Runetooth Hand Forged 1095 Steel Rune Sword | 38 Inch Overall | Sawtooth Spine and Elder Futhark Etching with Black Leather Scabbard | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1944

The Runetooth is a broad single edged sword with a run of deep hooked saw teeth cut into the spine and a full line of Elder Futhark runes etched down the blade beside them. The point is a long slanted clip rather than a fine tip, the guard is a plain bar, the grip is wrapped black over a timber core and a small disc pommel closes the end. It ships with a black leather scabbard.

The runes on the blade are the futhark row itself, the alphabet in its traditional order rather than a phrase. That order is why the writing system has its name. Just as the Greek alphabet is named for alpha and beta, the futhark is named for its first six characters, fehu, uruz, thurisaz, ansuz, raido and kaunan. Carving the whole row was a real practice in the Migration period, and the Kylver stone from Gotland carries the earliest full futhark we have, cut into a slab that was laid face down in a grave around the year 400. This sword is forged, ground, heat treated and finished in Memphis, Tennessee.

Specifications

Reading the Elder Futhark

The Elder Futhark is an alphabet of twenty four characters used across Germanic speaking Europe from roughly the second century to the eighth. It is a writing system, not a set of magic symbols, and the great majority of surviving inscriptions are exactly what you would expect writing to be used for: a maker’s name, an owner’s name, a memorial, occasionally an insult.

Three things are worth knowing before you have anything cut in runes. The first is that the shapes are all made of straight lines and diagonals with no horizontals. That is not a style choice. Runes were cut into wood along the grain, and a horizontal stroke running with the grain would split and disappear, so the alphabet evolved without any.

The second is that the futhark has twenty four letters and the Latin alphabet has twenty six, and they do not map one to one. There is no rune for C, Q, V or Z as we use those letters, and there is a rune for the th sound that we write with two letters. A good conversion transliterates the sounds of a name rather than swapping letters mechanically, which is why the converter on this page is worth using instead of a lookup chart.

The third is direction. Early inscriptions run left to right, right to left, and occasionally boustrophedon, turning at the end of each line like a plough. By the Viking age left to right had settled as standard, and that is how the line on this blade is laid out.

1095 high carbon steel and the sawback

The blade is 1095 hardened and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC. On a broad single edged blade of this length that band matters because there is a lot of steel to move and the sword needs to flex under a bad cut rather than crack. Single edged construction also means the spine can be left thick, which is where the saw teeth are cut, so the toothed section sits in the strongest part of the blade rather than anywhere near the edge.

The teeth are hooked and face back toward the hilt, so they cut on the pull stroke. That is the right arrangement on a blade with a hilt at one end and no second handhold, because pulling gives you control while pushing a long sawback just skates. Hooked teeth also bite fibrous material far better than triangular ones, which is what a sawback is genuinely useful for.

The rune line is masked and chemically etched after the blade is polished, so the characters are bitten into the steel to a real depth rather than printed on the surface. They run down the flat above the fuller line, which is the strongest and least worked part of the blade.

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 Runetooth that is worth thinking about, because the existing line is the full futhark row. If you order a personal inscription it takes the place of that row rather than being added below it, so you get your own text down the blade instead of the alphabet. Plenty of buyers prefer the alphabet, and leaving the engraving option blank keeps it. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Balance sits about five and a half inches ahead of the guard, which is well forward, and the sword is heavy for its length because a broad single edged blade carries a lot of steel in the spine. That combination makes it a committed cutter. It is not quick to change line and it does not want to be flicked about, but swung properly it carries an enormous amount of momentum into the target.

The six inch grip takes two hands comfortably, which is how you should hold it. Trying to use a blade this heavy one handed is possible but unpleasant on the wrist.

This is a sharp, hand forged sword sold for collecting, display, photography and controlled solo cutting on a stand. It is not sparring equipment, and the toothed spine in particular makes it a very poor choice for anything near another person. Do not use it in contact work.

Care

Wipe the blade after handling and keep a light film of mineral oil or camellia oil on it. Pay attention to the saw teeth, because water sits in the gullets between them and that is where rust starts on any sawback. Push an oiled rag through the teeth rather than just wiping across the top of them.

Do not store the sword in the scabbard for long stretches. Leather holds humidity and its tanning residues mark bright steel. Feed the scabbard twice a year with a neutral balm and keep it out of direct sun and away from heat. Our steel care page covers plain high carbon steel as well as pattern welded.

Forged in Memphis

The Runetooth is made in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The blade is forged and ground here, the teeth are cut and filed here, the steel is hardened and tempered here and the rune line is masked and etched here. The guard, collar and pommel are fitted and the tang peened here, and the scabbard is cut, wet formed and stitched in the same building. There is no importer catalogue behind it.

Processing runs one to two weeks because the sword is built after the order arrives. Shipping inside the United States is free. Every piece carries a lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed.

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. The teeth are cut and filed by hand and their spacing is never perfectly regular, the etched runes vary a little in weight and depth, and the leather of the grip and scabbard differs in grain and tone. The length, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is what you get from a forge rather than a factory.

Frequently asked questions

What do the runes on the blade say?

They are the Elder Futhark alphabet in its traditional order rather than a sentence. It is the same thing the Kylver stone carries and it is a real historical practice.

Can I replace them with my own text?

Yes. Use the converter above the add to cart button. Your text takes the place of the alphabet row rather than sitting alongside it, so choose deliberately.

Does the saw work?

It notches green wood and cuts rope, webbing and fibrous material well on the pull stroke. It is not a substitute for a proper saw in seasoned hardwood and we will not pretend otherwise.

Is it sharp when it arrives?

Yes, with a working edge along the cutting side. The toothed spine is left as cut. Ask in the order notes if you want the edge left blunt for display.

Is it a one handed or a two handed sword?

Use two hands. The grip takes both and the blade is heavy enough that one handed use is hard on the wrist.

How long is the wait?

One to two weeks of processing, then free shipping inside the United States with a tracking number.

What is in the box

• One Runetooth rune sword in 1095 high carbon steel
• One fitted black leather scabbard
• A protective film of oil on the blade and in the saw teeth for transit
• Care notes for high carbon steel and leather
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

More Norse steel: Viking swords, swords, Viking weapons and engraved and personalised pieces. Background reading lives in the guides.