Everknot Hand Forged 1095 Steel Fantasy Sword with Twisted Loop Guard | 28 Inch Polished Blade | Black Leather Grip and Steel Mounted Black Scabbard | Display Collector Gift | RK-1724

The Everknot is a single hand fantasy sword built around a guard that leaves the blade, doubles back on itself in a closed loop and returns, with the whole loop textured in a fine twisted rope cut. The blade is polished 1095 with a long central ridge. The grip is black leather banded with cord, and the pommel is a plain steel wheel. It ships with a black leather scabbard with a polished steel chape.

A loop like this is a designed shape rather than a historical one, and it is worth being straight about that. What it borrows from is real, though. From the late fifteenth century European swords began growing bars out from the cross, first a single finger ring on the flat of the guard, then a side ring standing proud of it, and eventually the full swept hilt of a rapier. Every one of those bars started as an answer to a specific problem, which was that fencers had begun hooking a finger over the cross for point control and needed that finger protected.

Forged, ground, heat treated, hilted and sharpened in the Czech Republic. It ships with the fitted scabbard and a care card.

Specifications

What a loop guard is doing, and what it is not

The loop on this sword sits on the flat of the guard, on the same side as your knuckles when you hold it edge forward. It gives the hand a partial cage and it stops the fingers from sliding up onto the ricasso. That much is genuinely useful and it is what a real finger ring was for. What it is not is a knuckle bow. A knuckle bow runs from the cross to the pommel and closes the hand in completely, and this loop does not do that, so do not buy it expecting the protection of a basket hilt.

The rope texture cut into the loop is the second feature worth pointing at. Twisting and rope filing a bar is one of the oldest decorative operations in smithing, and on a curved section like this it has to be cut and filed rather than wrung, because you cannot twist a closed loop. Every one of those turns is a file cut, laid in by hand around the curve, which is the slow part of making this hilt and the part that decides whether the piece looks right or looks approximate.

The steel and the fittings

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel, forged, normalised, quenched and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC. It carries a central ridge rather than a fuller, a diamond section that stiffens the blade through the thrust and gives the polish a strong line to run along. At this hardness the blade flexes and returns instead of taking a set, and it will take a keen edge from a stone. 1095 carries no chromium, so it is bright, it sharpens easily and it will spot with rust if left damp.

The guard and pommel are steel, forged, filed and finished to a satin. The tang runs through guard, grip core and pommel and is peened over the top, which is the historic method and puts the hilt in compression rather than relying on a thread. The grip is a shaped core wrapped in black leather over cord banding, which gives the ribbed feel under the fingers. The scabbard is black leather formed over a carved wooden core with a polished steel chape at the tip.

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.

A polished blade with no fuller is the best canvas we work on, because there is nothing to interrupt a line. A rune inscription runs the length of the flat and reads cleanly against the mirror finish. The steel wheel pommel takes a short mark or a bindrune on its face. The black scabbard can be stamped along its length. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Point of balance sits around four inches ahead of the guard, which for a twenty eight inch blade puts it in the lively range. The mass of the loop guard sits right at the hand and does some of the work a heavier pommel would otherwise have to do, so the sword comes up quickly and changes direction without arguing.

The grip is a single hand length with the loop closing part of the way around the fingers, so it should feel snug and it will feel unfamiliar if you are used to a plain cross. Be clear about what it is. This is a sharpened display and collector sword, hand forged and hand balanced. It is not for sparring, it is not built for blade on blade contact and it should not be used against hard targets. Keep it scabbarded when it is not in your hand and out of the reach of children.

Care

A mirror polished blade shows everything, which is the price of a mirror polish. Wipe it with an oiled cloth every time you handle it, and handle it with a cloth if you want to keep it perfect. Skin oil is acidic and 1095 has no corrosion resistance, so a print left on a bright flat will etch in within days in a humid room. Camellia oil, light machine oil or a purpose made blade oil all work. More on steel care.

Do not store the sword in the scabbard for months at a time, because leather holds damp against steel. Store it oiled and out of the scabbard, and feed the scabbard leather twice a year with a neutral balm. The rope cut on the loop guard traps dust, so clear it occasionally with a soft brush and then wipe an oiled cloth over it.

Made in the Czech Republic

Every piece we sell is made by hand in the Czech Republic. The smiths there work the way the trade has been worked for a long time, heating and hammering the steel, taking the bevels down by eye, and fitting the handle and the leather one at a time. There is no automated line anywhere in it, so small differences from one piece to the next are normal and expected.

Ransack Viking is a United States company based in Memphis, Tennessee. We bring the pieces in ourselves, inspect them on arrival and ship them from our own warehouse. If you add engraving, that is carried out here in the United States before your order goes out.

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. The rope cut on the loop is filed by hand, turn by turn, so the pitch and the depth of those turns will not match another piece exactly. The polish on the blade is worked up through grits by hand and its final character depends on how the last pass ran.

Black leather is the most forgiving of our dyes but the grain underneath still shows, and no two grips feel identical under the fingers. Blade length, overall length, steel, hardness and construction are the same on every one. The character is not, and on a piece with this much hand file work that difference is the point.

Frequently asked questions

Is this from a film or a game

No. It is our own design and it is not connected to, licensed by or endorsed by any film, game, book or other property. We make it because we like the shape of the guard.

Is it sharp out of the box

Yes, keen along the full length and to the point. Treat it as sharp from the moment you unwrap it.

Does the loop actually protect my hand

Partly. It stops the fingers sliding onto the ricasso and it cages the hand on one side, which is what a real finger ring did. It is not a knuckle bow and it does not close the hand in the way a basket hilt does.

Is this display only or can it be used

It is a sharpened display and collector sword. It is a real forged and heat treated blade rather than a soft wall hanger, but it is not sold for sparring, cutting drills or blade on blade contact.

Is the scabbard included

Yes. The black leather scabbard over a wooden core with its polished steel chape ships with the sword and is fitted to that blade.

How long does shipping take

One to two weeks, since the blade is forged and the guard file cut after you order. US shipping is free.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 fantasy sword with a rope cut steel loop guard
• One fitted black leather scabbard over a wooden core with a polished steel chape
• Care card covering oiling, polishing and storage
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See the rest of the fantasy swords, the wider swords, the sword stands and displays, and the guides.