Runemark Hand Forged 1095 High Carbon Steel Runic Inscribed Longsword | Norse Collector and Display Gift | RK-1254

The Runemark is a double edged longsword with a deep red leather grip, a flat disc pommel and a line of runic engraving cut down the fuller. The disc pommel is the detail that dates it. Round flat pommels appear on European swords from around the middle of the thirteenth century and then dominate for the next two hundred years, and the reason is geometry rather than fashion. A disc packs the greatest possible counterweight into the smallest projection behind the hand, so it balances a long blade without the bulk of a brazil nut or the awkward corners of a scent stopper. The flat faces were also the one place on a sword where a family could put a device, which is why so many surviving disc pommels carry an inlaid cross, a shield or a set of initials.

Every Runemark is forged, ground, heat treated, polished and hilted by hand in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. It ships with a fitted leather scabbard over a wooden core, a light protective oil on the blade, a care and sharpening card, and free shipping anywhere in the United States.

Specifications

The disc pommel and what it does to the sword

Pick this sword up by the grip alone and the first thing you notice is how far back it sits. That is the disc doing its work. A sword balances like any other lever, and adding mass behind the hand moves the balance point toward the hilt far more efficiently than removing mass from the blade, because the pommel sits at the far end of the short arm. Roughly half a pound behind the hand is worth two or three times that much taken out of the blade.

The disc also changes how the sword is held. In a two handed grip the rear hand does not wrap the pommel, it sits on it, and a flat round face gives the heel of that hand a stable platform to push and pull against. Every strike from a longsword is really a couple: the front hand pushing, the rear hand pulling on the pommel. A ball pommel rolls under that; a disc does not. On the Runemark the pommel is peened over the tang so the whole hilt is locked under compression permanently.

The runic inscription

The line running down the fuller is cut into the steel and darkened, not printed or stuck on, so it will not lift or fade. It is set inside the groove rather than across the flats for a practical reason: the fuller is recessed, which shelters the engraving from the scuffs a display piece picks up, and it keeps the etch well away from the edge bevels where the steel is thinnest and any notch would matter. If you want a different line, we can cut yours in place of the standard one.

Why 1095 and not stainless

1095 is the spring steel used for truck leaf springs and it is the workhorse of American sword making for a good reason. The small chromium addition improves hardenability without pushing the alloy into stainless territory, and the result is a steel that takes a deep even quench through a thick section and comes back from a hard flex without a set. Stainless, by contrast, relies on twelve percent or more chromium, and the carbides that gives you make a long blade comparatively brittle. Steel that rusts a little and bends is a better sword than steel that never rusts and snaps. We lay the metallurgy out properly on our page covering Damascus versus stainless.

The red grip

The grip is a shaped hardwood core, clamped on the full tang and covered in deep red dyed leather, stitched along the back edge so the seam falls away from the palm. Red is a hard colour to get right on vegetable tanned hide because the dye sits in the surface rather than penetrating fully, which is why the tone varies slightly across a single grip and why it will mellow over years of handling. That is the leather doing what leather does. Keep the sword out of direct sunlight, which fades red faster than any other colour, and treat the wood core occasionally as described in our notes on wooden handle care.

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. That is worth reading twice on this sword, because the Runemark already carries a runic line as standard and your text takes its place in the fuller. We can alternatively cut a short device into the flat face of the disc pommel, which is the historically correct spot for a personal mark. Options and lead times are on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Wipe the blade down whenever it has been handled. Skin oils are acidic and etch prints into polished steel within a day or two in warm damp weather, and the darkened runes sit in exactly the area people touch. A thin coat of mineral or camellia oil two or three times a year is enough for a piece kept indoors. Avoid abrasive polish over the engraved line, since aggressive work will lift the darkening out of the cut. Keep the sword out of the scabbard for long storage, because leather holds moisture. Full instructions are on our steel care page, and if you have taken the sharpened option, the method for maintaining a long even bevel is in our guide to sharpening with a whetstone.

Forged in Memphis

Forged, ground, heat treated, engraved and hilted in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing arrives finished with somebody else’s mark ground off. We cut the stock, forge the blade, normalise it three times, grind it, quench it in oil, temper it, cut and darken the runes, then build the hilt and carve a scabbard core to that specific blade. In stock swords ship in two to three business days. Anything made to order or engraved to your text runs two to three weeks, and we give you the honest date up front.

A note on handmade variation

This sword is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph on this page. Red dyed leather varies noticeably between hides, the wood grain under the wrap is unique to each grip, the runes sit a shade deeper or lighter depending on time in the etch, and the profile of the point is finished by eye at the belt. All of that varies because each sword is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treatment and the build are identical every time. The character is not, and that is the reason to buy from a forge instead of a factory.

Frequently asked questions

Does it come sharp?

It ships with a display edge as standard. Select the sharpened option at checkout if you want a working cutting edge put on before dispatch.

What do the runes on the blade say?

The standard line is an Elder Futhark inscription rendered as a decorative motto. If you want a specific meaning, use the rune converter on this page and we will cut your own words in place of it.

Can I have something engraved on the pommel instead of the blade?

Yes. The flat disc face takes a short device or a set of initials well, and historically that is exactly where such marks went. Note it in the engraving option when you order.

Will my sword look like the photograph?

Closely, but not identically. The red of the grip and the tone of the leather differ from hide to hide, and each blade is polished and finished by hand.

What is the difference between this and an executioner sword?

An executioner sword has no point at all, a broad parallel sided blade and a blunt or squared tip, because it was swung horizontally and never thrust. This is a pointed, distally tapered fighting profile built to cut and thrust, with a completely different balance.

How long will delivery take?

Shipping is free within the United States, two to three business days to leave the shop for stocked pieces, plus two to three weeks if you have ordered custom engraving.

What is in the box

• Runemark hand forged 1095 High Carbon Steel longsword with engraved runic blade
• Fitted leather scabbard over a wooden core with throat and chape
• Protective oil coat on the blade for transit
• Care and sharpening card
• Rune engraving certificate where personalisation was ordered
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the fantasy and movie style swords, the longsword range, our engraved and personalised pieces and the Viking swords. Rune meanings, steel and care are all covered in the guides.