Build a Custom Spear, Hammer or Polearm
Norse arms beyond the sword and the axe. This page is a commission tool. You pick the head, the steel and the finish, the shaft timber and its length, the socket and langets, then any marks cut into the steel, and the piece is made to that spec.
Once the order is placed, your spec goes to the workshop in the Czech Republic. The piece takes 4 to 6 weeks to make. It is then checked in North Babylon, New York and shipped from there.
Because a commission is built to your own spec it cannot be returned, the same rule that applies to an engraved piece. The lifetime warranty on defects still stands, with no end date.
How a commission runs
- You build the spec. Pick what to make, then set the steel, the finish, the shaft timber and the shaft length in the tool above.
- You order. Every choice is written down and travels with the order. Nothing reaches the workshop until that order is confirmed.
- The workshop makes it. Your piece is forged and fitted by hand in the Czech Republic, which takes 4 to 6 weeks. Heads are forged, never cast.
- It is checked and shipped. The piece comes in to North Babylon, New York, where it is inspected, engraved if you asked for engraving, packed and sent out.
Picking the head
The spear was the common Norse weapon, far more common than the sword, and three heads cover most of what the finds show. A leaf blade spear swells through the middle and closes to a point, the plain profile that turns up everywhere. A broad spear carries more width and more cutting edge, so it cuts as well as it thrusts. A winged spear has two lugs at the socket, which stop the head running too deep and give you something to hook and lever with.
A Mjolnir hammer is the short hafted hammer shaped after the hammer of Thor, squat head, heavy for its size, and it is the piece most often ordered for display. A war hammer is the longer working shape with a striking face on one side and a beak on the other. A mace carries a flanged or knobbed head on a shaft and does its work through weight rather than edge.
The polearms are the largest pieces here. A halberd puts an axe blade, a spike and a rear hook on the same head. A glaive is a single long curved blade on a shaft, closer to a sword on a pole. A poleaxe carries a hammer or axe head with a top spike and is the heaviest of the three. All of them need a long shaft and clear space to handle.
The shaft
Ash is the default and has been for a thousand years. It is springy, it soaks up shock, and it fails slowly rather than snapping clean. Birch is lighter and paler and suits a smaller head. Oak is heavier and stiffer. Hickory is the hardest working timber on the list, dense and stiff, and the one to pick under a poleaxe or a war hammer. Walnut is chosen for the figure more than the working.
Length changes the piece more than the head does. At 36 inch you have something you can carry and use in a doorway. 48 inch is the common spear length and still manageable indoors. 60 and 72 inch are proper polearm shafts that need open ground around you and a wall or a rack to store them.
Timber is cut from real trees, so color, grain and weight shift from one shaft to the next. Knots and changes in figure come with the material and are not faults in the work.
Socket, langets and covers
A riveted socket is the plain fitting, the head socketed over the shaft and pinned through. Steel langets are straps running down the shaft from the head, riveted in place, and they are what keeps a cut from reaching the wood. A brass collar is the decorative band at the same joint. A knotwork brass collar is cut with Norse interlace.
Every piece can be ordered with a leather head cover, plain or tooled with Norse knotwork, in black, dark brown, light brown, tan or oxblood at the same price. Leave it off if you are mounting the piece on a wall.
Marks are cut into the steel in the United States after the piece arrives. A name, a date or a line of text is $19. An Elder Futhark rune band is $19. A Norse symbol is $39. A family crest is $49 and we ask you for the artwork at checkout. A full knotwork panel is $59.
Display piece or working piece
Worth being straight about this before you build. A 1095 head on an ash or hickory shaft is a solid, sharp, heavy object made the way the originals were made. Spec heavy engraving, a walnut shaft and a mirror polish and what you have bought is built to be looked at.
Either way, nothing on this page is rated for contact fighting, sparring or re-enactment. None of it is proofed for edge on edge contact with other steel. These are collection and display pieces and, in the plain specs, working tools.
Questions
How long does a commission take?
4 to 6 weeks in the workshop. The piece is then checked in North Babylon, New York and shipped from there, so add transit time on top.
Can I return a custom piece?
No. A piece made to your own spec is not returnable, the same as an engraved piece. Read your spec back before you order. The lifetime warranty is separate and still applies: a defect in the steel, the fit or the workmanship is ours to deal with, with no end date on that cover.
How does a long shaft ship?
Long shafts go out in a tube. A 60 or 72 inch shaft is an oversized parcel and costs more to send than a spear at 36 inch, so the shipping quoted at checkout will reflect that.
Which steel should I pick?
Plain 1095 high carbon is hardened to 54 to 58 HRC and is the sensible choice for a head that will be handled and sharpened. Damascus is forge welded from 1095 and 15N20 and runs 58 to 60 HRC, harder, with the layer pattern showing after etching. Both are forged, neither is cast. Carbon steel takes a patina and will rust if left wet.
Where is it made?
The head and the shaft are made by hand in the Czech Republic. The finished piece is inspected and engraved in North Babylon, New York, then shipped to you.
Where to go next
If you would rather buy a piece that is already made, start with the Norse arms collection or the Viking axes. For a bigger run, see wholesale and group orders. You can also build a custom Viking axe or a custom sword.