Gloomridge Hand Forged 1095 Steel Black Broadsword | 38 Inch Overall with 28 Inch Diamond Section Blade | Swept Guard, Ribbed Grip and Fitted Black Scabbard | Warrior Gift | RK-1959

The Gloomridge is a hand and a half broadsword finished dark from end to end. The blade is wide, double edged and ground with a pronounced central ridge running from the guard to the point, so the cross section is a flattened diamond rather than a lens. The crossguard sweeps down toward the hand and finishes in flared spade shaped terminals. The grip is ribbed for a two hand hold and the pommel is a faceted block with a warm metallic tone against all that black. A fitted black scabbard is included.

The ridge down the middle of this blade is the interesting part. European swords spent most of the early medieval period with a fuller and a lens shaped section, which is the right answer when your opponent is in mail and cloth and the winning move is a cut. As plate armour spread through the fourteenth century the answer changed. Smiths dropped the fuller, raised a central ridge, and made blades that were stiff enough to be driven into a gap rather than swung against a plate. That is why so many late medieval swords look narrow and pointed compared with what came before. This one keeps the width but takes the diamond section, which puts it in the middle of that argument. We carry, grind, heat treat, black and fit these by hand in the Czech Republic, and each ships with the scabbard shown and our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings.

A broad blade wants a different hand than a narrow one, and how to buy a first sword covers the trade. For where 1095 sits on the hardness scale and what that buys you, see the steel and hardness page. For more mass in the same hand, look at the claymores.

Specifications

What a diamond section blade does differently

Take a straight edge and lay it across the flat of this blade and it will not touch all the way. The steel rises to a ridge in the middle, then falls away to each edge. That ridge is a spine running through the centre of the blade and it does for stiffness what a rolled lip does for a sheet of steel.

Stiffness matters most in the thrust. When a point meets resistance and does not go in immediately, a flexible blade bows and the energy goes into bending rather than penetrating. A diamond section resists that bow in every direction rather than only edge to edge, which is why thrust oriented swords went this way as armour improved.

The cost is cutting performance. A fullered lens shaped blade is thinner behind the edge for the same total thickness, so it wedges into a target more easily. A diamond section has more steel immediately behind the edge and it binds sooner. In practice a wide diamond section blade like this one is a good all round compromise. It thrusts far better than a Viking era cutter and it still cuts soft targets well, which is what most owners will actually do with it.

Steel, grind and finish

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel at 54 to 58 HRC. Grinding a true diamond section is harder work than grinding a fuller, because the ridge has to stay dead straight down the centre line for the whole length of the blade or the eye picks the wobble up immediately from three feet away. Ours are ground in stages with the ridge established first and the bevels brought down to it afterwards, which is why the flats show clean stepped grind lines rather than a rolled over blur.

The dark finish is a conversion of the steel surface rather than a coating laid on top of it, so there is nothing to chip or peel and the edge geometry is unchanged. It kills reflection completely, which is why the ridge and the grind lines read so clearly on a black blade. It is not corrosion proof. Keep oil on it.

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 Gloomridge the flats either side of the central ridge give two long clean panels for a rune line, and a cut line shows up very well against a black surface because the exposed bright steel contrasts hard. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

This is a two hand sword that a strong person can drive one handed. The ribbed grip runs long enough to take a second hand behind the first and the faceted pommel gives that back hand something square to pull against. Balance sits around three to four inches ahead of the guard, which is far enough forward to carry authority into a cut and close enough that the point still comes back on line quickly.

The swept guard with its flared terminals is not just a shape. Sweeping the arms toward the hand puts more steel between an incoming blade and your knuckles when you are covering high, and the flared ends make it harder for a blade to slip past the tip of a quillon. This is a sharp forged sword. It is not for sparring or reenactment and must not be used in contact work against a person or another blade.

Care

Wipe the whole sword down after handling and keep a light film of mineral, camellia or gun oil on the blade, guard and pommel. On a dark finish sweat is more damaging than water, and it will show as a dull patch before it shows as rust. Pay attention to the grooves in the ribbed grip and to the corners of the faceted pommel where a cloth does not reach. Full guidance is in the steel care notes.

Do not leave the sword in the scabbard for long stretches, because anything that holds the blade tight also holds moisture against it. Sharpen on a stone and follow the existing bevel down to the ridge. A powered wheel will overheat a diamond section edge quickly, since there is less mass behind it than you would think.

If it is going on a wall, hanging swords and axes safely covers mounts, fixings and what not to do.

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 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 exact height of the central ridge, the sweep of the quillons, the pitch of the ribbing on the grip and the depth of tone in the black finish all shift slightly from sword to sword because a person ground and fitted each one. The length, the steel, the heat treat and the build stay constant. The character does not.

Frequently asked questions

Why does this blade have no fuller

Because it is a diamond section. The central ridge does the stiffening job a fuller would otherwise share, and cutting a groove into a ridged blade would work against it.

Is it sharp when it arrives

Yes, on both edges, with a working edge. A diamond section carries a little more steel behind the edge, so it holds that edge well and resents being taken too thin.

Can it be used two handed

Yes. The grip is sized for a hand and a half, meaning two hands fit comfortably and one hand is workable for a strong user.

Will the black rub off on my hands

No. It is part of the steel surface rather than a coating. High points will brighten slowly with handling, which is normal and looks good.

Is this display only

It is a genuinely forged and heat treated blade, so no, it is not a wall hanger casting. It is still not for sparring and must never be used in contact against a person.

How quickly does it ship

One to two weeks of processing and then transit, free inside the United States. Engraving adds a few days.

What is in the box

• Gloomridge black broadsword in 1095 high carbon steel
• Fitted black scabbard
• Protective oil film on the blade for transit
• Care card and lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

More in longswords, swords and fantasy and movie swords, or read the guides on blade sections, grinds and finishes.