Beardknot Hand Made Bronze Tone Viking Ring Set with Valknut Bands & Twisted Wire Rings | Seven Piece Stacking Ring Gift | RK-1616

The Beardknot is a seven piece Viking ring set, worn on the fingers. Three of the pieces are wide flat bands stamped with a Valknut, and four are slimmer rings twisted from round wire into a rope. They are meant to be stacked, a wide band with a twist beside it on one finger, or spread across the hand, and the mix of wide and narrow is deliberate so the set can be worn heavy or light. A small wooden ring dish comes with them to keep the set together when it is off your hands.

Finger rings are one of the parts of the Norse look that people assume was invented for television, and they were not. Rings turn up across Scandinavian and Rus finds, twisted wire among them, and Ibn Fadlan, the Arab diplomat who met Rus traders on the Volga in the tenth century, wrote at length about how much metal they wore. Ours are formed and finished in the Czech Republic and arrive together in one pouch with the wooden ring dish. Look for it with the Viking rings and bracelets, and take in the beard rings and beads on the way past.

Specifications

What the Valknut actually is

The three interlocked triangles stamped into the wide bands are the Valknut. The name is a modern one, built from Old Norse words for slain and knot, and the symbol itself appears on Gotland picture stones, on the Oseberg ship burial and on a handful of other Norse objects. On several of those stones it sits in scenes involving Odin, hanged men and the dead, which is why it is usually read as a symbol tied to Odin and to the fate of the slain.

What is worth knowing is that nobody in the Viking age left us a written explanation of it. Everything said about the Valknut meaning the binding and unbinding of a warrior’s mind, or the nine worlds, or the passage into Valhalla, is later interpretation rather than recorded fact. It is a genuine period symbol with a genuinely uncertain meaning, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a tidy story that the archaeology does not support. Three triangles, interlocked so no strand ends, cut into the wide bands of this set.

The metal and the twist

These are jewellery alloy finished in a warm bronze tone, polished on the raised surfaces and relieved in the stamped areas so the Valknut reads dark against light. We describe the finish rather than claiming bronze, brass, gold or silver, because a finished piece at this price is not solid precious metal and saying otherwise would be dishonest.

The twisted rings are made the old way, by taking round wire, twisting it into a rope and then closing that rope into a continuous ring. Twisting work hardens the wire, which is why a twisted ring holds its shape better than a plain wire ring of the same gauge, and it gives the ring a textured surface that catches the light differently from the flat bands beside it.

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 a band. 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 set the three wide bands are the engravable pieces, and a short rune line will run right round a band. Your text takes the place of the Valknut rather than sitting next to it. See the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

These are finger rings, so the size that matters is your ring size. If you are not sure of it, ask us before you order rather than guessing.

The wide bands are deep enough to sit stable on their own, and the twists are slim enough to stack beside them on the same finger. A wide band with a single twist either side is the heaviest look the set gives you. A twist on its own reads light and plain.

All seven are continuous rings rather than open bands, so they cannot be squeezed to fit. Get the size right first.

Care

Take them off before you wash your hands with soap or work with cleaning products. Soap, hand cream and household chemicals all sit on the metal and dull the finish over time, and water gets into the twist where you cannot dry it. Slide them off, wash, dry your hands, then put them back.

Wipe them with a soft dry cloth after a day of wear. If they need more than that, use a barely damp cloth and a soft brush in the twist, then dry them fully. Avoid silver dip solutions and ultrasonic cleaners, which are made for solid precious metal and will strip a finish. Keep them on the wooden dish or in the pouch rather than loose in a pocket with keys.

Made in the Czech Republic

This piece is made by hand in the Czech Republic, in a workshop that still works the old way. The steel is forged, ground, heat treated and finished by smiths who learned the trade from the people before them, and the wood, horn and leather are cut and fitted by hand rather than pressed out on a line. That is also why no two pieces come out exactly the same.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import these pieces ourselves, check every one when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, so your runes or your own design go on before it leaves for you.

A note on handmade variation

This is hand made, not machine made and not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Tone, polish, the exact tightness of each twist and the depth of the Valknut stamp all vary because each piece is worked by hand. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not. Within your own set of seven you will find small differences between the four twisted rings, and that is the sign of hand twisted wire rather than a fault. You can carry on with the Valknut, or look at Odin’s ravens while you are there.

Frequently asked questions

How should I wear them

Stack a wide band with a twist beside it on one finger, or spread the bands and the twists across the hand. The wide bands carry the Valknut, so put them where you will see them.

Will they fit my finger

They are finger rings, so check your ring size before you order and ask us if you are unsure. A continuous ring cannot be squeezed to fit afterwards.

Are these solid bronze or gold

No. They are a jewellery alloy with a bronze tone finish. We would rather describe the finish accurately than claim a metal we are not putting in the piece.

Can I wear them in the shower

Better not. Soap and shampoo dull the finish and water sits in the twist. Take them off, wash, dry, then put them back on.

Can I get runes on them

Yes, on the three wide bands. A short rune line runs right round the band and takes the place of the Valknut rather than sitting alongside it.

How long does delivery take

One to two weeks of processing plus transit, at the longer end for engraved orders. Shipping within the United States is free.

What is in the box

• Three wide Valknut stamped bands
• Four twisted wire rings
• One wooden ring dish
• One soft drawstring pouch
• Care card covering finish care and ring fit
• Made and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in beard rings and beads, Viking rings and bracelets, Viking combs and accessories, or read the guides.

Close to this one

Also in this group is the Runeclasp bracelet. Sitting beside it in the catalogue is the Runeband bracelet. Another in the same line is the Knotvow bracelet.

For a different piece from the same family, look at the Stonecross Norse pendant. Nothing here exactly right, build one to your own spec on the design your own page.