Scrollward Hand Forged 1095 Steel Flame Bladed Arming Sword with Scrolled Crossguard | 36 Inch Overall | Valknut Rain Guard and Leather Scabbard | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1764

The Scrollward is an arming sword with a flame bladed edge and a crossguard whose arms curl into full scrolls at each end. The blade is broad, deeply waved along both edges, and finished satin bright. At the base sits a shaped leather rain guard stamped with a Valknut, the grip is wrapped in dark brown leather with a steel centre ring, and the sword ships in a brown leather scabbard with black leather suspension straps and a polished steel chape.

Scrolled guard terminals were a real fashion, not an invention. Curling the ends of the cross does two useful things at once: it puts mass at the extremities so the guard rings less on impact, and it removes the sharp point that a straight bar presents to your own forearm and to anyone standing beside you. Every Scrollward is forged, ground, heat treated, hilted and scabbarded by hand in the Czech Republic. It sits in the flame bladed swords. The arming swords cover the same ground from a different angle.

Specifications

The scabbard, the chape and the rain guard

Most people look at a scabbard as a bag for a sword. It is a piece of engineering, and this one is built the way the surviving originals were. The core is thin timber shaped to the blade, the leather is wet formed over it and stitched, and the inside is lined so the blade never rubs against bare wood. A blade sitting in an unlined scabbard gets scratched every single time it is drawn.

The steel chape at the bottom is not decorative. A scabbard hangs at an angle and its lowest point catches on doorframes, chair legs and the ground when the wearer sits down. Without a metal cap the leather wears through at that exact spot within a season, and once the tip of the blade is poking at bare stitching the whole scabbard is finished. The chape takes that abuse instead.

The shaped leather at the top of the blade is a rain guard, sometimes called a chappe. When the sword is sheathed it sits over the mouth of the scabbard and closes the gap, which is what keeps rain and dust out of the throat where they would otherwise sit against the blade. On this sword it also carries the Valknut, three interlocked triangles, a mark found on the Gotland picture stones and in the Oseberg ship burial in scenes tied to Odin and to the dead.

The steel and the flame edge

Forged from 1095 high carbon steel and drawn back to 54 to 58 HRC, which is the band a sword wants: hard enough to hold a working edge, soft enough to flex and return rather than taking a set or snapping. The waves are ground into the edge, not stamped, and each one is worked by eye down both sides of the blade.

A flame edge on a sword this length behaves slightly differently from one on a full two hander. The extra edge length gained by the waves does more of the work here because a shorter blade has less reach to spend, and the alternating angle of the edge means a draw cut bites at a different attitude every inch. There is no chromium in 1095, so this blade will rust if it is left wet. The bright satin finish shows a fingerprint faster than a rougher surface would, which is a good discipline rather than a fault.

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 Scrollward your chosen design takes the place of the Valknut on the leather rain guard, and a rune line can also be stamped along the scabbard body, which leaves the Valknut where it is. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Balance sits about four inches ahead of the guard. That is a cutting sword balance rather than a thrusting one, and with a blade under thirty inches it makes the whole sword feel notably quicker than a longsword without feeling weightless. The grip is longer than a single hand, with a steel ring at the centre, so the second hand can come onto the pommel end for a heavier cut while the sword still works one handed.

The faceted pommel is a counterweight first and a shape second. Take the weight in the last two fingers, keep the index and thumb light, and let the pommel bring the point back on line after each cut. This is a sharp forged and heat treated sword suited to display, collection, reenactment kit and cutting practice on soft targets. It is not a blunt trainer and it should never be used in full contact sparring against another person or another steel blade.

Care

Wipe the blade after every handling and keep a light film of mineral oil, camellia oil or a purpose made blade oil on it. Do not store the sword sheathed for months at a time. A leather scabbard is slightly acidic and holds humidity, and a blade left in one through a damp winter will come out marked. Feed the scabbard, the straps, the rain guard and the grip two or three times a year with a neutral leather conditioner and keep them well away from radiators, which dry leather to a crack. If a rust spot appears, take it off with brass wool and oil rather than sandpaper. There is more on our steel care page.

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 Chicago, Illinois. 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 sword is made by hand and not machine produced in bulk, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The waves are ground by eye and their spacing and depth will be their own, which is the honest signature of a flame blade. The two scrolls on the guard are bent individually and will never be perfect mirrors. Leather colour ranges across a hide from a light tan to a deep chestnut, so the grip, the rain guard and the scabbard on your sword may sit a shade darker or lighter than the picture. The length, the steel and the build are the same every time. The character is not. We go further into it in the arms in Vikings and The Last Kingdom, and pick it up again in the Norse symbols and what they meant.

Frequently asked questions

Is the wavy edge sharp all the way along

Yes. Every wave is ground and sharpened, which is why a flame blade takes longer to make than a straight one. If you would rather have it blunted for display or for a house with children, say so in the order notes and we will roll the edge at no extra cost.

What is the leather piece at the top of the blade

A rain guard, or chappe. When the sword is sheathed it folds over the mouth of the scabbard and seals the throat against rain and dust. It is a real medieval fitting, and on this sword it carries the Valknut.

Is the scabbard included

Yes. The brown leather scabbard with black suspension straps and a steel chape is built over a shaped timber core to fit this blade, and it comes with the sword.

Can I hang it on a belt

Yes. The scabbard comes with black leather suspension straps that will take a belt in the normal medieval two point arrangement, which hangs the sword at an angle rather than straight down so the chape clears the ground when you walk.

Can I use it for reenactment fighting

Not against steel. It is a sharp forged sword, correct for display, for kit and for cutting practice on soft targets. Full contact fighting needs a purpose built blunt trainer and this is not one.

How long before it arrives

One to two weeks of processing, at the longer end because the waves are ground individually, plus a few days if you have ordered engraving. Shipping in the United States is free and returns are accepted within seven days.

What is in the box

• Scrollward flame bladed arming sword in 1095 high carbon steel
• Brown leather scabbard over a shaped timber core with a polished steel chape
• Black leather suspension straps for a two point belt hang
• Leather rain guard stamped with a Valknut
• Care sheet with oiling, storage and leather feeding instructions
• 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 arming swords, our Viking swords, the full range of swords, and the guides.

Near neighbours in the shop

Worth putting side by side with this is the Wavecrown flamberge sword, 35 inches overall. In the same category sits the Ripplehook flamberge sword, 35 inches overall. A near match for this one is the Ringflame flamberge sword, 35 inches overall.

For a different piece from the same family, look at the Fanghowl arming sword. You can have this made your way instead on the custom Viking sword page.

Training at a HEMA club? Look at the Rundholm montante for drills and free play, and check our first HEMA sword guide as well.