Stonelark Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Chinese Jian Sword | 34 Inch Overall with 26.5 Inch Blade | Martial Arts Collector Gift | RK-1303

The jian is one of the oldest continuously made sword forms in the world. Bronze examples come out of Warring States period tombs, iron ones follow in the Han, and by the Tang dynasty the straight double edged sword had settled into more or less the shape you see here. It never had the numbers of the dao, because it takes longer to learn and longer to make, but it kept a status the saber never quite reached. Chinese writers called it the gentleman of weapons, and it appears in the hands of officials, scholars and generals in art for two thousand years. It is also the sword at the heart of most classical Chinese sword forms still practised today.

This jian is forged and finished by hand in Memphis, Tennessee. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel hardened and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC, straight and double edged with a broad shallow fuller and a rounded spatulate point, polished bright. The hilt is a dark grip with a brass ferrule and plain fittings, and the sword ships in a dark wood scabbard. Shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

Why the point is rounded rather than needle sharp

The tip of this blade widens slightly and then comes to a broad rounded point rather than tapering to a needle. Newcomers often read that as a compromise, but it is a deliberate and very old choice found on many historical jian and on Viking age European swords for exactly the same reasons.

A fine needle point is fragile. It bends on hard contact and it is easy to break off entirely. A broader point keeps material behind the tip, so the last inch of the blade survives a bad thrust. It also keeps the mass of the blade further forward, which helps the cut. And because a jian is used with edge changes and drawing cuts rather than pure thrusting, a wide tip actually gives you more usable cutting edge in the part of the blade that moves fastest. The trade is that it will not slip through a mail ring, but that was never what this sword was for.

Why high carbon steel and not stainless

This forge uses exactly two steels. Plain blades like this one are 1095 high carbon steel. Damascus blades are 1095 and 15N20 forge welded together.

On a straight double edged blade the choice matters more than most people realise. A jian has no thick spine to hide stiffness in, so the steel itself has to do the work of being both hard at the edges and springy in the body. 1095 hardens deeply and evenly and tempers back to a reliable 54 to 58 HRC, which gives an edge that holds and a blade that flexes and returns straight. Stainless steel gets its rust resistance from a heavy chromium load, and those chromium carbides make the steel coarse at the edge and brittle in the body. In a thin double edged blade that is a genuine hazard. The trade with carbon steel is that it will spot if you leave it damp. Wipe it, oil it, and it will last generations. See Damascus versus stainless.

The grip and brass ferrule

The grip is a dark toned core, close to round in section and slightly waisted so the hand settles in the same place each time. A brass ferrule closes the front against the blade shoulder and steel fittings finish the rear. Brass is used at the collar because it is soft enough to be fitted tight without cracking, and because it takes a warm patina that reads well against a bright blade.

Where wood is exposed at the collar or the pommel, keep it out of direct sun and dry heat and give it a small amount of oil once or twice a year so it does not shrink away from the metal. Our wooden handle care guide has the details, and the same advice applies to the wooden scabbard.

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 a bright polished jian a cut inscription beside the fuller shows very clearly. See the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

A bright polish shows every fingerprint, and fingerprints are mildly acidic, so wipe the blade with an oiled cloth after handling. Store the sword out of the wooden scabbard if it is being put away for a season, because a close fitting scabbard holds humidity against steel. Rust removal and oil choice are covered on our steel care page.

Sharpen both edges symmetrically. Work one edge in short sections on a medium stone, counting passes, then match that exactly on the other edge, refine both on a fine stone and lift the burr with a strop. Ease off at the rounded point so the profile stays full rather than being ground into a taper. See sharpening with a whetstone.

Forged in Memphis

The blade is forged from bar stock, fullered, ground, heat treated, straightened, polished and hilted in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee, and the wooden scabbard is shaped and finished in the same building. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing arrives finished with our label on it. A double edged blade takes twice the grinding of a single edged one, so a made to order jian needs three weeks. In stock swords ship in two to three business days.

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. The grain and colour of the grip and scabbard, the tone of the brass, the exact width of the fuller and the way the polish reads in different light all vary, because everything is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the steel and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is the part worth having.

Frequently asked questions

Does it arrive sharp on both edges?

Yes. Both edges are sharpened and ready to cut. If you want a blunt sword for forms practice or display, say so in the order notes and we will supply it that way.

Is it suitable for taiji jian or wushu forms?

It is a full weight functional sword rather than a light flexible performance blade. It suits slow form work, cutting practice and display. If you want a whippy competition wushu jian, this is not it.

Can I have runes engraved on it?

Yes. Use the rune converter above for Elder Futhark or choose your own pattern in the engraving option, and tell us whether it goes on the blade or the grip.

Will mine look exactly like the photographs?

Dimensions and steel will match. The wood tone in the grip and scabbard and the shade of the brass will be slightly different on each one.

How does this compare with the Damascus version?

Same family of blade. This one is plain 1095 at 54 to 58 HRC with a bright polish and a wooden scabbard. The Damascus jian is forge welded 1095 and 15N20 at 58 to 60 HRC with an etched pattern, and it takes considerably longer to build.

How long does shipping take?

Shipping is free inside the United States and stock swords normally arrive five to seven business days after dispatch. Engraved or made to order pieces add three weeks.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 high carbon steel Chinese jian, 34 inches overall
• One dark wood scabbard
• Care card covering blade oiling, storage and sharpening two edges
• Your Elder Futhark rune line or chosen pattern, if engraving was ordered
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the jian and dao Chinese swords, the Damascus swords, the full sword range and the falchions, or read the guides.