Wolfbrand Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Short Arming Sword | 29 Inch Overall Length | Olive Leather Grip with Blackened Guard and Faceted Pommel | Wolf Etched Gift | RK-2149

The Wolfbrand is a single hand short arming sword built as a display and collection piece. The blade is broad and straight, carrying a long narrow fuller down the centre, and it finishes in a rounded blunt end rather than a point, with two pierced roundels cut through the steel just short of the tip. The edges are left unsharpened. Above the ricasso a wolf head is etched into the flat, snarling and turned in profile, framed by the polished steel around it. The hilt is a study in contrast: a blackened steel crossguard curving down towards the blade, an olive green leather grip closed with a brass ferrule at each end, and a heavy blackened pommel cut into eight flats.

The wolf carries real weight in Norse material. Fenrir is bound rather than killed in the surviving myth, and it is Tyr who loses a hand doing it, which is why wolf imagery on Norse metalwork usually sits closer to oath and consequence than to simple ferocity. This sword is hand made in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports it, checks the hilt assembly, the fuller and the scabbard fit when it lands, and ships it from the Chicago warehouse. It comes with the fitted leather scabbard shown in the photographs.

A single handed sword is the piece reenactors ask about most, and what reenactors actually want covers what gets used and what gets shelved. The wolf in Norse myth is Fenrir, and the children of Loki covers him along with the serpent and Hel. The medieval helmets are the obvious thing to hang beside it.

Specifications

What a fuller is actually for

The groove running down the centre of this blade gets called a blood groove in films, and that is entirely wrong. It is a fuller, and its job is structural. Steel resists bending best at the outer surfaces of a section and contributes very little in the middle, which is the same reason a steel joist is an I beam rather than a solid bar. Hollowing the centre of a blade removes metal from where it is doing the least work, so you keep almost all of the stiffness while shedding a real fraction of the weight.

The result is a blade that is faster in the hand and easier to recover after a swing, without going thin enough to flex badly. Medieval smiths cut fullers with a swage and a hammer rather than a mill, and you can often see the tool marks on surviving examples. The fuller also shifts the balance point back towards the hand, because you are removing mass along the length of the blade rather than at the hilt. On the Wolfbrand the fuller runs from just below the etched wolf and stops short of the pierced roundels, leaving a solid section at the end of the blade.

The blade, the grip and the fittings

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel at 54 to 58 HRC. It is deliberately left blunt. The edges carry no cutting bevel and the end is rounded rather than pointed, which is what makes this a display piece and a reenactment style sword rather than a cutting sword. That is an honest description rather than a limitation to work around. If you want a sword to hang, to photograph, to carry in costume or to hand to somebody at an event, a blunt edge is the sensible answer, and this one still has the mass, the section and the presence of the real thing.

The guard and pommel are blackened steel. The black is a surface finish rather than a plating, so it will wear at the high points over years of handling and show bright steel underneath, which most owners like. The grip is olive green leather wrapped over a shaped core and closed with a brass ferrule at each end, and the colour is unusual enough that it reads as a deliberate choice rather than a default. The eight sided pommel is a heavy block, and its weight is what brings the balance of the blade back towards your hand.

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 Wolfbrand there is a long clear run of flat steel down either side of the fuller, which takes a full line of runes comfortably, and the leather scabbard will take a stamped name. See the engraving page for the space in each position.

Handling and balance

Pick this sword up by the grip alone and the first thing you notice is that it does not feel front heavy. The fuller and the faceted pommel between them bring the balance point in to a few inches ahead of the guard, which is where a single hand sword wants to be. It is meant to be held in one hand with the pommel resting against the heel of your palm, not gripped in the middle of the leather.

Because the edges are blunt and the end is rounded, this sword is safe to hold, to pass to somebody and to wear at an event. It is not a sparring sword. It has not been built or tested for full contact against another sword or against a shield, and it should not be used for that. Treat it as a display and costume piece and it will do everything you want from it.

Care

Steel and air are the problem, not use. Wipe the blade down with a lightly oiled cloth every few weeks if it is out on a wall, and every time after it has been handled, because fingerprints are salty and etch into a polished surface within days. Keep it out of the scabbard for long term storage, since leather holds moisture against the steel. If a spot of rust appears, fine steel wool and oil will lift it. Feed the leather grip and scabbard with a little balm two or three times a year so they stay supple. Do not use an abrasive polish on the blackened fittings, because it will strip the finish. Our steel care guide covers the routine 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 sword is made by hand in the Czech Republic and imported by Ransack Viking. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Every sword is unpacked in Chicago, checked for hilt tightness, blade straightness and scabbard fit, then repacked and shipped free within the United States. Processing is one to two weeks because that inspection actually happens. Returns stay open for seven days, and there is a lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings, with no end date and no receipt needed.

A note on handmade variation

Each of these 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. The olive of the grip leather shifts from a grey green to a warmer moss depending on the hide, the blackening on guard and pommel varies in depth, the etched wolf is cut individually and its line weight differs, and the scabbard leather will be a shade lighter or darker. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this sword sharp

No. The edges are unsharpened and the end is rounded. It is built as a display and costume sword, and the blunt geometry is deliberate rather than an oversight.

Can I have it sharpened

We do not sharpen it and we would not recommend having it sharpened. The blade is designed and heat treated around a blunt profile, and a local grinder taking an edge onto it will void the warranty on the grind.

What are the two holes near the tip for

They are decorative piercings cut through the flat. Pierced roundels appear on a number of late medieval blades and on ceremonial pieces, and here they break up the wide flat near the end of the blade.

Is it heavy

It is a full size steel sword and it has real weight, but it is not the shoulder aching lump people expect. The fuller removes mass along the blade and the faceted pommel counterbalances the rest, so it feels lighter than it looks.

Does the scabbard have a belt fitting

The scabbard is a fitted leather sleeve rather than a rigged carrying scabbard. Most owners either hang it on a wall mount or add a frog of their own if they want to wear it.

Can I get runes cut into the blade

Yes. The clear flat beside the fuller takes a full line of Elder Futhark and is the position most people choose. If you want the wolf replaced instead, say so when you order.

What is in the box

• Wolfbrand arming sword with blackened guard and faceted pommel
• Fitted leather scabbard
• Care card for high carbon steel, blackened finishes and leather
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse

Explore the range

Browse the rest of the arming swords, the full swords range, the Norse arms collection and everything under engraved and personalised, or read the guides.

Compare it with these

In the same category sits the Bluerune arming sword, 38 inches overall. A near match for this one is the Snowhilt arming sword, 37 inches overall. Closest to this in the range is the Palecrest arming sword, forged from 1095.

Fitting out further, the Quickthorn rapier belongs with it. Pick the steel, the length and the fittings yourself on the custom Viking sword page.