Fellwhorl Hand Forged Pattern Welded Arming Sword | 36 Inch Overall | Leather Wrapped Grip and Steel Wheel Pommel | Medieval Collector Gift | RK-1852

The Fellwhorl is a single handed arming sword built from pattern welded steel, with the figure running across the full width of the blade, edges included. The pattern is not printed or etched on. It is the boundary between two steels folded and drawn out together, then brought up by an acid etch so the whorls and feathers in the bar become visible. A band of cut interlace sits at the ricasso where the pattern begins.

Blades made this way are the reason Viking age and Frankish swords look the way they do in museum cases. Iron of the period came out of the bloomery in wildly uneven quality, so smiths stacked good and poor bars together, twisted them, and welded the result into a spine that was tough in the middle and hard at the edge. By the time the Ulfberht workshops were running, that construction had become as much a maker mark as an engineering choice. This one is forged, ground, etched, hardened and fitted in the Czech Republic, and it ships in the wood cored leather scabbard shown. It sits in the Damascus swords, a step across from the arming swords.

Specifications

How a pattern welded blade is built

Start with flat bars of two steels that respond differently to acid. Clean them, stack them, wire them together and bring the stack to welding heat in the forge. Under the hammer the layers fuse into one bar. Draw that bar out, fold it back on itself, weld it again, and the layer count doubles every time. Twist the bar along its length and the layers spiral, so that when you grind into the surface later you cut through the spiral at an angle and expose whorls and feathers rather than straight lines.

That twisting is where the character of this blade comes from. The bars were twisted in opposite directions and set side by side, which is why the pattern on the blade reads as a run of interlocking curls rather than a repeating stripe. The pattern runs right out to the edges, so the bevels carry the same figure as the flats.

The last step is the etch. Acid bites the two steels at different rates. The nickel bearing layers stay bright, the plain carbon layers go dark, and the pattern that was always inside the bar finally becomes something you can see. Nothing is added at that stage. It is only revealed.

The two steels in the bar

The bright layers are 15N20, a nickel alloyed carbon steel originally rolled for bandsaw blades. The dark layers are 1095, plain high carbon steel. Both harden in the same quench and at similar temperatures, which is the practical reason this pairing has become the standard for pattern welded work. The finished blade is taken to 58 to 60 HRC, hard enough to hold a cutting edge properly and still tempered back far enough to flex rather than shatter.

Because the two steels sit at nearly the same hardness after heat treat, the pattern has no effect at all on how the sword cuts. That matters, because there is a persistent story that pattern welded steel is somehow sharper. It is not. What it is, is stronger than the uneven iron the technique was invented to work around, and better looking than anything else you can do with a bar of steel.

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 this sword the interlace panel at the ricasso is the place your engraving goes, and it takes the place of that panel. Full detail sits on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Weight is around two and a half pounds and the balance point sits roughly four inches ahead of the cross, which is where a single handed sword of this length wants to be. The result is a sword that feels light in the hand at the guard and gathers weight through a cut. The wheel pommel is doing most of that work. It is not decoration. It is the counterweight that lets a twenty nine inch blade be steered from a four inch grip.

The grip is leather over a shaped wooden core, waisted slightly so the hand finds the same place every time. The cross is long enough to protect the hand and plain enough to stay out of the way. This is a hand finished collector and display sword and we do not sell it as full contact sparring equipment.

Care

Keep a light film of mineral oil on the blade and wipe it down whenever it has been handled, because fingerprints etch into an acid finished surface faster than they do into plain polish. Do not store the sword in the scabbard for long periods. Leather draws damp and will mark the pattern. Wipe the scabbard with a barely damp cloth and feed it with a leather balm once or twice a year. Notes on removing spotting and on refreshing a dulled etch are 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 hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. No two pattern welded billets ever draw out the same way, so the whorls in your fuller will be your own. Hammer texture, the depth of the etch, the tone of the leather and the exact profile of the wheel all vary a little. The dimensions, the steels and the build are the same every time. The character is not. Anyone new to this should read how steel and hardness actually work first, then how to spot a printed pattern sold as Damascus.

Frequently asked questions

Is the pattern real or is it printed on?

It is real. The layers go all the way through the bar. Grind the surface back and the pattern is still there underneath.

Does it come sharp?

It arrives with a clean cutting edge rather than a razor edge, which is normal for a sword this size. Say the word in your order notes if you want it left blunt for display.

Is this battle ready for sparring?

No. This is a hand finished collector and display sword. Do not use it for full contact sparring or against another blade.

Will the etched pattern wear off?

The pattern is structural, not a coating, so it cannot wear off. A dull etch can be brought back up by a smith at any point.

Is the scabbard included?

Yes. The leather over wood scabbard with steel throat and chape ships with the sword at no extra cost.

How long does it take to arrive?

One to two weeks of processing while it is built, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• One Fellwhorl pattern welded arming sword in 1095 and 15N20
• One brown leather over wood scabbard with steel throat band and chape
• A light protective oil film on the blade
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

More in Damascus swords, arming swords and swords, with pattern welding notes in the guides.

Others in the same line

Sitting beside it in the catalogue is the Knotwheel arming sword, pattern welded Damascus. Another in the same line is the Knotmere arming sword, pattern welded Damascus. Next along the rack is the Trineholt arming sword, 36 inches overall.

Fitting out further, the Stormcairn bastard sword belongs with it. You can have this made your way instead on the custom Viking sword page.

Our HEMA line includes the Brunhak messer trainer for drills and sparring, and our messer guide is the place to look next.