Viking kitchen knives are a modern idea wearing an old coat. The Norse did not have a santoku. What the phrase actually means to the people searching it is a hand forged carbon steel kitchen blade with a wooden or horn handle and Norse cut work somewhere on it, made the way a knife was made before stamping presses existed. That is a fair description of everything on this page.
The blades on the block
Most of these are forge welded 1095 and 15N20 Damascus at 58 to 60 HRC, etched so the layers run the length of the blade, each with a leather sheath. The chef knives cover buffalo horn with pakka wood over a brass bolster and a mosaic pin, hardwood with a brass bolster and fiber spacers, stag horn with olive wood, wenge wood with a steel bolster, and rosewood with a Damascus bolster. There is a santoku with a buffalo horn handle, and two cleavers, one in stag horn and walnut and one in plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC with a blue resin handle and a Damascus guard. The Norse cut work shows up on a nakiri style cleaver with a flat blade, a cord wrapped handle and an engraved knotwork panel, and on a 14 inch tall bladed cleaver with an engraved Celtic knot in a canvas roll. Two five piece sets sit at the top: one with walnut handles and brass bolsters in a kitchen roll, one with rosewood handles and vegvisir etched blades, full tang, in a leather roll. Prices run from 109 dollars to 529 dollars.
Carbon steel in a kitchen
None of these are stainless, which means they take an edge that stainless will not hold and they will darken with use. That patina is normal and it protects the steel. What is not normal is leaving one wet in a sink overnight. Hand wash, dry immediately, never the dishwasher. Our notes on caring for a hand forged kitchen knife cover the routine and what to do about the first spot of rust. If you are choosing between profiles, the rundown of blade shapes explains what a nakiri, a santoku and a cleaver each do best. The full kitchen range is in chef knives, and the boxed sets are a common wedding present, gathered in wedding and groomsmen gifts.
Ransack Viking is a US company based in Chicago, Illinois. These pieces are handmade in the Czech Republic, then imported, inspected and shipped from Chicago. 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.
