Chainfell Hand Forged 1095 Steel Chain Sword Pair | Two Straight Backed Blades and Two Scabbards | Ring Pommels on Blackened Chains with Oxblood Grips | Collector Display Gift | RK-1806

A matched pair of long chain swords, each one hand forged from 1095 high carbon steel with a straight single edged blade whose edge sweeps up into the point. Both carry a narrow line along the spine, a dark steel collar at the guard with small marks stamped on the blade beside it, and an oxblood leather wrapped grip finishing in a solid steel ring. From each ring hangs a heavy blackened steel chain. Two dark scabbards ship with the pair.

The blade shape here is a plain straight backed blade, closer to a long fighting knife than to anything Norse, and it is an efficient profile. The straight spine keeps the blade stiff and the long edge does the cutting before it sweeps up into the point. These two are forged, ground, wrapped and fitted by hand in the Czech Republic, and they are sold as a matched pair rather than singly. It belongs with the short swords. If the shape is not quite right, the gladius blades run close to it.

Specifications

Why a ring pommel keeps reappearing across every sword tradition

Ring pommels turn up on Han dynasty Chinese swords, on Roman era Germanic blades, on Iron Age finds across Northern Europe and on Japanese fittings, in cultures that had no contact with each other. That is a strong hint that the shape solves a real problem rather than being a style that travelled.

It solves three. A ring is a hard stop the hand physically cannot slide off, which matters enormously on a blade with no crossguard. It puts mass behind the hand, moving the balance point back so the blade is quicker to turn. And it gives you an anchor, whether that is a wrist cord, a lanyard or, as here, a chain. On top of that a closed ring is stronger for its weight than a solid lump of the same size, because it is a loop in tension rather than a mass hanging on a peened tang. Practical from every direction.

1095 high carbon steel and the blackened chains

Both blades are 1095, a simple high carbon steel with about one percent carbon and nothing else complicating the heat treat, hardened to 54 to 58 HRC. On a long single edged blade that hardness range matters more than usual, because a single edged blade with a thick spine flexes asymmetrically. Too hard and it sets rather than returning after a bend.

The chains are heavy welded link steel with a blackened oxide finish rather than a bright polish. Blackening is a controlled surface conversion rather than paint, so it will not chip, and it slowly wears to a warm grey at the contact points where links rub against each other. The rings are closed and welded, not split, so nothing can pull open under load.

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 a pair like this most people give each blade its own line, one name on each, which the wide satin flats take very cleanly. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

These are substantial blades and they feel it. The balance sits forward of the collar, so each one carries real authority through a cut, and the ring pulls a little of that weight back into the hand once the chain is gathered up. With no crossguard the ring is the only thing keeping your hand on the grip, which is exactly why it needs to be solid.

The chains are display and carry hardware. They are not sold for swinging and we do not recommend spinning them under any circumstances. A sharp blade of this size on the end of a chain is a serious hazard to whoever is holding it long before it is a hazard to anything else. As a pair they display well crossed on a wall with the chains hanging, which is how most owners set them up.

Care

Wipe both blades every time they are handled and keep a thin film of mineral oil on the steel. 1095 with a satin polish will take a permanent grey etch from a fingerprint left overnight in a humid room. The chains want the same treatment and the easiest way to do it is to run each chain through an oiled cloth held closed in your fist. Do not store the swords sheathed for long periods. Feed the oxblood leather grips with a leather conditioner once or twice a year, worked in with the fingers. The blackened chain finish needs no polish and should not be given any, since abrasive polish strips a blackened surface back to bright. Our full method is under steel care.

Made in the Czech Republic

This is a handmade piece from the Czech Republic, made in a workshop that still forges, grinds and finishes by hand instead of stamping parts out. The smiths there have kept the older way of working, and the wood, horn and leather are shaped and fitted by hand as well. Two pieces of the same design will never be identical, and that is part of what you are buying.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We handle the import ourselves, look over every piece when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so your design goes on before we send it out.

A note on handmade variation

These are hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The two blades in your pair will be closely matched to each other but not identical, because they are ground by hand. The oxblood dye sits differently on every hide and can read closer to burgundy or closer to brown. The blackened chain finish varies in depth and each link carries its own weld mark. The satin polish has its own hand direction. The steel, the heat treat, the dimensions and the build are the same every time. The character is not. If that is the part you care about, carry on with the types of daggers, then how to hang a blade on a wall.

Frequently asked questions

Does this listing include both swords

Yes. The price is for the matched pair, which is two swords, two chains and two scabbards. They are not sold individually.

Are they sharp when they arrive

Yes. Both come with a hand put working edge. Keep them scabbarded when you are not handling them.

Can I swing them on the chains

We strongly advise against it. The chains are display and carry hardware. A sharp blade this size on a chain is dangerous to the person holding it before anything else.

Will the blackened chains rust

The blackening resists it but does not prevent it. Run each chain through an oiled cloth occasionally and they will stay sound.

Can I have different runes on each blade

Yes, and that is what most people ask for. Use the rune converter and tell us in the engraving option which line goes on which blade.

Are the chains removable

They attach to closed welded rings, so they are not designed to be taken on and off repeatedly. Treat each chain as part of its sword.

What is in the box

• Two hand forged 1095 high carbon steel chain swords with straight backed blades
• Two solid closed steel ring pommels with heavy blackened steel chains
• Two oxblood leather wrapped grips over full tang cores
• Two dark scabbards, one for each blade
• Care card covering oiling, chain care and leather feeding
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

Browse the short swords, the Viking knives, the Norse arms and the guides.

Worth a look beside this

Worth putting side by side with this is the Sawglade short sword. In the same category sits the Silverhilt short sword, 26 inches overall. A near match for this one is the Grimtide short sword, 21 inches overall.

For a different piece from the same family, look at the Leafborn movie sword. Or start from a blank sheet on the custom Viking sword page.