Northstave Hand Forged 1095 Steel Vegvisir Arming Sword | 34 Inch Overall with 26 Inch Fullered Blade | Engraved Disc Pommel, Leather Grip and Fitted Scabbard | Norse Wayfinder Gift | RK-1963

The Northstave is an arming sword with a long grip, a plain straight crossguard and a heavy round disc pommel carrying an engraved Vegvisir. The blade is satin polished 1095 steel, double edged, with a fuller running most of its length and a gentle taper to a cut and thrust point. The grip is wrapped in brown leather over a shaped core and is long enough to take a second hand behind the first. A brown leather scabbard is made to the blade.

Since the Vegvisir is the reason most people are on this page, here is the honest history of it. The Vegvisir is not a Viking Age symbol. There is no carved stone, no grave find and no manuscript from the Norse period that shows it. It appears first in Icelandic magical manuscripts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, most famously in the Huld manuscript compiled by Geir Vigfusson in Akureyri in 1860, roughly eight hundred years after the end of the Viking Age. The note beside it in that manuscript says that if this sign is carried, the bearer will not lose their way in storms or bad weather even when the way is unknown. It is Icelandic folk magic, and it is genuine on its own terms. It is simply not Norse. We forge, grind, heat treat, engrave and fit this sword 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

Reading the Vegvisir

The sign is built from eight staves radiating from a centre, each one different from the others and each ending in a different arrangement of crossbars, hooks and forks. That construction is what tells you what family it belongs to. It is a galdrastafur, a magical stave, and Icelandic manuscripts are full of them. The Aegishjalmur or Helm of Awe is the other one everybody knows, and it is built the same way from eight identical trident tipped arms.

People often call the Vegvisir a runic compass. That is a modern label and it is not quite right on either count. It is not a compass in any navigational sense, and the staves are not runes, though they are drawn with the same straight cut vocabulary because they come out of a culture that had been cutting straight lines into wood and stone for a thousand years. What the manuscript actually claims for it is protection against getting lost in bad weather, which is a different and rather more human promise.

None of that makes it a lesser thing to put on a sword. It makes it an Icelandic symbol with a documented source and a documented meaning, rather than a shape from a catalogue. We think that is worth knowing before you buy it.

Steel, fuller and leather

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel at 54 to 58 HRC with a fuller ground down the centre of both flats. The fuller takes steel out of the middle of the section where it does the least structural work, which drops weight without much loss of stiffness and pulls the balance back toward the hand. It is not a blood groove and never was.

The finish is a hand rubbed satin rather than a mirror. Mirror polish on a large blade looks impressive for about a week and then shows every fingerprint and every handling mark. Satin is what a working sword looked like and it is far easier to keep.

The grip is vegetable tanned leather wrapped over a shaped core, and the scabbard is the same hide, wet moulded around the blade and allowed to dry to shape. Vegetable tanned leather is the traditional choice for scabbards because it can be formed while wet and then holds that form permanently, so the scabbard grips the blade by friction on its own shoulders rather than needing a strap.

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 Northstave the Vegvisir on the pommel face is that design, and swapping it out is a common request for a wedding date or a name. Most people keep the Vegvisir and put their rune line down the fuller or into the scabbard leather instead. Everything is on the engraving page.

Handling and balance

The grip on this one runs longer than a strict single handed arming sword, which means you can put a second hand on it behind the first when you want more control. That is a real medieval configuration and the old English name for it was a hand and a half sword. Used one handed it is quick, used two handed it is precise.

The disc pommel is heavy and it sits directly behind the hand, so the balance point falls around three inches ahead of the guard. That is close in for a blade of this length and it is what makes the sword feel lively. Held correctly the disc presses into the heel of your palm and lets you rotate the edge with your wrist alone.

This is a sharp forged sword. It is not a sparring weapon and it is not legal for contact reenactment. Do not use it against another person or against another blade. Soft target cutting practice is the right use.

Care

Wipe the blade down after every handling and keep a light film of mineral, camellia or gun oil on it. Polished carbon steel will show a rust freckle within days of being left with fingerprints on it, and the fuller is the spot where people forget to wipe. Pay attention to the engraved lines on the pommel too, because cut lines hold moisture. Full guidance is in our steel care notes.

Feed the grip and the scabbard once or twice a year with a leather balm. Do not store the sword sheathed for long stretches, because a wet moulded scabbard holds the blade close and holds damp with it. If the scabbard ever gets soaked, let it dry slowly at room temperature and never near a heater, since heat shrinks and cracks vegetable tanned hide permanently.

Forged in Memphis

Forged, ground, heat treated, engraved, hilted and scabbarded in Memphis, Tennessee. Not an importer catalogue sword with a name added at the last step. The Vegvisir is cut into each pommel individually rather than pressed, and the scabbard is moulded around its own blade, and both of those are slow. Allow one to two weeks of processing before dispatch and a few days more for custom engraving. Shipping inside the United States is free.

A note on handmade variation

This sword is hand made and not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The Vegvisir is engraved one pommel at a time, so line weight and depth shift slightly. Leather is a natural material and the colour of the grip and scabbard will vary between hides and even across one hide. The width of the fuller, the tone of the satin and the tension of the wrap all differ. The length, the steel, the heat treat and the build stay the same. The character does not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Vegvisir a real Viking symbol

No, and we would rather say so. It comes from Icelandic magical manuscripts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, not from the Viking Age. It is a genuine Icelandic symbol with a documented meaning about not losing your way in bad weather.

Is the engraving cut into the steel

Yes, cut into the face of the pommel. You can feel it with a fingernail. It is not printed, stamped on or applied as a transfer.

Can this be used with two hands

Yes. The grip is longer than a strict single handed sword and takes a second hand behind the first, which is the hand and a half configuration.

Does it come sharpened

Yes, with a working edge on both sides. It is not a blunt trainer and cannot be used as one.

Will the leather match the photograph exactly

Not exactly. Vegetable tanned hide takes dye differently from batch to batch, so the brown will vary a little in tone and depth.

What is the delivery time

One to two weeks of processing plus transit. Free shipping inside the United States. Engraving adds a few days.

What is in the box

• Northstave Vegvisir arming sword in 1095 high carbon steel
• Wet moulded brown leather scabbard fitted to the blade
• 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 Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

More in arming swords, Viking swords and engraved and personalised pieces, or read the guides on Norse and Icelandic symbols.