A bolster is the block of metal between the blade and the handle. It stiffens the joint, stops the scales working loose, and adds weight exactly where it improves the balance. Brass is the traditional material for it because it is easy to file to a clean fit, it does not rust next to a carbon steel blade, and it warms in colour as it ages instead of going dull.
The knives wearing brass
The kukri choppers are the bulk of it, running 16 and 17 inches overall with 11 inch blades: rosewood scales with a valknut etched bolster, olive wood with a Mjolnir cut bolster, walnut with brass pins and a raven etched blade, black horn with a brass bolster and butt cap, a cord wrapped grip with a raven engraved bolster and a flared brass butt cap, buffalo horn with an etched knotwork spine, and one with rosewood scales, an etched wolf head and two companion blades in the sheath. The smaller blades cover a Viking bowie at 14 inches overall with a 9 inch blade, a rosewood handle and a rune cut brass bolster, a broken back Viking seax at 13 inches with brass bolsters, a bowie with black scales, etched Celtic knotwork and a leather lanyard, a blackened tanto at about 11 inches with buffalo horn scales, a Damascus tanto at about 12 inches with walnut scales and an etched Elder Futhark row, and a gut hook hunting knife with a stag antler handle. Steel is plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC or forge welded 1095 and 15N20 Damascus at 58 to 60 HRC. Prices run from 169 dollars to 289 dollars.
What to check
A bolster is only as good as the tang behind it, and on a chopper that matters more than on anything else you own. The difference between a full tang and a partial one is the thing to understand before buying a big blade. If you are choosing by profile rather than by fittings, our rundown of blade shapes covers what each grind does well. The choppers are in kukri knives and the big clip points are in bowie knives.
Ransack Viking is a US company based in Memphis, Tennessee. These pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from Memphis. Engraving is done in the US after arrival: text 19 dollars, symbol 39 dollars, family crest 49 dollars.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
