Talonsweep Hand Forged Damascus Sabre | 36 Inch Overall with 26 Inch Hooked Curved Blade | Hardwood Grip, Triskele Brass Ferrule and Leather Scabbard | Collector Gift | RK-1960

The Talonsweep is a Damascus sabre with a deep forward curve, a single edge along the outer sweep, and a barbed notch cut into the spine a few inches back from the point. There is no crossguard. The tang runs into a plain pale hardwood grip held by a brass ferrule that carries an engraved triskele, and a leather thong loops through the top of the handle. A tan leather scabbard with a brass throat comes with it.

Guardless sabres with a straight wooden handle and a heavily curved blade turn up independently in several places, because the same problem produces the same answer. If the sword is used with a big open swing rather than in a bind, a crossguard adds weight where it does you no good. Drop it, keep the grip long and simple, and let the curve do the work. The notch near the point belongs to the same family of thinking as the recurved tips on Chinese dao and the flared kukri profile, and it does two measurable things which are covered below. This one is forged, welded, ground, heat treated and fitted in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee, and it ships with the leather scabbard shown and our lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings.

Specifications

What the notch in the spine is doing

Cut a bite out of the back of a blade a few inches from the point and two things happen. The first is about weight. The tip of a curved sword is at the end of the longest lever on the whole weapon, so a small amount of steel removed there has an outsized effect on how the sword swings. Taking a wedge out of the spine near the point pulls the balance back toward the hand and makes a heavy curved blade far quicker to start and stop than its length suggests.

The second is about what the hook does on the way through. On a drawing cut, the blade is not chopping straight in. It is sliding along its own edge while it presses. A notch turns the remaining forward section into a barb, so at the end of that slide the hook has to be pulled clear rather than simply lifted away. That is why hooks and recurves appear on billhooks, boarding cutlasses, dao and any number of agricultural blades where a stroke needs to catch and drag rather than release cleanly.

On a modern collector piece like this one the honest answer is that the notch is a shape with real roots rather than a feature you will ever put to work. It changes the balance, it looks unmistakable, and it is a genuine historical form rather than something invented for a catalogue.

The pattern in the steel

The blade is folded and forge welded from alternating layers of 1095 and 15N20, then drawn out to shape, ground, and etched in acid to reveal the layers. The 1095 goes dark under the etchant, the 15N20 stays bright because of the nickel in it, and the long flowing figure across this blade comes from the billet being drawn out and bent through the curve rather than being ladder cut or twisted. Follow the lines with a finger and you can see where the steel flowed around the sweep.

That is worth knowing because it means the pattern is a record of how the blade was made. A ladder pattern is cut into the surface of a billet with a chisel or a press and then flattened back, a raindrop is punched, and a twist is exactly what it says. None of that was done here. What you are looking at is the natural drift of the layers under the hammer, which is the oldest look pattern welding has. Heat treated together the two steels finish at 58 to 60 HRC.

The handle is plain hardwood left pale and oiled rather than stained. Wood on a guardless hilt takes a beating from sweat, so it is oiled to a finish that can be refreshed rather than lacquered to one that eventually chips. The triskele on the ferrule is a triple spiral, one of the oldest decorative motifs in Europe and cut into the kerbstones at Newgrange in Ireland something like five thousand years ago, long before any Norse or Celtic use of 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 Talonsweep that means the triskele on the brass ferrule. We would usually suggest keeping the triskele and burning your rune line into the pale hardwood grip instead, where it shows beautifully against the light timber. Details on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

This sabre is meant to be swung, not fenced with. With no guard and a long straight grip, you can slide the hand up and down the handle to change the effective length, which is exactly how a long guardless blade is used. Two hands fit if you want them.

Even with the notch pulling weight back, the balance sits well forward, somewhere around six inches ahead of the ferrule. That is normal and desirable on a curved cutter. It means the sword carries momentum through a target rather than stopping in it. It also means it does not change direction quickly, so give it room. There is no guard at all, so nothing protects your hand. This is a sharp forged blade and not a sparring or reenactment weapon. It must not be used in contact work against a person or another blade.

Care

Etched Damascus needs more care than a plain polished blade because the surface is very slightly textured and holds moisture and fingerprints. Wipe it down after every handling and keep a light film of mineral or camellia oil on it. Rust will appear first as freckling in the dark 1095 bands. If it does, do not attack it with abrasive, because that greys out the pattern. Oil it and work it gently with cork or a brass brush. Our full notes are in the steel care guide.

Give the hardwood grip a wipe of boiled linseed oil or a hard wax once or twice a year, more if you handle it often, and the wood will darken slowly and evenly. The brass ferrule takes a soft cloth and brass polish. Feed the scabbard leather twice a year and do not store the blade sheathed for months.

Forged in Memphis

The billet is welded and drawn in our Memphis, Tennessee shop, the curve is forged here, the blade is ground, heat treated and etched here, and the handle and scabbard are fitted to the finished blade here. Nothing about this listing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Pattern welded work with a deep curve is slow, so allow one to two weeks of processing before dispatch and a few days more for engraving. Shipping inside the United States is free.

A note on handmade variation

This sabre is hand made and not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Damascus cannot be repeated. The drift of the layers depends on how that billet behaved under the hammer and how the curve pulled the pattern around, so your blade will carry lines no other blade has. The grain and tone of the hardwood grip, the depth of the notch, the exact radius of the sweep and the colour of the scabbard hide all vary. The length, the steels, the heat treat and the construction do not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Damascus pattern etched on or forged in

Forged in. The lines are alternating layers of 1095 and 15N20 welded into one billet. Acid only darkens one of the two steels so you can see what is already there.

Why is there no crossguard

Because the type never had one. A guardless hilt keeps weight off the hand end and lets you slide your grip along the handle, which is what a long swinging blade wants. It does mean nothing protects your hand, so handle it with that in mind.

Is the hook sharp

The notch itself is cut into the spine and left unsharpened. The edge along the outer curve is sharp, including the short section that forms the barb.

Can I use two hands on it

Yes. The grip is long enough for two hands and most people find it easier to control that way.

Will my blade look like the photograph

It will be the same shape and the same style of pattern, but the pattern itself will be unique to your blade. That is what forged Damascus is.

How long is the wait

One to two weeks of processing plus transit, free inside the United States. Engraved orders take slightly longer.

What is in the box

• Talonsweep hooked Damascus sabre in 1095 and 15N20 pattern welded steel
• Tan leather scabbard with brass throat
• Leather wrist thong fitted to the grip
• Care card and lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

More in Damascus swords, swords and short swords, or read the guides on pattern welding and curved blade care.