A Viking gift covers a very wide range and most of it is bad. Plastic horns, printed shirts, helmets with horns on them that no Norseman ever wore. The version worth buying is a real object in steel, leather or horn, made in a shape somebody from the period would recognize, with a symbol on it that means what you think it means.
What is on this tag
Rune engraved falchions around 29 inches overall with 23 inch blades, Viking swords with valknut lobed pommels and vegvisir etched blades, bearded axes, studded leather cuirasses fitted to a 44 inch chest, and silver tone Bifrost pendants on heavy chain. Steel is plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC or Damascus of 1095 and 15N20, forge welded and acid etched, at 58 to 60 HRC. Leather work is riveted with brass domed rivets and buckled rather than glued.
Getting the symbol right before you buy
This is the part people skip and then regret. The valknut is genuinely Viking Age and genuinely unexplained. Yggdrasil, Mjolnir and the ravens are solidly attested. The vegvisir is Icelandic and several centuries too late to be Viking, which does not make it a bad thing to own but does make it wrong to describe as Norse. The symbols guide separates the two groups without hedging, which is more than most of the market manages.
Choosing by what they already have
Somebody with three axes does not need a fourth. Armor and jewelry are the two categories most collectors under buy, and both are worn rather than displayed. The leather armor holds the wearable pieces and the Norse pendants the small ones. The full marked range is in the engraved and personalized.
Engraving and cost
Text is 19 dollars, a symbol or rune line is 39 dollars and a family crest is 49 dollars, all done in the US after arrival. On a sword the fuller or the guard takes the mark. On an axe it is the cheek of the head. On leather it is stamped rather than cut, which reads differently and wears differently, so ask before assuming.
Sizes worth checking
Leather armor is fitted to a stated chest measurement rather than sold in loose sizes, so measure before ordering. Swords at 29 to 36 inches need a wall and a bracket. Pendants need neither, which is why they are the safest gift in the range.
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.
