Saltbrand Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Naval Cutlass | 30 Inch Overall with 24 Inch Blade | Nautical Collector Gift | RK-1316

Every navy that issued a cutlass arrived at roughly the same sword, and they arrived at it independently. Short blade, wide blade, single edge, a guard that wraps the hand, and a total length that will clear a companionway without catching. That convergence is not a coincidence, it is what happens when the same problem is solved honestly several times over: fighting on a crowded wooden deck under a low beam, in salt spray, by men who were sailors first and swordsmen a distant second. A cutlass had to be usable by someone with two weeks of drill, and every feature on this one exists to make that true.

This Saltbrand cutlass is hand forged by hand in the Czech Republic. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel with a near straight back, a sharply clipped point and a band of Norse knotwork etched along the forte, hardened, tempered and polished bright. The hilt is steel with a stirrup knuckle bow and a hooked quillon over a ribbed black leather grip, and it ships with a black leather scabbard fitted in steel. Shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

The stirrup guard and the straight spine

The single bar sweeping from the quillon down to the pommel is a stirrup guard, named for the shape rather than for any horse. It is the least material that will do the job. A closed sheet steel bowl protects more of the hand, and plenty of naval patterns used one, but a bowl is heavier, it fills with water, it catches on rigging, and when it dents it has to be beaten out by a smith. A stirrup bow is a single piece of bar that can be bent back into shape over a capstan bar by anyone on board. On a ship, repairability beats coverage.

The hooked quillon above it is the other half of the defence. It catches a blade sliding down your own before it reaches the fingers, and it gives the thumb a hard point to brace against when you want to drive the point forward rather than swing.

Now look at the spine. It runs almost dead straight from the guard until the last few inches, and then it cuts down sharply to meet the edge. That shape does something specific. A straight spine means the mass sits in a solid bar right behind the edge for the whole cutting length, so the blade chops through rope, canvas and bone without deflecting, and it means the blade can be made thick without being made curved, which keeps it cheap to forge and easy to sharpen. The abrupt clip at the end pulls the point back down to the centre line of the blade so a thrust still lands true, and concentrates the tip enough to punch through heavy tarred canvas. A cutlass shaped like this is not elegant. It is efficient, and that is the whole tradition.

Why 1095 high carbon steel and not stainless

1095 is about one percent carbon, a little manganese, and very little else. That plainness is the reason to use it. It forges predictably, quenches cleanly, and at 54 to 58 HRC it takes and holds a hard working edge while the spine keeps enough spring to bend under a bad cut and return straight. Stainless steel buys corrosion resistance with a large chromium addition, and in the section and length a sword needs, the chromium makes the steel brittle. A stainless blade this size is a display object that is waiting for a reason to break. There is a real irony here, because a naval cutlass is the one sword you might genuinely want to be rustproof, and the answer historically was not different steel but more oil and more attention. The full comparison is on our page covering Damascus versus stainless.

The ribbed leather grip

The grip is leather laid over a shaped core and bound down into raised ribs. Ribs give the fingers something to register against, so the hand finds the same position without looking, and they stop the palm creeping forward under a heavy cut. Leather also swells slightly when it is damp, which is exactly backwards from what a smooth wood or metal grip does, so on a wet deck the hold gets more secure rather than less. That is not a small thing on a sword designed to be used in spray.

The steel ferrule and the pommel are peened over the tang, so the hilt is held by metal moved into metal rather than by adhesive. Wipe the leather with a dry cloth if it gets wet and let it dry away from direct heat. A little neutral conditioner once or twice a year keeps it supple. Do not saturate it, because leather that has been soaked stretches and the ribs go soft.

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 this cutlass the knotwork band along the forte is the existing engraved area, so anything you order for the blade will take its place. Details are on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

High carbon steel rusts and a broad bright flat shows every spot. Wipe the blade after handling, because skin acid starts most of the marks people blame on humidity, and keep a thin film of oil on it. If you display the cutlass anywhere near a coast or a kitchen, check it more often than you think you need to. Store it out of its scabbard for long periods, since leather holds damp against steel. Our routine is on the steel care page.

The near straight edge on this blade makes it one of the simplest swords in the range to sharpen, right up until the clipped point, where the geometry changes fast and it is easy to round the tip. Work the long section with a steady angle and then treat the clip as its own short segment. Our guide to sharpening with a whetstone covers it in detail.

Made in the Czech Republic

This is a handmade piece from the Czech Republic, made in a workshop that still forges, grinds and finishes by hand instead of stamping parts out. The smiths there have kept the older way of working, and the wood, horn and leather are shaped and fitted by hand as well. Two pieces of the same design will never be identical, and that is part of what you are buying.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We handle the import ourselves, look over every piece when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so your design goes on before we send it out.

A note on handmade variation

This cutlass 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 photographs on this page. The polish will catch the light differently, the leather will take the dye a shade lighter or darker, the etched knotwork will sit a fraction differently on the flat, and the exact angle of the clipped point will carry the hand of the smith who ground it. Dimensions, steel, hardness and build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Does it arrive sharp?

It arrives with a working edge, keen enough to cut paper and to cut you if you are careless, but not shaved to a razor. Ask in the order notes and we will take it to a full cutting edge before it ships at no extra charge.

Can it be used, or is it only for display?

It is functional. The tang runs the length of the grip and the pommel is peened, the steel is properly hardened and tempered, and the short heavy blade is very effective on tatami, bottles and rope. It is not a sparring sword and must never be used against another blade or against a person.

Can I have runes engraved on it?

Yes. Use the rune converter on this page for Elder Futhark, or choose your own Viking pattern. Your engraving replaces the knotwork band already etched on the blade rather than sitting beside it.

Will mine look exactly like the photographs?

No. Steel, dimensions and build are consistent, but polish, leather tone and the fine placement of the etched band vary because every piece is finished by hand.

What is the difference between this and a cavalry sabre?

Almost everything except the single edge. A cutlass is 24 inches of broad, heavy, nearly straight blade meant for confined space and hard material. A cavalry sabre is longer, lighter, deeply curved, and built to draw a cut at the speed of a horse. Held one in each hand you would never mistake them.

How long does shipping take?

Free inside the United States. Finished stock leaves us in two to four business days and usually arrives within a week. Engraved and made to order pieces take two to three weeks.

What is in the box

• One Saltbrand hand forged 1095 high carbon steel naval cutlass, 30 inches overall
• Black leather scabbard with a steel throat and chape
• Care card covering oiling, storage and edge maintenance
• Certificate of hand forging with the SKU recorded
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See the rest of the cutlasses, the longer sabres, the full swords collection, and everything under Norse arms. Background on steel, geometry and care lives in the guides.