Talonreave Hand Forged Hooked Glaive Blade | 34 Inch Overall with 22 Inch Blade | Walnut Grip, Steel Collar and Brown Leather Scabbard | Norse Collector Gift | RK-1973

The Talonreave is a hooked glaive, a long sweeping single edged blade set on a short hardwood grip rather than a full length haft. The edge runs along the outer curve and sweeps up to a point that then curls back on itself into a raised beak. Below the blade sits a brushed steel collar carrying a small cut rune, an octagonal dark walnut grip, a steel butt cap and a braided tan leather wrist lanyard. It ships with a fitted brown leather scabbard for the blade.

The hook is the whole reason this shape exists. Medieval infantry facing horsemen had a problem that no straight spear solved well, which is that a rider who is not stopped simply rides past you. Put a rearward facing beak above the point of a cutting blade and the blade gains a second function. On the forward stroke it cuts. On the recovery it catches, and what it catches is reins, a stirrup leather, the rim of a shield or the lip of a breastplate, and the rider comes off the horse. English inventories called the hooked versions guisarmes and the plain ones glaives, and by the fifteenth century most surviving heads carry some form of the beak because it cost the smith very little and changed what the glaive could do. Talonreave is forged, ground, heat treated and fitted by hand in the Czech Republic.

Hafted blades this long are display pieces, and display or battle ready spells out what that phrase means. For where 1095 sits on the hardness scale and what that buys you, see the steel and hardness page. Shorter hafted heads of the same family sit with the poleaxes.

Specifications

Why the edge is on the outside of the curve

It is worth being clear about this because it is what separates a glaive from a scythe, and people mix them up constantly. On a war scythe the blade is turned so the edge faces inward, along the concave side, and the scythe works by hooking and dragging the edge back through a target. On a glaive the edge is on the convex side, the outer belly of the curve, and it works by being driven forward and through. That is the arrangement here.

The practical consequence is in the geometry of the cut. A curved outer edge does not meet the target all at once. Contact starts at one point and travels along the belly as the blade passes, which means the edge is slicing rather than chopping even when the swing is straight. Less of the edge is loaded at any instant, so the same effort cuts deeper. It is the same principle that makes a sabre outcut a straight blade of equal weight, and it is why almost every cavalry and infantry cutting blade that survived contact with reality ended up curved.

The steel and the walnut

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel taken to 54 to 58 HRC. That band is chosen for a long cutting blade rather than a small knife. Harder steel holds an edge longer but chips when a heavy blade lands badly, and a chip in the belly of a glaive is a real repair. At this hardness the edge takes a very fine finish, holds it through a lot of cutting, and dents rather than fractures if it meets something it should not. The blade is distal tapered, meaning it is thicker at the collar than at the point, which keeps the mass back where it helps and stops the tip feeling dead.

The grip is American black walnut, cut octagonal rather than round. An octagon tells your hand which way the edge is facing without you having to look, which matters a great deal on a single edged blade. It is finished with oil rather than lacquer, so it stays grippy in a damp hand and can be refreshed with more oil rather than stripped and recoated. The steel collar and butt cap are brushed rather than mirror polished so they do not flare in the light, and the collar carries a single cut rune.

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 this glaive the workable surfaces are the wide flat of the blade near the collar, the steel collar itself, and the walnut of the grip. Cutting into the walnut gives a soft dark line that suits a name better than a long phrase. See the engraving page for what fits where.

Handling and balance

With the whole blade out in front of a short grip this is a nose heavy blade and it is meant to be. The balance sits well forward of the hand, which is what lets a modest swing carry real cutting force. The lanyard is not decoration. Pass your hand through it and take the grip, and the loop sits across the back of your wrist so the blade cannot leave your hand if the grip rolls, which on a curved blade under load it will try to do.

Two hands on the grip is comfortable and gives much better control than one. The natural motion is a diagonal draw cut rather than an overhead chop. Let the belly of the blade do the work and let it travel. This is a sharpened functional blade for cutting soft targets and for display. It is not for sparring and it should never be swung near another person or brought into contact with another blade.

Care

Wipe the blade down after handling and put a light film of oil on the steel. Carbon steel takes rust from skin salt faster than from rain, so the important habit is wiping after you touch it rather than only after it gets wet. Work the oil along the length of the blade with a rag folded over the spine, never with a bare hand near the edge.

Walnut wants a little furniture oil or boiled linseed once or twice a year, wiped on thin and buffed dry. Do not varnish it. The leather scabbard should be fed with a neutral cream a couple of times a year and stored away from heat. Do not leave the blade sitting in the leather for months at a time in a humid room, because vegetable tanned leather holds damp against steel. Our steel care page covers rust removal and re oiling in more detail.

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

This is a handmade piece from the Czech Republic, made in a workshop that still forges, grinds and finishes by hand instead of stamping parts out. The smiths there have kept the older way of working, and the wood, horn and leather are shaped and fitted by hand as well. Two pieces of the same design will never be identical, and that is part of what you are buying.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We handle the import ourselves, look over every piece when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done in the United States after the piece arrives, so your design goes on before we send it 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. Walnut is a natural material and the colour runs from mid brown to almost purple black depending on where in the board the blank came from, with sapwood streaks on some pieces. The curve of the blade is ground by eye against a pattern, so the sweep of the belly and the exact set of the hook vary a little from one to the next. Hammer texture, polish depth and the tone of the leather all vary. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a full length polearm

No. It is a glaive blade on a short hardwood grip, about 34 inches overall, so it handles more like a heavy two hand cutting sword than a polearm. If you want the same head on a long ash haft, message us and we will quote it.

Is the hook sharpened

The inside of the beak is left with a working edge but is not brought to a razor finish, because a fully sharpened hook is very easy to catch yourself on when sheathing. Say so on the order if you want it sharp.

Can I throw it or use it for cutting practice

Never throw it. It is fine for solo cutting practice on soft targets such as rolled mats, water bottles and pool noodles. Do not use it against wood, bone or another blade.

What is the rune on the collar

It is a single cut Elder Futhark character used as a maker mark. If you would rather have a different rune or a short name there, choose the engraving option and tell us what you want.

Will the walnut crack

It is seasoned stock and it is oiled rather than sealed, so it moves with humidity instead of fighting it. Keep it out of direct sun and away from a radiator and it will be fine for a lifetime.

How long until it ships

One to two weeks of processing because it is made to order, then free tracked shipping inside the US from Memphis.

What is in the box

• Talonreave hooked glaive with the wrist lanyard fitted
• Fitted brown leather scabbard
• Care card and lifetime warranty note
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

See more in glaives and polearms, Viking spears, Norse arms and scabbards and sheaths, or read the guides.