Thunderknot Hand Made Silver Finish Mjolnir Pendant with Celtic Knotwork & Vegvisir Crown | 24 Inch Box Chain | Norse Gift | RK-1754

The Thunderknot is a heavy Mjolnir pendant with a broad hammer head, a beaded border running the whole outline, and deep cut interlace filling the head and the shaft. The crown of the pendant swells into a polished dome, and that dome carries a Vegvisir, the eight spoked stave, engraved into the bright surface. It hangs from a substantial box chain with a spring ring clasp and arrives in a wooden gift box.

Hammer amulets are one of the few Norse objects we can be certain about, because there are more than a thousand of them from graves and hoards across Scandinavia, Iceland, England and the Rus trade routes. They cluster in the tenth century, exactly when Christian cross pendants start appearing in the same regions, and one soapstone mould from Trendgaarden in Denmark casts a cross and a hammer side by side. A jeweller was hedging. Every Thunderknot is cut, filed, polished and finished by hand in the Czech Republic. You will find it filed with the Mjolnir pendants, along with the rest of the Norse pendants.

Specifications

Reading the two symbols on this pendant

The hammer is Mjolnir, the hammer Thor uses against the giants, and in the myths it is as much a tool of blessing as of war. It hallows Baldr on his funeral pyre and it is raised over a bride in the poem Thrymskvida. That is why archaeologists find hammer amulets in graves and why they are worn: the hammer stood for protection and for making something binding, not just for hitting things.

The Vegvisir on the crown deserves an honest note, because a lot of shops will not give you one. It is not a Viking age symbol. Its earliest appearance is in the Huld manuscript, written in Iceland in 1860, and related Icelandic grimoires of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The text that goes with it says that the one who carries this sign will not lose his way in storms or bad weather even when the way is unknown. That is a genuine piece of Icelandic magical tradition, and it is nine hundred years younger than Thor amulets. We put both on this pendant because both are asked for constantly, and we would rather tell you the dates than pretend.

The metal and the finish

This is stainless steel with a bright silver polish, not sterling silver, and we say so plainly. That is a deliberate choice for a pendant this size. A solid sterling hammer of these dimensions would be heavy enough to be uncomfortable on a chain all day and soft enough that the fine beaded border would round off within a year of wear. Stainless holds the crisp edges on the interlace, does not tarnish black the way silver does, and will not turn skin green.

The pattern is cut deep rather than pressed shallow, and the recesses are darkened so the interlace reads from across a room instead of disappearing into glare. The high points are polished bright. Over time the raised surfaces stay bright and the recesses stay dark, which is the opposite of what happens to a plated piece where the finish wears through to base metal at the edges. There is no plating here to wear through.

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 Thunderknot the back of the hammer head is flat and blank, which is the natural home for a name or a date, and a chosen design on the crown replaces the Vegvisir rather than sharing the space. See the engraving page.

Fit and sizing

The chain is approximately 24 inches, which on most adults drops the pendant to mid chest and lets it sit outside a shirt or under one without riding up into the collar. If you want it higher, a 20 inch chain puts a pendant this size just below the collarbone, and if you are buying for someone who wears a lot of layers a 26 inch chain keeps it clear. Tell us in the order notes and we will fit a different length at no extra charge.

To measure without a tape, take a piece of string, hang it round the neck of the person you are buying for, mark where you want the pendant to sit, then lay the string flat against a ruler. That number is the chain length you want. Remember that a heavy pendant hangs slightly lower than a light one on the same chain because the links pull straight rather than curving. The spring ring clasp opens with a fingernail and is small enough not to be felt at the back of the neck.

Care

Stainless will not tarnish the way sterling does, but it does collect skin oils and soap in the deep recesses of the interlace, which dulls the contrast. Every month or two, drop the pendant in warm water with a drop of washing up liquid, work the recesses with a soft toothbrush, rinse and dry it thoroughly with a soft cloth. Do not use silver dip: it is formulated for tarnish that this metal does not develop and it will attack the darkened recesses. Keep the pendant off in a chlorinated pool or a hot tub and take it off before you sleep, since a chain caught on bedding is the way most pendants get lost.

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 Memphis, Tennessee. 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

Each of these is finished by hand rather than machine produced in bulk, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The depth of the darkening in the recesses varies a little, which changes how hard the interlace reads. The polish on the domed crown is worked by hand and the highlight will fall in its own place. Tiny differences in the beaded border are normal and are the fingerprint of a hand finished piece. The size, the metal and the build are the same every time. The character is not. More on the Vegvisir elsewhere on the site, along with Yggdrasil.

Frequently asked questions

Is this solid sterling silver

No, and we will not tell you otherwise. It is stainless steel with a bright silver polish. That is why the fine beadwork stays crisp, why it does not tarnish, and why it costs what it costs rather than three times as much.

Will it turn my skin green

No. Green marks come from copper in low grade alloys reacting with sweat. There is no copper in this. It is also a good choice if you react to nickel plated costume jewellery, since there is no plating to wear through.

Is the chain included

Yes. The box chain shown in the photograph comes with the pendant, at approximately 24 inches with a spring ring clasp. Ask in the order notes if you want 20 or 26 inches instead and we will fit it at no extra cost.

Can I wear it in the shower

You can, and nothing will corrode, but shampoo and soap build up fast in the deep interlace and the pattern goes flat looking. It is better to take it off and clean it properly every month or two.

Can I get a name on the back

Yes. The back of the hammer head is flat and blank and takes a rune line, a date or a short phrase. Use the rune converter on this page, or send a Viking pattern of your own instead.

How long does delivery take

One to two weeks of processing, plus a few days if you have ordered engraving. Shipping inside the United States is free and returns are accepted within seven days.

What is in the box

• Thunderknot Mjolnir pendant in polished silver finish stainless steel
• Box chain, approximately 24 inches with a spring ring clasp
• Wooden gift box
• Care card for cleaning the interlace
• Lifetime warranty against defects in the casting, finish, bail and clasp
• Made and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

Browse the rest of the Mjolnir pendants, our wider Norse pendants, the accessories, and the guides.