Shortfell Hand Forged D2 Steel Sword | 23 Inch Overall with 17 Inch Blade | Olive Wood Handle and Olive Burl Wooden Scabbard | Short Sword Collector and Display Gift | RK-519

Seventeen inches of hand forged D2 tool steel on a 6 inch olive wood grip, 23 inches overall and 35 ounces. The Shortfell is the short sword in the range, built for display, collection and reenactment dress, and the proportions come from the originals rather than from a film. It ships in a scabbard turned from olive burl.

Short swords are not compromised long swords. They are their own solution to a specific problem, and the most famous example makes the case better than any argument. The Roman gladius was around twenty inches of blade, and it was short on purpose, because in close formation a long sword cannot be swung without hitting the man beside you. A short blade can be used in the confined space behind a shield, it is quicker to recover, and it puts the wielder’s weight behind the point rather than out at the end of a lever. Every culture that fought shoulder to shoulder arrived at something similar, and the form persisted for civilian wear long after the tactics that produced it were gone.

This one is forged, hardened, ground and assembled in the Czech Republic, and it ships in its olive burl wooden scabbard with free shipping inside the United States.

Specifications

Why a short sword handles the way it does

Put 35 ounces on a 17 inch blade and you get something very different from the same weight on a 30 inch one, and the difference is all about the lever.

A short blade puts its mass close to the hand, which means the balance point sits back near the guard and the sword can be redirected almost instantly. That is why short swords feel quick in a way long ones never do, and it is why they were the blade people reached for anywhere space was tight. The same physics that makes a long sword powerful, weight acting on a long lever, is what makes it slow, and a short sword simply refuses that trade.

The other consequence is that a short sword carries far more of its weight as blade thickness rather than blade length. This one is a substantial piece of steel for its size, and it feels considerably more solid in the hand than the dimensions suggest on a screen.

What collectors look at is the same set of things regardless of length. Balance point a few inches ahead of the guard. Distal taper, the progressive thinning of the blade toward the point, which is invisible in photographs and is the single detail separating a real sword from a wall hanger. Fittings tight to the shoulders with no gap, and a pommel that is properly secured rather than glued on. Our collector sword guide covers what to check before you buy anything in this category.

Why D2 tool steel and not stainless

The blade is D2, and D2 occupies an unusual place. It carries around twelve percent chromium, which is just below the threshold where a steel is officially called stainless, so it behaves like a very corrosion resistant carbon steel rather than like a true stainless. That single fact explains everything about how it performs.

What it buys you is wear resistance. D2 is loaded with large chromium carbides, which are extremely hard particles suspended in the steel, and those carbides are why it holds an edge far longer than most plain carbon steels. It also shrugs off the light surface corrosion that would mark a 1095 blade left in a slightly humid room, which on a display sword that will sit out for years is a real practical advantage.

What you give up compared with a genuine stainless is total corrosion immunity. D2 will still spot if it is left wet or handled and put away without a wipe, so it wants an oiled cloth twice a year rather than being ignored entirely. And compared with a plain carbon steel it is more stubborn on a stone, because those same hard carbides that hold the edge also resist being abraded. It is a steel that rewards patience and then rewards you again by not needing attention for a long time. The full picture is in D2 steel for knives, and the wider case for carbon and pattern welded steels over stainless is in Damascus versus stainless.

Olive wood in the hand

Olive wood was picked for density and for how it takes a finish. It is one of the heaviest timbers in general use, naturally rich in its own oils, and its interlocked grain resists splitting along the length, which matters in a grip that is clamped between a guard and a pommel.

It is oiled rather than lacquered, which is the practical difference. A lacquered grip eventually crazes and has to be stripped and refinished by somebody else. An oiled one can be brought back at home with a rag and a light oil in ten minutes. Keep it out of direct sunlight, which will bleach the figure over years, keep it away from radiators and dry heat, and feed it once or twice a year. The scabbard is olive burl, the most figured part of the same tree, and it wants the same treatment. 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.

D2 takes a crisp engraved line and holds it, and the plain finish of this blade gives an engraved rune line more contrast than a patterned one would. Seventeen inches is enough for a short phrase or a name and date down the blade, and the olive wood grip takes initials well. All engraving is cut here before the sword is packed. Options are on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

D2 resists rust better than carbon steel but it is not fully stainless, so a wipe of oil before storage is still wise. Wipe the blade after handling, give it a proper application of mineral or camellia oil twice a year, and do not store it in the scabbard long term in a damp room or hang it on an exterior or bathroom wall where condensation forms.

On the stone, D2 is slower than carbon steel because of the hard carbides in it, so start with a coarser grit than you would use on a 1095 blade to reset the edge, then refine. Diamond or silicon carbide stones cut it more easily than natural ones. Work along the blade in overlapping sections rather than dragging the whole sword across a bench stone. Method in steel care and sharpening with a whetstone.

Made in the Czech Republic

Every piece we sell is made by hand in the Czech Republic. The smiths there work the way the trade has been worked for a long time, heating and hammering the steel, taking the bevels down by eye, and fitting the handle and the leather one at a time. There is no automated line anywhere in it, so small differences from one piece to the next are normal and expected.

Ransack Viking is a United States company based in North Babylon, New York. We bring the pieces in ourselves, inspect them on arrival and ship them from our own warehouse. If you add engraving, that is carried out here in the United States before your order goes out.

A note on handmade variation

This sword 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 on this page. The finish on a hand ground D2 blade carries the direction of the last pass, the olive wood grip came from a different part of a different tree, and the burl scabbard is turned from its own block entirely.

The dimensions, the weight, the steel, the hardness and the build are the same on every one. The grain, the tone and the exact profile are not, because each is worked by hand from natural materials. Consistency is what a forge can promise. Identical is what a factory promises.

Frequently asked questions

What is D2 steel and why use it on a sword

D2 is a high chromium tool steel that sits between carbon and stainless. It holds an edge far longer than most carbon steels because of the hard chromium carbides in it, and it resists surface corrosion much better, which is a real advantage on a piece that will be displayed in the open for years rather than kept in a case.

Is it stainless

No, and that is worth being clear about. At around twelve percent chromium it falls just under the stainless threshold. It is far more corrosion resistant than 1095 but it will still spot if it is left wet or handled and put away, so it wants an oiled cloth a couple of times a year.

Why choose a short sword over a full length one

Space, handling and display. It fits a normal wall and a normal case, it is quick and comfortable in the hand because the mass sits close to the grip, and it carries the full 35 ounce weight, so it feels substantial rather than toy like.

Is it sharpened for cutting

It arrives with a finished display edge rather than a cutting edge. This is a collector, display and reenactment dress piece and it is not warranted for test cutting, sparring or contact.

Why is this not Damascus like most of the range

Because D2 does something Damascus does not. Pattern welded 1095 and 15N20 gives you a beautiful figured blade that needs regular oiling. D2 gives you a plain blade with much better wear and corrosion resistance. If you want the pattern, buy one of the Damascus swords. If you want the lowest maintenance blade in the range, this is it.

How long does it take to arrive

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

What is in the box

• One Shortfell D2 steel short sword
• Olive burl wooden scabbard
• Protective packaging
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

Browse the rest of the range in Swords, Viking Swords and Viking Knives. The reasoning behind the materials is in the guides.

Near neighbours in the shop

Sitting beside it in the catalogue is the Runecage sword, 42 inches overall. Another in the same line is the Ironreach sword, 37 inches overall. Next along the rack is the Sealord sword, 35 inches overall.

Fitting out further, the Gravewind bastard sword belongs with it. You can have this made your way instead on the custom Viking sword page.