Wayfinder Hand Made Silver Tone Vegvisir Pendant with Twisted Rope Bezel & 20 Inch Black Leather Cord | Norse Runic Gift | RK-1600

The Wayfinder is a round Vegvisir pendant, thirty eight millimetres across, with the eight spoked runic compass cut into a pale matte face and framed by a twisted rope bezel. A soldered bail carries it on a twenty inch black leather cord with a lobster clasp, and it arrives in a cotton drawstring pouch. The body is a silver tone alloy, cast and then hand finished in our shop. It is not solid sterling silver and we do not sell it as such.

The Vegvisir is one of the most recognisable Norse symbols in the world and also one of the most misunderstood, so it is worth being straight about where it comes from. It is real, it is Icelandic, and it is not Viking age. The stave appears in the Huld manuscript, a compilation of Icelandic magical signs written out by Geir Vigfusson in 1860, alongside a short note in Icelandic saying that a person carrying this sign will not lose their way in storms or bad weather even when the way is unknown. Each pendant is cut, polished, corded and pouched in Memphis, Tennessee, and carries our lifetime warranty against defects in the making and the fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed.

Specifications

What the Vegvisir actually meant

Read the stave properly and you can see it is built rather than drawn. Eight arms radiate from a centre point, and every arm terminates in a different device. Some end in crossbars, some in forks, some in small enclosed shapes. That variety is the whole design. This is not a compass rose with decorative tips. It is eight separate staves arranged around a shared centre, which is exactly how the Icelandic grimoire tradition assembled its signs, by combining smaller marks into a larger one.

The Huld manuscript gives the sign its name and its purpose in one line, and the purpose is navigational in a broad sense rather than a literal one. It is about not being lost when you cannot see the way, which in an Icelandic winter is not a metaphor. Two related manuscripts, the Galdrabok and the Huld, sit inside a documented tradition of Icelandic magical staves that runs from the sixteenth century into the nineteenth.

It is also worth saying what the Vegvisir is not. It is constantly confused with the Aegishjalmur, the Helm of Awe, which is a different sign entirely. The Helm of Awe has eight identical arms, each one tipped with a trident like fork and crossed with bars along its length, and its stated purpose is to instil fear in an enemy rather than to find a path. If the eight arms all look the same, you are looking at a Helm of Awe. If they all end differently, it is a Vegvisir.

The metal, the bezel and the cord

The pendant body is cast in a silver tone alloy, then cleaned up, the face taken to a fine matte and the raised stave and bezel polished bright. That difference in finish is what makes the design readable from arm’s length. A pendant polished uniformly over its whole surface loses its detail in reflections. The twisted rope border is worked around the circumference and does two useful things. It stiffens the rim so a thin disc does not dish if it is sat on, and it protects the face by standing slightly proud of it.

The cord is real leather rather than a synthetic cord, round cut and rolled, so it softens against the skin over a few weeks and takes the shape of the wearer. The clasp is a standard lobster with a jump ring, which is the fitting that gets replaced most often on any necklace and the easiest to source if you ever need to. If you would rather have the pendant on a chain, tell us in the order notes and we will fit a box chain instead at no extra cost.

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, the leather or the wood. 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 where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On this pendant the reverse is blank and is the natural place for a name or a date, so a short engraving there sits alongside the Vegvisir on the front rather than replacing it. Details are on the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

The cord is supplied at twenty inches from clasp to clasp, which on most adults sits at the top of the breastbone with the pendant just below the collarbones. If you want it higher, at the base of the throat, ask for eighteen inches. If you want it low enough to sit under a shirt, ask for twenty four.

The simplest way to check is to take a length of string, hang it round your neck at the height you want the pendant to hang, mark it and measure the loop. That number is the cord length to order. Leather cord cannot be shortened neatly at home because the ends are crimped into the fittings, so it is worth measuring before you order rather than after. A twenty inch cord fits over most heads without unclasping, which is why we make it the default.

Care

A silver tone finish will dull over time from skin oils, sweat and anything sprayed onto it. Put the pendant on after aftershave, perfume and sunscreen rather than before. To bring the shine back, rub the raised bezel and stave with a jeweller’s polishing cloth. Do not use a silver dip on this piece, because a dip attacks the matte face as well as the polished areas and will flatten the contrast that makes the design read. Keep the leather cord out of the shower and out of the swimming pool. Chlorine and salt water are hard on both leather and plated finishes. Store it in the cotton pouch rather than loose in a drawer where it will scratch against other jewellery.

Made in Memphis

These are finished, polished, corded and packed in our Memphis, Tennessee shop by the same people who make our blades. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue with our label added afterwards. Engraving is done here as well, on our own machine, which is why a personalised piece takes a few days longer than a plain one. Expect one to two weeks of processing before your pendant ships. Shipping inside the United States is free, and returns are accepted within seven days.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The rope bezel is worked by hand, so the twist will not land in exactly the same place on your piece. The contrast between the matte face and the polished stave depends on how long the finish was worked, so some read a little brighter than others. Leather cord varies in tone from hide to hide. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this solid sterling silver

No. It is a cast silver tone alloy, hand polished. We say that plainly rather than letting the colour imply something it is not. If you want a sterling version, contact us for a quote.

Will it tarnish

It will dull rather than blacken, mostly from skin oils and sprays. A jeweller’s cloth brings it straight back. Avoid silver dips, which damage the matte face.

Is the cord included

Yes. A twenty inch black leather cord with a lobster clasp comes with every pendant, along with a cotton drawstring pouch.

Can I have a chain instead

Yes. Ask for a box chain in the order notes and we will fit one instead of the cord at no extra charge.

Is the Vegvisir a genuine Viking symbol

It is genuinely Icelandic and genuinely Norse in tradition, but it is documented from the nineteenth century Huld manuscript rather than from the Viking age itself. We would rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.

Can I get a name on the back

Yes. The reverse is blank and takes a short line of runes or letters. Add it through the engraving option before checkout.

What is in the box

• One Wayfinder Vegvisir pendant with a twisted rope bezel
• One twenty inch black leather cord with a lobster clasp
• One cotton drawstring pouch and a care card
• Made and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

Browse the Norse pendants, the Viking rings and bracelets, the wider accessories range, or read the guides.