Emberlegion Hand Forged Damascus Roman Gladius | 27 Inch Overall with 20 Inch Blade | Roman Collector Gift | RK-1331

This is a Roman gladius on the Pompeii pattern with a blade forge welded from 1095 and 15N20, so the straight parallel edges and short stiff point of the late legionary sword carry a tight raindrop Damascus figure from guard to tip. There is a real historical thread behind that combination. Roman smiths did practise pattern welding, and by the later empire the technique had spread through the Rhine workshops into the migration period blades that the Norse world inherited. Roman writers admired the Spanish sword the army copied in the Punic Wars, and Polybius describes the gladius hispaniensis as a weapon good for both cut and thrust. What the Pompeii pattern did, two centuries later, was strip the shape back to what an army could mass produce and repair. Putting a pattern welded blade in that austere outline is a deliberate contrast between a soldier’s geometry and a smith’s showpiece.

The billet is drawn, folded, welded and etched by hand in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee, then ground, hardened and fitted with a ribbed walnut grip, an engraved brass guard plate and a turned walnut globular pommel. It ships in a brown leather scabbard with a brass throat, a brass chape and brass rivets at the mouth. Shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

How the raindrop pattern is made

Damascus here means pattern welding, not a lost Wootz recipe. We stack alternating layers of 1095 and 15N20, bring the stack to welding heat and set the layers together under the hammer, then draw it out, cut it, fold it and weld it again until the layer count is where we want it. The two steels are close enough in behaviour to work as one blade and different enough to show. 15N20 carries about two percent nickel, and nickel resists the ferric chloride etch, so it stays bright while the 1095 beside it darkens. That contrast is the pattern.

A raindrop figure is not an accident of folding. Before the billet is flattened for the last time, a round punch is driven into the face of the stack in a staggered grid. That pushes the layers down into cones. Grinding the surface back flat then cuts through those cones and exposes them as concentric rings, which is why the pattern reads as scattered water drops rather than straight bands. On a broad parallel edged blade like this one the effect runs uninterrupted for the full twenty inches, and it is worth turning the sword under a lamp to see the rings tilt and swim as the light moves.

Why Damascus and not stainless

Forge welded Damascus is a carbon steel laminate. It rusts, it takes a patina and it needs oiling, and in exchange it gives you a blade with a fine grain refined by every fold and a hardness of 58 to 60 HRC that holds a keen edge far longer than a plain blade at the same weight. Stainless steel relies on a heavy chromium content for its corrosion resistance, and in a blade this long that chromium costs toughness at exactly the point where a sword needs it most, in the shoulder and the tang. Stainless also will not etch to a visible pattern, so a stainless Damascus sword is a printed or acid stencilled imitation rather than a forge welded billet. Our full explanation is in Damascus versus stainless.

The walnut grip and brass fittings

A Roman hilt is four parts on a tang, and this one keeps that logic. The engraved brass guard plate seats against the shoulder of the blade, the ribbed walnut grip sits above it, the turned walnut pommel goes on last and the tang is peened over a steel nut. The ribs on the grip are finger swells rather than ornament, and they matter on a sword that is used mostly with a thrust, because they stop the hand sliding forward under load. Walnut is dense enough to take the turning without tearing and stable enough not to shrink away from the brass collar in a dry winter.

Give the walnut a wipe with a dry cloth after handling and a thin coat of oil once or twice a year. Do not wash it, do not leave it in a hot car and keep it off a radiator shelf, because it is dimensional change in the wood that loosens a hilt over time. Our short note on wooden handle care sets out the routine. The brass will dull to a soft gold on its own, which most people prefer, and comes back to a shine with a light metal polish if you want it bright.

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 Damascus blade we normally recommend putting engraving on the brass guard plate or the pommel rather than the steel, because a cut line across a raindrop pattern interrupts the figure. We will advise either way. Full detail is on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Damascus wants a little more attention than plain steel because the etch has opened the surface very slightly. Dry the blade after handling, wipe it with a light machine oil or a hard paste wax, and do not leave fingerprints on it overnight in a humid room. Store the sword out of the scabbard, because tanned leather holds moisture and salts against a blade. If a dull haze does appear, a clean cloth and oil will lift it without touching the pattern, and the pattern itself goes right through the steel rather than sitting on top of it. Read steel care before the first outing. When the edge needs work, use a coarse then a fine stone at a low angle and follow sharpening with a whetstone, then re oil, because stones strip the protective film.

Forged in Memphis

Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. The billet is stacked and welded in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee, the blade is ground and heat treated here, the hilt is turned and fitted here and the scabbard is cut and stitched in the same building. A Damascus blade takes longer than a plain one because every fold is another weld that has to be right. Most orders leave within ten to fourteen working days. If we are behind or your piece needs engraving, allow three weeks and we will tell you honestly where it is in the queue.

A note on handmade variation

This gladius 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 Damascus figure is different on every billet, and it is different from one side of the same blade to the other, because no two stacks fold the same way. The grain and tone of the walnut, the colour the brass has settled to and the exact profile of the ground edge all vary because each piece is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the steel and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the pattern real or is it etched on?

It is real. The blade is a forge welded stack of 1095 and 15N20 and the pattern runs all the way through the steel. Grinding into the blade would reveal the same layers underneath. Acid only develops the contrast that is already there.

Is it sharp?

Yes. It arrives with a working edge that will shave paper. Ask in the order notes for a blunt reenactment edge and we will leave a rounded quarter inch instead, at no extra charge.

Can I cut with it?

On soft targets, yes. Bottles, mats and pool noodles are fine. Do not strike steel, hardwood or bone with it, do not spar with it against another sharp blade and never throw it. Damascus at 58 to 60 HRC holds a superb edge and will chip if you abuse it.

What is the difference between this and the plain steel gladius?

Geometry, weight and handling are the same. The Damascus blade is harder, holds an edge longer, carries a visible forge welded pattern and costs more because it takes several times the forge work. The plain 1095 sword is the better choice if you intend to use it hard and do not want to fuss over the finish.

Will mine look like the photograph?

The shape, size and fittings will. The pattern will not, because it cannot. Every billet folds differently and that is the point of a forge welded blade.

How long does shipping take?

Free inside the United States. Ten to fourteen working days in the shop, then two to five days in transit. Add about a week for custom engraving.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 and 15N20 Damascus Pompeii pattern gladius, 27 inches overall
• Brown leather scabbard with brass throat, brass chape and brass rivets
• Light protective oil coat on the blade for transit
• Care and sharpening card for pattern welded steel
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

Browse the full gladius range, every pattern welded blade in Damascus swords, the short swords and everything under swords. Background reading is in the guides.