Ringflame Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Flamberge Sword | 35 Inch Overall Length | Brass Side Ring Hilt with Celtic Cross Pommel | Norse Collector Gift | RK-2160

The Ringflame is a flame bladed sword hung on a full brass hilt. The blade runs in even waves from the ricasso and straightens before an acute point, polished bright so every crest picks up light along the length. Below it the crossguard is a plain brass bar, and hanging under each arm is a brass side ring, a loop of metal standing out from the guard on the flat of the blade. The grip is deep red leather with raised bands, and it closes in a brass wheel pommel carrying a recessed roundel with a Celtic cross knot cut into it. The scabbard matches, in red brown leather with a brass throat and a brass chape.

The knot on the pommel is the piece of decoration worth slowing down for. Insular knotwork of the kind that fills the Book of Kells and the Irish high crosses is built from a single line, or a small number of lines, that never end and never simply cross without weaving. Getting that right by hand is genuinely difficult, because every over must be answered by an under. This sword is hand made in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports it, checks the wave alignment, the hilt tightness and the scabbard fit on arrival, and ships it from the Chicago warehouse.

If this is your first sword, how to buy a first sword covers what actually matters. Insular knotwork travelled with the Norse and came back changed, and the symbols guide covers the shapes that recur. Thrusting blades with the same kind of hilt sit in the rapiers.

Specifications

Reading a knotwork panel

Celtic knotwork looks freehand and it is anything but. The Insular artists who filled the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells worked their panels out on a grid, laying in a framework of dots and then drawing the plait between them, which is why the density of a panel is so even across its whole area. Once the plait is laid down, the maker breaks and rejoins the strands to turn a simple weave into a knot, and the whole design still has to resolve, with every strand passing alternately over and under with no exceptions anywhere.

The Norse connection is direct rather than decorative licence. Scandinavian art of the same centuries was doing something related with its gripping beasts and its ribbon animals, and once Norse settlers were living alongside Irish and Northumbrian craftsmen the two traditions borrowed openly from one another. Ringerike and Urnes ornament turns up on stone monuments in Ireland and the Isle of Man, and Insular interlace turns up on Norse metalwork. The cross knot on this pommel sits in the middle of that exchange. If you would rather have a Vegvisir, a Valknut or a Helm of Awe in its place, that is what the engraving option is for.

The blade, the brass and the scabbard mounts

The blade is 1095 high carbon steel at 54 to 58 HRC. Forging and grinding a wave blade is several times the work of a straight one, because each crest on one edge must be matched by its opposite on the other or the blade runs untrue and the point wanders off the centre line. The bright polish is what makes the waves read, and it is also why the blade shows every fingerprint. High carbon steel is not stainless and it will spot if it is put away unwiped.

Every fitting is brass. Each side ring is a loop standing out from the guard, historically a shield for a finger hooked over the crossguard and here a shape carried over for its own sake. The wheel pommel is a solid disc with a recessed circle in the face holding the knot, and a mass sitting that far from the guard does a lot of counterbalancing work. The scabbard is the piece most people underestimate. A brass throat protects the mouth where the blade passes in and out and stops the leather deforming there, and a brass chape covers the tip end, which is the part that gets knocked when a scabbard is stood in a corner.

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 Ringflame the knot roundel in the pommel is the obvious spot and a new design takes its place there. Brass takes the crispest line of anything on this sword, and the red leather scabbard also stamps beautifully. See the engraving page for the room in each position.

Handling and balance

The brass wheel pommel is heavy and it sits right at the end of the grip, which is the most efficient place to put a counterweight, so this sword feels lighter in the hand than a wave blade of this length has any right to. Hold it with the pommel against the heel of your palm. Do not hook a finger over the guard through a side ring, because the rings on this hilt are set for the look rather than sized for a hand.

Handle the wave blade with a bit more care than a straight one. The crests stand proud of the general line, so they touch first and mark first. This is a display and collection sword. The edges carry a ground bevel and the point is a real point, so treat it as you would any full size blade, and never use it for contact against another sword, a shield or a target. It has not been built or tested for that.

Care

Wipe the blade with a lightly oiled cloth after handling and every few weeks while it is on display, working along the crests where fingers land. A bright polish records fingerprint etching within days. Store the sword out of the scabbard for the long term, because leather traps moisture against steel. Fine steel wool and oil lift rust, and a metal polish restores the shine after. The brass will darken to a warm honey brown wherever it is not handled, which most owners like because it makes the knot stand out, and a metal polish takes it back to bright whenever you prefer. Feed the grip and the scabbard with balm two or three times a year. Our steel care guide has the routine.

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

The Ringflame is made by hand in the Czech Republic and imported by Ransack Viking. It is not drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Every sword is opened in Chicago, checked for wave alignment, blade straightness, hilt tightness, side ring seating and scabbard fit, then repacked and shipped free within the United States. Processing runs one to two weeks because that inspection is genuine and a wave blade takes longer to check than a straight one. 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

This sword is hand made rather than machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Wave blades vary by their nature, since every crest and trough is ground by eye, so the depth and rhythm of the waves will differ slightly from the sword shown. The side rings are formed and set individually and can stand at a marginally different angle. Brass sits at a slightly different tone from batch to batch, the red of the grip and scabbard leather shifts with the hide and the dye lot, and the knot roundel is cut one at a time. The dimensions, the material and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

What are the rings under the guard for

Historically a side ring shielded a finger hooked over the crossguard for finer point control. On this sword it is a shape carried over for its own sake, and it is not sized for a hand, so keep your whole grip on the leather.

Is the sword sharp

Treat it as a display and collection sword. The edges carry a ground bevel and the point is real, so handle it carefully and do not cut with it or use it against a target.

Does the brass need polishing

Only if you want it bright. Brass darkens naturally to a warm honey brown, and most owners find the cross knot reads more clearly as the surrounding metal ages. A metal polish reverses it at any time.

Will the scabbard hold the sword securely

Yes. It is fitted to this blade and the brass throat keeps the mouth from spreading, which is what usually causes a loose scabbard over time.

Can the knot on the pommel be changed

Yes. Choose the engraving option and name the design you want, and it will be cut into the roundel in place of the cross knot rather than beside it.

How long does shipping take

One to two weeks of processing while the sword is checked and any engraving is cut, then free shipping inside the United States.

What is in the box

• Ringflame flamberge sword with brass side ring hilt
• Red brown leather scabbard with brass throat and brass chape
• Care card for polished high carbon steel, brass and leather
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Chicago, Illinois warehouse

Explore the range

See the fantasy and movie swords, the full swords range, the arming swords and everything under engraved and personalised, or read the guides.

Others in the same line

Next along the rack is the Wyrmtide flamberge sword, forged from 1095. For a straight comparison, see the Flamewave flamberge sword, pattern welded Damascus. Worth putting side by side with this is the Flamewake flamberge sword.

If you are putting a set together, the Lionheart sword sits alongside it. You can have this made your way instead on the custom Viking sword page.