Inlayspire Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Dagger Knife with Rosewood Handle & Leather Sheath | Collector and Display Gift | RK-1069

Eight inches of double edged blade is a different object from a four inch one. At this length a dagger stops being a knife with two edges and becomes what medieval inventories would have called a long dagger or a hanger, the sort of piece carried at the belt as a companion to a sword rather than as a tool. The proportions here follow that tradition: 13.5 inches overall, an 8 inch blade and a 5.5 inch rosewood handle, with a square wooden inlay set into the flat of the blade that you will not find on anything else in the catalogue.

The Inlayspire is hand forged from 1095 high carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC, and finished throughout by hand. It is a piece for people who notice the difference between a knife that was made and a knife that was manufactured, and the inlay is where that shows most plainly, because setting a square of timber cleanly into a forged blade is fussy, slow work that no production line would attempt.

It is forged and finished in the Czech Republic, and it ships with a handcrafted leather sheath and protective packaging.

Specifications

The symmetry, and the inlay set into it

A dagger is defined by symmetry. It tapers evenly from the guard to the point in both plan and profile, both edges are ground live, and the point lands exactly on the centreline. That is far harder to do by hand than a single bevel, and immediately obvious when it is done badly, which is why smiths have used the dagger as a proving piece for centuries. Sight down the flat of a well made one and the two bevels mirror each other the whole way to the tip.

The square wooden inlay is a display feature and it is worth understanding what it is. A window is cut through the flat of the blade and a shaped piece of timber is fitted into it and dressed flush, so the wood shows on both faces framed by steel. It is the same idea as the pierced and inlaid blades that turn up on ceremonial arms across Europe and the Near East, and it does the same thing: it turns a flat expanse of steel into something you keep looking at. It also means there is less material at that point in the blade than there would otherwise be, which is the honest reason a piece like this is a collector and display dagger rather than a blade for prying or heavy work. Other profiles are compared in blade shapes explained.

Why 1095 high carbon steel and not stainless

1095 is the simplest useful blade steel there is: iron with roughly one percent carbon and very little else. Nothing exotic, nothing to hide behind. Hardened and tempered properly it takes a keen edge, it holds it through real work, it sharpens faster than almost anything else on a stone, and when it does get damaged it can be reground without specialist equipment. Smiths still reach for it after two hundred years for exactly those reasons.

Stainless would resist rust without any effort on your part, and that is a genuine advantage on a knife you carry every day in a pocket. On a large display dagger it matters far less, because the piece lives indoors and is handled rather than soaked. What matters instead is the edge, the toughness and the way carbon steel darkens with age into a patina that a stainless blade will never develop. If you want the pattern of forge welded steel rather than the plain finish here, the differences are set out in high carbon steel versus Damascus, and the case for and against stainless is in Damascus versus stainless.

The rosewood handle

The handle is rosewood, shaped and sanded to sit in the palm rather than in a catalogue photograph. At 5.5 inches it is long enough to take a full grip with room to spare, which is what a blade this size needs if it is going to feel balanced rather than nose heavy. Rosewood is dense, which puts weight back behind the guard, and the natural oil content keeps it from turning slippery in the hand.

Wood moves with temperature and moisture, so a light coat of oil once or twice a year keeps it tight, stops it drying out around the pins, and deepens the colour rather than sitting on the surface as a film that can flake. On a piece that is likely to spend most of its life on a wall or in a case, that annual five minutes is the whole of the maintenance. The method is shown in wooden handle care, and it applies to the inlay in the blade as well.

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. This is the piece in the range with the most room for a long line, since an 8 inch flat will take a full phrase in Elder Futhark without crowding, and we will set it either side of the inlay rather than through it. Everything is cut in house. Details on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Keep it dry, keep it lightly oiled, and let the patina form rather than scrubbing it off. Carbon steel darkens with age and handling into a grey blue film, and that film is protection rather than damage. What you do want to avoid is standing water and fingerprints left overnight, since the salts in a fingerprint will etch a bright blade. Wipe it down after handling and put a thin film of mineral oil on it before it goes back on the wall. The routine is in steel care, and looking after the sheath is in leather sheath care.

Sharpening a dagger means maintaining two edges evenly, or the point will drift off the centreline over the years. Set your angle, raise a burr along the full length of one bevel, match it exactly on the opposite side, then repeat on the second edge. Go carefully at the tip, which is the thinnest part of the blade and the easiest to round. The method is in 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 Memphis, Tennessee. 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 dagger is hand forged, not machine made and not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph on this page. The inlay is cut from timber, so the grain in the square and the exact tone of it change from piece to piece. The rosewood handle comes off a different board every time. Hammer and grinder marks, the way the ridge catches the light, the depth of the finish, all of it carries the hand that did the work. The dimensions, the steel, the hardness and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

What is the square wooden inlay and does it weaken the blade?

It is a window cut through the flat of the blade and fitted with shaped timber dressed flush on both faces. It removes material at that point, which is why this is a collector and display dagger rather than a blade for prying or batoning. For handling, display and normal cutting it is entirely sound.

Is high carbon steel better than Damascus?

Neither is better, they are different. 1095 is simpler, tougher under abuse, cheaper to make and easier to regrind. Damascus is forge welded from two steels and carries a pattern through the blade. On performance alone a well heat treated 1095 blade gives away very little.

Are both edges sharpened?

Yes. Both bevels are ground and stoned to the same standard, which is what makes a dagger a dagger and what makes it slower to make than a single edged knife of the same size.

Will the blade change colour over time?

It will. Carbon steel takes on a grey blue patina with handling and age, which protects the surface underneath. If you prefer it bright, keep it oiled and wipe fingerprints off promptly.

Is 13.5 inches too large to carry?

For most people, yes. A blade this size is bought as a display and collector piece. Carrying a fixed double edged blade of this length in public is restricted in many states and countries, so check your local law.

Can I have a full rune line cut into it?

This is the best piece in the range for that. An 8 inch flat takes a long phrase in Elder Futhark comfortably. Allow the longer end of the one to two week processing window for engraved orders.

What is in the box

• One Inlayspire 1095 high carbon dagger knife with square wooden inlay
• Handcrafted leather sheath
• Protective packaging for storage or gifting
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See what else sits alongside it in Dagger Knives, Hunting Knives, Viking Seax and New Arrivals. The material detail is in the guides.