Nightthorn Hand Forged Damascus Steel Morning Star Mace | 26 Inch Overall with 5 Inch Head | Dark Hardwood Haft and Turned Brass Collars and Butt Cap | Reenactment Collector Gift | RK-1355

A spiked mace head is one of the harder things to pattern weld well. The body has to be upset and rounded, then every spike drawn out of the surface, and each of those operations pulls the layers of the billet in a different direction. This head is forge welded 1095 and 15N20, worked into an ovoid, spiked in staggered rows and etched so the pattern reads across the body and up the flanks of the spikes themselves. It is fitted between two turned brass collars on a dark hardwood haft with a brass butt cap. Historically, pattern welded striking heads are rare survivals precisely because they were difficult, and the ones that exist were status pieces.

Forged, welded, etched and finished in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee, hardened and drawn to 58 to 60 HRC. It ships with the leather wrist strap shown, free anywhere in the United States, and can be engraved with Elder Futhark runes or a Viking pattern before it leaves the bench.

Specifications

How the pattern behaves on a spiked head

On a flat blade the layers of a Damascus billet lie roughly parallel and the etch produces long, calm lines. On a body that has been upset into an egg shape, they do nothing of the sort. Compressing steel along its axis makes the layers bulge outward in nested curves, so the equator of this head carries broad concentric bands while the poles show tighter rings where the material was squeezed hardest.

Each spike then interrupts that. Drawing a pyramid out of the surface stretches the layers it takes with it and thins them dramatically, which is why the flanks of the spikes show a much finer, more crowded figure than the body they stand on. Look along a row and you can see the pattern step from broad to fine at the base of every point. That transition is the fingerprint of a spike that was forged out of the head rather than welded onto it, and it is the single most useful thing to check when you are judging any pattern welded striking head.

Why Damascus steel and not stainless

The Damascus here is not an etch or a print. It is 1095 and 15N20 forge welded in alternating layers, drawn out, folded, and welded again until the billet carries the layer count you can see on the finished piece. The two steels are close cousins in carbon content, which is what lets them weld cleanly and harden together, but 15N20 carries about two percent nickel. Nickel resists the acid etch. That is the whole trick. When the finished piece is polished and dipped, the 1095 darkens and the 15N20 stays bright, and the layers you cannot otherwise see come up as pattern.

Because both steels are high carbon, the finished piece hardens properly. This one is quenched and drawn to 58 to 60 HRC, hard enough to hold a working edge and still tough enough for impact work. Stainless cannot do this. High chromium alloys will not forge weld reliably at these temperatures and the chromium carbides that give stainless its corrosion resistance also blunt the contrast an etch depends on, so stainless Damascus is usually a faint grey ghost of a pattern. The trade is care. Read more in Damascus versus stainless.

The hardwood haft

The haft is close grained hardwood, turned to a slight taper so the hand finds the same place on it every time and sanded through the grits before it takes its oil finish. Dense hardwood is chosen over a softwood for a reason that has nothing to do with looks. A dense stave carries the shock of a heavy head into the wood rather than letting it stop at your palm, and it holds a ferrule or a langet tight for years instead of shrinking away from the fitting after one dry winter.

The finish is oil, not lacquer, which is a deliberate choice. Lacquer looks perfect until it chips, then water gets under it and you cannot fix it without stripping the whole handle. Oil wears gradually and is repaired by wiping more oil on. Once or twice a year, a thin coat of boiled linseed or a proprietary handle oil, twenty minutes to soak, then wipe off what has not gone in. See 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.

Engraving is cut by hand after the piece is finished and before final oiling, so keep the line short and let it sit where the eye already goes. Names, dates, a line of a poem, a maker mark, a unit or a crew number all work. If you are unsure where a line should sit, send us the text and we will suggest a placement before we cut. Full details and examples are on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Damascus needs the same care as any high carbon steel, with one extra thought. The etched pattern lives in a few thousandths of an inch of surface relief. Aggressive polishing, a wire wheel or a scouring pad will flatten that relief and take the pattern with it, and the only way back is to re etch the piece. Clean it with a soft cloth, nothing abrasive, and keep a thin film of mineral oil or paste wax on the steel. Wipe fingerprints off the same day. Rust will start in a fingerprint before it starts anywhere else.

Sharpening does not damage the pattern, because you are only working the bevel and the layers run right through the steel rather than sitting on top of it. Use a whetstone, keep it wet, hold the angle the bevel already carries and work both sides evenly. If the fresh bevel looks paler than the rest of the piece, that is expected, and a light etch will bring it back. See steel care and sharpening with a whetstone.

Forged in Memphis

This is made in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing in this listing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing is bought in finished and re labelled. The steel is cut, heated, drawn and shaped here, the heat treat is done here, and the fitting and finishing are done here by the same small crew. That is also why the lead time is honest rather than instant. Pieces in stock ship within two to three business days. If yours has to be made, or if you have asked for engraving, allow two to three weeks before it leaves the shop. We will tell you which it is when you order rather than after. Shipping inside the United States is free.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand forged. It is not machine made, not cast and not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph on this page. The grain of the wood, the tone the steel takes from the fire and the oil, the exact run of a pattern, the precise curve of a profile, all of it shifts a little from one piece to the next because each one is worked by hand from natural materials. Two hafts cut from the same board will not read the same. Two etched blades from the same billet will not carry the same swirl.

What does not change is the specification. Dimensions, steel, hardness, fittings and build are the same every time. The character is the part that is yours alone, and it is the reason to buy something forged rather than something stamped.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Damascus pattern real or applied?

Real. The head is forge welded from alternating layers of 1095 and 15N20 and the figure runs all the way through the steel. An applied or laser etched pattern stops at the surface and disappears the moment you file it.

Can it be used or sparred with?

No. This is live steel with pointed spikes and nearly three pounds of mass. It is a display and collector piece and it is genuinely dangerous. Handle it, photograph it, hang it, do not swing it near anyone.

Can I have runes engraved on it?

Yes. Use the rune converter on this page for Elder Futhark or choose your own Viking pattern. On this piece a rune line sits best on the brass collar, where it reads cleanly without fighting the etched figure.

Will the etched pattern wear off?

Not from handling. The pattern is structural, not a coating. It can be dulled by abrasive polishing, so clean it with a soft cloth and oil rather than a scouring pad, and it will look the same in twenty years.

What is the difference between this and the polished steel gothic mace?

Same family of head, different steel and fittings. This is pattern welded, runs harder at 58 to 60 HRC, has brass collars and a dark hardwood haft, and is priced as the collector version of the plain steel piece.

How long does shipping take?

Two to three business days if it is in stock, two to three weeks if it is being forged or engraved. Damascus spiked heads take the longest of anything we make. United States shipping is free with tracking.

What is in the box

• One hand forged Damascus gothic spiked mace, 1095 and 15N20
• Dark hardwood haft with turned brass collars and brass butt cap
• Leather wrist strap
• Care and oiling notes for etched Damascus
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

More in maces, damascus steel, flails and viking weapons, and read the guides.