Garnetward Hand Forged 1095 Steel Knightly Arming Sword | 38 Inch Overall | Red Stone Set Guard and Black Leather Grip with Steel Mounted Scabbard | Heirloom Gift | RK-1895

Garnetward is a knightly arming sword dressed for display. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel, satin polished, with a broad fuller through the upper half and a band of interlaced knotwork etched beside it. The crossguard is polished steel with rounded terminals, and each terminal is bezel set with a deep red faceted stone, with a third stone at the centre of the guard block. The grip is black leather over a shaped core, and the wheel pommel is a thick polished disc with a fourth stone set into its face. The scabbard is black with a polished steel throat and chape.

Stone set hilts are not a fantasy invention. The Sutton Hoo sword and the seventh century pieces from the Staffordshire Hoard carry garnet cloisonne worked into gold on pommels and guards, and the red is almost always garnet imported through the trade routes from India and Sri Lanka. Red on a hilt was a deliberate signal of reach and wealth. Garnetward is forged, ground, hardened, hilted, stone set and finished by hand by hand in the Czech Republic.

Specifications

How a bezel setting holds a stone in steel

A bezel is a collar of metal raised around a stone and then burnished down over its edge until the stone cannot lift out. It is the oldest setting there is, and it is the only sensible one for a sword, because prongs would snag and claws would shear off the first time the guard touched anything. On Garnetward each seat is drilled and cut into the solid steel of the guard terminal, the stone is dropped in on a bed, and the wall is worked down with a burnisher a fraction at a time so it grips the whole circumference evenly. Done properly the stone sits below the surface of the surrounding steel, which means the metal takes the knocks rather than the stone. Be straight with yourself about what these are. They are faceted red glass, chosen and set by hand, not natural garnets, and we price the sword accordingly.

1095 steel and how we treat it

The blade is 1095, a simple high carbon steel with about one percent carbon and no meaningful alloying. We normalise three times to refine the grain, quench in warm oil, and temper back to 54 to 58 HRC, which is softer than a knife on purpose. A 31 inch blade must bend and recover under lateral load rather than snapping. The broad fuller through the upper half takes weight out of the section where it does the least good and the most harm to balance. The guard, pommel and scabbard fittings are cut from bar, filed by hand and polished up through the grits until they take a mirror.

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 Garnetward that means the etched knotwork band beside the fuller gives way to your line. The stone settings stay as they are, since removing a bezel to engrave under it would weaken the seat. Details are on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

The heavy wheel pommel pulls the balance point back to about four inches ahead of the guard, which is close for a sword of this length and makes the point easy to control. The wide guard means the hand sits well protected, and the black leather grip is thin enough to keep the blade orientation obvious in the palm. Garnetward is a sharpened, functional sword, but the stone settings make it a piece we sell for collecting and display rather than for use. Do not strike anything with it, because a hard impact transmits straight into the bezels and can loosen a stone.

Care

Wipe the blade after handling and keep a light film of mineral oil on the steel. Around the stone settings, use an oiled cloth rather than spray, since oil that pools under a bezel takes weeks to work its way out and will attract dust. Never put the sword through an ultrasonic cleaner. Clean the stones with a dry soft brush. Feed the black leather on grip and scabbard twice a year with a neutral cream, and keep the sword out of the scabbard for long term storage so the leather does not hold damp against the blade. Our rust and finish notes are in the guide to steel care.

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 sword is hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The exact red of the stones shifts a little between batches, the height and thickness of each hand burnished bezel differs, the etched knotwork varies in depth, and the black leather takes dye with its own grain. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Are the red stones real garnets?

No. They are faceted red glass set in hand made steel bezels. We say so plainly because a sword with four natural garnets would cost several times this.

Can a stone come loose?

Not in normal handling and display. A hard impact against a wall or a floor can do it, which is one reason we sell this as a collector piece rather than a cutting sword. If one ever lifts, send it back and we will reset it under the warranty.

Is the blade sharpened?

Yes, to a working sharp edge. Handle it with the same respect you would give any sharp sword even though it is built for display.

Does it come with the scabbard?

It does, and the price includes it. The scabbard is black with a polished steel throat and chape cut to match the guard fittings.

Is this suitable as a retirement or anniversary gift?

It is one of the pieces most often bought for exactly that. A date or a name in runes along the ricasso turns it into something specific to one person.

How long before it ships?

One to two weeks of processing, then free shipping inside the United States. The stone setting is the step that governs the timeline.

What is in the box

• Garnetward knightly arming sword in 1095 high carbon steel
• Black scabbard with a polished steel throat and chape
• Care card covering oiling, bezel cleaning and leather feeding
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See the other arming swords, the full sword range, the engraved and personalised pieces, and the guides.