Bindoath Hand Forged Viking Sword with an Etched Valknut Ricasso | 36 Inch Overall | 1095 High Carbon Steel and Brown Leather Scabbard | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1660

The Bindoath is a hand forged viking sword with a broad single hand blade, a wide shallow fuller running most of the way to the point, and a Valknut etched at the ricasso just below the guard with a short rune line under it. The pommel is a five lobed cap in polished steel, the guard is short and straight, and the grip is wrapped in warm brown leather. A brown leather scabbard with a bright steel chape comes with it.

Anyone who has picked up a real sword and then a stage prop knows the difference immediately, and most of that difference lives in the fuller. This blade is thirty inches long and weighs under three pounds, and it is the fuller that makes that possible without leaving the steel flimsy. The channel runs almost the full width of the blade and stops before the last third, which is exactly where the originals stop, because that is the point past which you want mass rather than lightness. It is forged, ground, hardened, etched and fitted in Memphis, Tennessee, and it ships in its scabbard.

Specifications

What a fuller actually does

It is not a blood groove. That name is a nineteenth century invention and it describes nothing that happens in reality. Blood does not create suction on a blade and no sword has ever been stuck in a body by vacuum. A fuller is a stiffening rib worked in reverse.

Think of a steel joist. An I beam is strong in bending because the material sits at the top and bottom where bending loads are highest, and the thin web in the middle contributes almost nothing except holding the two flanges apart. A fullered blade is the same idea rolled around a centre line. Sinking a channel down the middle of each face removes steel from where it is doing the least work and leaves it at the edges and along the spine line where it resists bending. The result is a blade that loses roughly a fifth of its weight and almost none of its stiffness. On top of that, a broad fuller moves the balance point back towards the hand, which is why a fullered sword feels faster than an unfullered one of the same length even when you weigh them and find they are close.

The steel and the build

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel, normalised, hardened and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC. That band is chosen for a long blade that has to survive being handled rather than for maximum edge retention, since a sword that is too hard will chip at the tip and one that is too soft will take a set and stay bent. The blade is also tapered in thickness from the guard to the point, which is called distal taper and is the second half of the weight problem that the fuller solves.

The tang runs full width through the grip and is peened over the pommel, hammered out cold into the counterbore so the fittings cannot work loose. There is no threaded nut hidden under the pommel here. A peened tang is how the originals were assembled and it is the only assembly on a sword that never rattles.

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 the Bindoath the Valknut and the short rune line at the ricasso are the existing design, so anything you order takes their place there. The scabbard throat is the other good spot for a longer line. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

The balance sits about four inches ahead of the guard, closer to the hand than an unfullered blade of the same size would sit. In the hand that reads as a sword that changes direction easily and recovers quickly from a cut, which is the character Norse swords are known for. The grip is a snug single hand fit by design, with the pommel meeting the heel of the palm.

This is a sharpened hand forged sword and it is sold as a collector and display piece for careful solo handling. It is not a sparring sword, it is not intended for contact against another blade, and it is not built for full contact reenactment combat. Hang or store it where children cannot get to it.

Care

Plain 1095 rusts quickly, and on this blade the fuller is where it starts, because a cloth passes over the channel rather than into it. Wipe the blade after handling and push an oiled cloth right down into the fuller with a finger. Keep a light film of mineral oil on the steel and reapply every few months. Do not store the sword sheathed for long periods in a damp room, since leather holds moisture. Surface rust lifts off with fine steel wool and oil. Feed the scabbard twice a year with a neutral leather cream. More on steel care.

Forged in Memphis

The blade is forged, the fuller is ground on both faces, the heat treat is run, the Valknut is etched and the fittings are cut and peened in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Grinding a matched fuller on two faces of a thirty inch blade takes patience, so allow one to two weeks of processing before the sword ships. Shipping inside the United States is free, returns are open for seven days, and the lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings has no end date and needs no receipt.

A note on handmade variation

This sword is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The fuller is ground by hand, so its width and where it runs out towards the point shift slightly between blades. The five lobes on the pommel are filed individually. The leather takes dye a shade lighter or darker on every hide. The length, the steel, the heat treat, the geometry and the etched Valknut are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the fuller a blood groove

No. That is a myth. It is a weight saving channel that leaves the steel where it resists bending, in the same way an I beam works.

Is the sword sharp on arrival

Yes. Both edges carry a hand put working edge and it should be handled as a sharp weapon from the moment it is unboxed.

Is the pommel screwed on or peened

Peened. The tang is hammered over into the pommel cold, which is how the originals were assembled and why it will not rattle loose.

Can I take it to a full contact reenactment fight

No. It is a sharp collector and display sword. Contact fighting needs a blunt rebated blade made for that purpose.

Can the Valknut be swapped for my own runes

Yes. Your text or chosen pattern is etched in that same spot at the ricasso instead of the Valknut.

What is the wait before it ships

One to two weeks of forging, grinding and fitting, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• Bindoath viking sword with a broad fuller and an etched Valknut ricasso
• Brown leather scabbard with a wooden liner and a bright steel chape
• Care card for plain high carbon steel
• Leather feed note for the scabbard
• Lifetime warranty against defects, no receipt needed
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the rest of the viking swords, the arming swords, everything under swords, and the guides for how fullers and distal taper work together.