to 60 HRC to hold both edges. The nickel bearing 15N20 keeps the assembly tough, so a long slim blade flexes and returns rather than snapping at a stress point. Stainless would be easier to neglect and worse on both counts, and it would give a far duller etch. The honest comparison is in Damascus versus stainless.

Rosewood in the hand

Rosewood is the right choice for a grip that has to counterweight twelve inches of steel. It is among the densest of the traditional handle timbers, naturally oily, close grained and stable enough that it will not shrink away from the tang as the seasons change. That density is doing real work here, pulling the balance point back toward your hand.

It is also one of the most striking woods in the shop. Depending on where in the log the block came from, rosewood runs from warm red brown through to deep purple black with streaking, and the piece you get will not match the photograph exactly. The handle is oiled rather than lacquered, which means you can refresh it yourself with a rag and a light oil rather than sending it away when the finish dulls. The method is in wooden handle care.

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 handle. 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 whether it goes on the blade or the handle. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it.

Twelve inches of symmetrical blade is the largest engraving field of any knife in the catalogue, and it takes a full sentence in Elder Futhark comfortably along the centre line. That makes this the usual choice for commemorative and presentation pieces. Everything is cut in the workshop before packing. Details on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

A minute after handling is all it asks. Wipe it dry, put a thin film of mineral or camellia oil on the steel, and store it out of the sheath if it is going to sit for months, because vegetable tanned leather holds moisture against a blade.

Sharpening a long double edged blade is about consistency rather than force. Work in overlapping sections along the edge, count your passes so both bevels get the same treatment, raise a burr along the full length before you swap sides, and finish with light alternating strokes. A 1000 grit stone does everything routine maintenance needs. Detail in steel care and sharpening with a whetstone.

Made in the Czech Republic

This is a handmade piece from the Czech Republic, made in a workshop that still forges, grinds and finishes by hand instead of stamping parts out. The smiths there have kept the older way of working, and the wood, horn and leather are shaped and fitted by hand as well. Two pieces of the same design will never be identical, and that is part of what you are buying.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We handle the import ourselves, look over every piece when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so your design goes on before we send it out.

A note on handmade variation

This dagger is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so the piece that arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Twelve inches of Damascus gives the pattern a great deal of room to be individual, and no two billets draw out the same way. The rosewood came from a different part of a different log, so its colour and figure will be its own.

The dimensions, the steel, the layer count, the hardness and the build are identical every time. The grain, the tone, the pattern and the exact profile are not, because each one is worked by hand from natural materials. That is the trade you make for owning something rather than a copy of something.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a dagger or a short sword

Historically it sits on the boundary, in the family of long civilian daggers that includes the cinquedea and the baselard. We catalogue it as a dagger because of the grip length and the one handed balance, but at 17.0 inches overall it displays like a small sword and needs the wall space to match.

Does a blade this long stay stiff

Yes. The thickness near the shoulders and the distal taper toward the point are what give it rigidity, and the nickel in the 15N20 layers keeps it tough rather than brittle. It will flex under real load and return straight rather than taking a set.

Are both edges sharpened

Yes, both edges carry a working edge. On a piece this size that is worth remembering when you pick it up, because there is no safe spine anywhere along the blade.

Can I hang it on a wall

Yes, and most owners do. Use a mount that supports the blade rather than hanging it by the sheath, keep it out of direct sun and away from a bathroom or an exterior wall where condensation forms, and wipe it with an oiled cloth a couple of times a year.

How much can be engraved on it

More than on anything else we make. A full phrase or a long rune line fits along the centre line of the blade without crowding, and initials or a date can go on the rosewood at the same time if you want both.

When will it arrive

Processing is one to two weeks while the blade is forged, ground and fitted, plus transit, with engraved orders at the longer end. Shipping inside the United States is free and returns are open for seven days from delivery.

What is in the box

• One Longspire Damascus dagger knife
• Leather sheath
• Protective packaging
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

More from the forge: Dagger Knives, Swords and Viking Swords. The background reading lives in the guides.