Crownweave Hand Forged Damascus Longsword | 45 Inch Overall Length | Faceted Crown Pommel with Knotwork Cut Crossguard and Black Scabbard | Medieval Collector Gift | RK-1919

The Crownweave is a hand and a half longsword with a broad pattern welded Damascus blade, a gently curved crossguard carrying a small cut knot at the centre, a long black grip and a faceted crown pommel. It ships with a black scabbard fitted with a polished steel throat and chape. It is a big sword and it looks like one, but the weight is where it should be.

The faceted pommel is sometimes called a scent stopper, after the shape of a perfume bottle stopper, and it belongs to the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It is not just a lump. Cutting facets into a pommel removes metal from the corners while leaving the mass concentrated along the axis of the blade, which keeps the counterweight effective while making the pommel narrower and less likely to catch a sleeve or a mail cuff during a half sword grip. Every one of those facets is a decision about where mass should be, which is why pommels of this era look designed rather than turned. Forged, ground, heat treated, etched and hilted in the Czech Republic.

Long blades carry more legend than the rest, and the legend and what collectors buy separates the story from what people actually own. Knotwork carried meaning as often as it was pure decoration, and our note on Norse symbols works through the recurring shapes. For a grip that takes one hand or two, look at the bastard swords.

Specifications

What hand and a half actually means

The grip on this sword is about eight inches, and that number is the whole definition. A single hand sword gives you roughly four. A true two hand greatsword gives you twelve or more. Eight is the length at which you can drive the sword one handed when you need reach, or bring the second hand onto the pommel when you need control and power. Neither position is a compromise, which is the point.

It changes how the sword is used. With one hand on the grip and the other on the pommel, the pommel hand becomes a fulcrum, and small movements there translate into large fast movements at the point. That is why longsword technique is full of thrusts and winds that would be impossible with a single hand blade. The curved crossguard is part of the same system: it sweeps forward slightly so it catches and deflects a descending blade rather than letting it slide down onto the hands.

The steel and the pattern

The blade is pattern welded from 1095 high carbon steel and 15N20, a nickel bearing steel. The two are forge welded in alternating layers, drawn out, folded and welded again. When the finished blade is etched, the acid bites the 1095 harder than the nickel rich 15N20, so the surface ends up with real relief and the bright flowing lines you can see are the 15N20 standing above the darker layers.

On a blade thirty five inches long the pattern is also a diagnostic. Because the layers follow the way the billet was moved under the hammer, they show you where the steel was drawn hard and where it was left. A clean even pattern running the full length of a blade this size means the billet was worked consistently. The blade is hardened and tempered back to 58 to 60 HRC, which balances edge holding against the toughness a long blade needs.

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 longsword this size a rune line down the upper third of the blade is the most striking option, because the cut lines read bright silver against the etched pattern. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Balance sits around four and a half inches ahead of the guard, which for a thirty five inch blade is lively rather than heavy. The sword will feel lighter in the hand than the stated weight suggests, because the crown pommel is doing a lot of work. Drive cuts with the left hand pulling on the pommel and the right hand acting as the pivot, and let the point lead on thrusts.

Give yourself room. A forty five inch sword needs far more clear space around you than people expect, and the majority of accidents with longswords involve ceilings and door frames rather than opponents. The blade arrives sharp and it is not intended for edge on edge contact or for full contact sparring.

Care

Oil the blade every time you handle it. An etched Damascus surface has more open texture than a polished one and it will hold a fingerprint and start spotting inside a day. Use a light machine or blade oil applied thinly along the whole length, working from guard to point. Do not leave the sword in the scabbard for long periods. Wipe the steel throat and chape with the same oil. More on steel care is on the site.

Damascus wants oil more than plain steel does, because the etch that shows the pattern also opens the surface, and caring for a Damascus pattern covers what to use.

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

Every Crownweave 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 Damascus billets draw out the same way, so the pattern on your blade is unique to it and will differ noticeably from the one shown. Facet edges on the pommel are cut and polished by hand, so the crown reads slightly different in the light on each sword. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Damascus pattern real or applied?

Real pattern welded steel. The layers run through the full thickness of the blade, which is why the pattern survives sharpening. Applied patterns vanish the moment you take steel off.

Is it too heavy to use one handed?

No, but it is not comfortable for long. The grip and the pommel are built so you can take one hand off when you need reach and bring it back for real work.

Can I use it for HEMA sparring?

No. Sparring needs a blunt federschwert with a flexible blade and rolled edges. This is a sharp collector and cutting sword.

Does it come with a belt?

No. The scabbard is fitted with a steel throat and chape but ships without suspension. Ask before ordering if you want belt fittings added.

Can the pommel be engraved?

The facets are small, so we usually recommend the blade or the scabbard. If you want a mark on the pommel, tell us and we will advise what will fit.

How long is the wait?

One to two weeks to forge and finish, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• One Crownweave Damascus longsword, 45 inches overall
• Black scabbard with a polished steel throat and chape
• Care card with oiling instructions for etched Damascus
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in longswords, Damascus swords and sword stands and displays, or read the guides.

Others in the same line

Next along the rack is the Valkcrest longsword, 46 inches overall. For a straight comparison, see the Nightwhorl longsword, 44 inches overall. Worth putting side by side with this is the Longwake longsword, 42 inches overall.

If you are putting a set together, the Runegrain arming sword sits alongside it. You can have this made your way instead on the custom Viking sword page.

The Draugmoor blunt longsword is our blunt option for club training, and our tournament gear guide is there if you want to compare.