Ravencleave Hand Forged 1095 Steel Falchion Sword | 30 Inch Overall | Tan Leather Grip and Faceted Steel Pommel with Etched Raven and Brown Leather Scabbard | Reenactment Gift | RK-2101

A falchion is the answer medieval Europe gave to a simple question. If most of the work a sword does is cutting, why carry the weight out at the tip where it does nothing. The Ravencleave follows that logic. It is single edged, the back is straight and thick, and the blade widens as it runs forward so the mass gathers exactly where the edge lands. The point is clipped back into a short false edge, and a small cluster of drilled openings sits just behind it, a decorative touch that also shaves a little metal from the very end of the blade.

Surviving examples are rarer than you would expect from how often falchions turn up in thirteenth and fourteenth century manuscript art, which tells you they were common tools that got used up rather than heirlooms that got kept. This one carries a single wide fuller along the upper blade, a curved steel crossguard with ball finials, a tan leather wrapped grip and a faceted pommel, with a Norse knotwork raven etched into the forte. It is made by hand in the Czech Republic, imported and checked by Ransack Viking, and shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse with the brown leather scabbard shown.

A falchion is a single edged cleaver with a sword hilt, and how to buy a first sword covers how to judge one. Odin kept two ravens and sent them out every morning, and Huginn and Muninn covers what the poems actually say. Single edged blades of similar weight sit in the messers.

Specifications

What makes a falchion different from a sword with two edges

Take a straight double edged arming sword of the same period and lay it next to this one. The arming sword tapers, because it has to thrust as well as cut, and a tapering blade puts its balance close to the hand. The falchion does the opposite. It keeps the spine heavy and lets the profile grow toward the front third, so the centre of percussion, the spot along the edge where a cut lands without shocking your hand, moves well down the blade. Hit with that spot and the sword feels like it is doing the work for you. Hit with the last two inches and you get a jarring, weak cut, which is why the drilled openings near the tip are cosmetic rather than functional loss.

The thick unsharpened back has a second use. You can put your off hand flat on it, or brace it against a shield rim, without cutting yourself, and that flat back is also what lets a smith leave so much steel in the blade without making it unbearably heavy overall. It is a design of compromises, and the compromises all point at cutting.

Steel, fittings and the leather grip

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel at 54 to 58 HRC. For a long cutting blade that is the sensible window. Harder steel holds an edge longer but is far less forgiving of a bad angle on a hard target, and a sword blade that chips is a great deal more annoying than one that needs a few passes on a stone. The finish is a satin polish rather than a mirror, which shows the grind lines honestly and does not turn every fingerprint into a feature.

The grip is a wooden core wrapped in tan leather. Leather over wood has been the standard for a millennium because it grows slightly tacky in the hand as it warms and it damps the vibration that a bare metal grip transmits straight into your palm. The crossguard and the faceted pommel are steel, and the pommel is peened over the tang so the hilt is held together by the assembly itself rather than by glue.

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 sword the raven at the forte is the existing design, so a rune line ordered for that spot takes its place. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives. See the engraving page for placement options.

Handling and balance

Pick it up and the balance sits roughly four to five inches ahead of the guard, forward of where a straight arming sword of the same length would balance. In the hand that reads as authority rather than clumsiness, but it does mean the sword wants to keep travelling once you start a cut, so cutting drills with it are about controlling the recovery rather than generating power. The single hand grip and the ball finial guard let you rotate the edge quickly between cuts.

This is a hand forged sword with a real edge, and it is built for display, for reenactment kit and for cutting practice on soft targets. It is not sold as a full contact sparring sword and should not be used against another steel blade or against hard targets.

Care

1095 will rust if you let it. Wipe the blade down after handling, since skin oil is acidic enough to mark a polished surface within days, and keep a light film of mineral or camellia oil on the steel. Store the sword out of the scabbard if it is going to sit for months, because leather absorbs and holds humidity against the blade. Feed the scabbard and the grip wrap with a leather balm two or three times a year and keep both away from radiators. If light rust appears, oil and very fine steel wool will lift it. Our steel care notes go through sharpening and rust removal step by step.

A curve like this does not sharpen the way a straight edge does, and sharpening a curved blade works through the stroke.

Made in the Czech Republic

The Ravencleave is made by hand in the Czech Republic. It is not a catalogue item drop shipped to you by an importer who has never seen it. Ransack Viking buys these outright, brings them into the United States, unpacks and inspects each sword, and stocks them in our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse. Because they are forged and fitted in small runs, allow one to two weeks of processing before your order leaves us. Shipping inside the United States is free, and every piece carries our 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 is hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so the sword that arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Hammer and grind texture varies across the flats, the etched raven sits a fraction differently on each blade, the leather takes dye unevenly the way real leather does, and the exact curve of the guard moves slightly from one sword to the next. The dimensions, the steel, the heat treat and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the edge sharpened

Yes, it ships with a cutting edge suitable for soft target practice and display. Tell us in the order notes if you would prefer it blunted for reenactment use and we will roll the edge before it goes out.

Is this a sharp point or a rounded one

The point is clipped back with a short false edge, so it is a working point rather than the needle tip of a thrusting sword. A falchion was always a cutter first.

What are the small holes near the tip

They are a decorative piercing, common on falchion and messer style blades. They also remove a small amount of steel from the very end, which does nothing bad to a blade that cuts with its forward third.

Does the scabbard have a belt fitting

The scabbard is a plain leather sleeve as photographed and does not include a suspension belt. It protects the edge and is intended for storage and display.

Can I have runes cut along the blade

Yes. Use the rune converter above and pick the flat below the fuller if you want a long line, or the ricasso for a short name or date.

How long will delivery take

Processing is one to two weeks because these are made in small hand worked batches, then free shipping inside the United States. Returns are accepted within seven days.

What is in the box

• Ravencleave falchion in 1095 high carbon steel with an etched raven at the forte
• Brown leather scabbard
• Tan leather wrapped grip fitted to a faceted steel pommel
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse

Explore the range

Browse the full swords range, the wider Norse arms, and the pieces in engraved and personalized. History, steel and care reading lives in the guides.