Grailwarden Hand Forged 1095 High Carbon Steel Excalibur Sword Replica | 45 Inch Overall with 36 Inch Blade | Cosplay and Display Gift | RK-1255

The Grailwarden is our Excalibur sword replica: a long, straight, double edged blade with an engraved fuller, hung in an ornate gilt brass hilt with a deep red leather grip and a tan scabbard with matching brass fittings. Most people assume the sword in the stone and Excalibur are the same weapon. In the medieval sources they usually are not. Geoffrey of Monmouth calls Arthur’s sword Caliburnus, from the Welsh Caledfwlch, and says it was forged on the Isle of Avalon. The later French prose cycles then split the story in two: the sword drawn from the stone proves the king, breaks in a duel, and is replaced by a second sword given up out of the lake by a hand in white samite. Excalibur, properly speaking, is the second one. The scabbard mattered more than the blade in those tellings, because it was the scabbard that stopped the wearer bleeding, and Morgan le Fay stole it precisely for that reason.

The Grailwarden is forged, ground, heat treated, polished and hilted entirely by hand in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. It ships with its brass mounted tan leather scabbard, a protective oil film on the blade, a care and sharpening card, and free shipping anywhere in the United States.

Specifications

Where the Arthurian sword actually comes from

The literary Excalibur is a composite. The Welsh name Caledfwlch appears in Culhwch and Olwen, one of the oldest Arthurian tales we have, where it is simply the king’s best weapon and nothing supernatural is claimed for it. Geoffrey of Monmouth latinised that to Caliburnus in the twelfth century and gave it the Avalon origin. Norman French writers turned Caliburnus into Escalibor and then Excalibur, and the Lady of the Lake, the sword in the stone and the final throw back into the water all accumulate over the following two hundred years, mostly in the Vulgate Cycle and then in Malory.

What that means for a replica is that there is no single archaeological original to copy, and any maker who tells you otherwise is selling you something. What there is instead is a clear period style: the swords of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in which the legend was being written down, with a straight crossguard, a broad fullered blade and rich hilt furniture on a king’s weapon. That is the sword we have built, in the dress a royal blade of that era would actually have worn.

The gilt brass hilt

The guard and pommel are cast in brass, then worked over by hand with chasing punches to sharpen the detail the mould softens, and finally gilded. Historically that finish was fire gilding: gold dissolved in mercury, brushed on, then driven off over heat, a process that killed a generation of goldsmiths and is rightly illegal now. Modern gilding gets to the same visual place without the mercury. Brass is the right base metal for it because it is dense enough to act as a counterweight behind the hand, soft enough to chase cleanly, and it holds a gilded surface far better than steel, which flexes and sheds plating.

Under the brass the construction is orthodox. The tang runs the full length of the grip and is peened over the pommel, so the guard, grip core, collar and pommel are locked together under permanent compression. The brass is decoration on a sound steel hilt, not a substitute for one.

Why 1095 high carbon and not stainless

1095 is a plain carbon steel, iron with just under one percent carbon and almost nothing else, which is why it hardens predictably and takes a keen edge. Stainless gets its corrosion resistance from twelve percent or more chromium, and the carbides that produces interrupt the grain and leave a long thin blade prone to breaking rather than bending. On a forty five inch display sword that is not a theoretical concern. We would rather sell you a blade that needs a wipe with an oily cloth than one that can shatter. The full comparison, including how pattern welded Damascus behaves relative to both, is on our page covering Damascus versus stainless.

The grip and the scabbard

The grip is a two part hardwood core clamped on the tang, cord wound to raise fine risers, then covered in deep red leather and stitched along the back so the seam sits clear of the palm. The scabbard is built the same way any proper scabbard is: two carved wooden laths glued around the exact section of the blade, lined, covered in tan leather and then mounted with gilt brass at the throat, the middle locket and the chape. Because the core is wood, keep both grip and scabbard out of direct sun and away from dry heat. Our notes on wooden handle care cover the routine, and the same advice applies to the scabbard body.

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. On an Arthurian sword many buyers ask for a Latin line or a name in place of the standard fuller engraving, and that is exactly the substitution this option makes. We do not engrave the gilt surfaces, because cutting through gilding exposes raw brass. Everything we can and cannot do is set out on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Two different materials, two different routines. The blade is high carbon steel: wipe it after handling, keep a thin film of mineral or camellia oil on it, and deal with any red spotting early rather than letting it pit. The gilt brass wants the opposite treatment, which is to say almost none. Do not use metal polish on it. Polish will cut straight through the gilding to the brass underneath in a single session. A dry soft cloth is all it needs. Do not store the sword sheathed for months, since leather holds moisture against both steel and gilding. The blade routine is on our steel care page, and if you take the sharpened option, maintain the bevel with the technique in our guide to sharpening with a whetstone.

Forged in Memphis

Made in Memphis, Tennessee, in our own shop. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing is a container order with our name added. The blade is forged, normalised, ground, quenched, tempered and polished on site, the hilt castings are chased and fitted here, and the scabbard core is carved to the individual blade so the fit is close. This is the most involved piece in this group and the lead time reflects it. In stock swords leave within two to three business days. Made to order or custom engraved Grailwardens run three to four weeks, and we will give you the real date rather than an optimistic one.

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. Hand chasing means the detail on the guard and pommel sits slightly differently on every hilt, gilding takes light in its own way, red dyed leather varies from hide to hide and tan leather varies more, and the etched line in the fuller runs a shade deeper or lighter depending on time in the mordant. All of that varies because each piece is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treatment and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the blade sharp when it arrives?

No. It comes with a display edge, which is what most buyers of a piece at this level want. Choose the sharpened option and we will grind a working cutting edge before it ships.

Is this a copy of a specific sword from a film?

No. There is no surviving original Arthurian sword and this is not modelled on any studio prop. It is our own design, built in the twelfth and thirteenth century royal style that the Arthurian romances were written in.

Will the gilding wear off?

Not with normal display handling. It will wear if you polish it with an abrasive metal cleaner, so do not. A dry cloth keeps it bright, and fingerprints come off with a breath and a wipe.

Can I have a name or a date engraved on it?

Yes. Use the rune converter for Elder Futhark, or specify plain lettering in the engraving option. Your line replaces the standard fuller engraving. We do not cut into the gilded brass.

What is the difference between this and an arming sword?

An arming sword is the single handed knightly sword, around thirty six inches overall with a grip for one hand and a shield in the other. This is a longer two handed blade with a full length grip, more presence on a wall and a very different balance in the hand.

How long does shipping take?

Free shipping within the United States. In stock swords leave Memphis in two to three business days. Custom engraved or made to order pieces take three to four weeks.

What is in the box

• Grailwarden hand forged 1095 Excalibur sword replica with gilt brass hilt
• Tan leather scabbard over a wooden core with gilt brass throat, locket and chape
• Protective oil coat on the blade for transit
• Care and sharpening card, including gilding care
• 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 full longsword collection, our arming swords and the scabbards and sheaths. Arthurian background, steel and care are covered in the guides.