Knotwheel Hand Forged Damascus Arming Sword with Celtic Knot Wheel Pommel | Banded Burgundy Leather Grip | Rounded Display Point and Leather Scabbard | Norse Gift | RK-2179

A single handed arming sword with a 1095 and 15N20 Damascus blade, a blued steel crossguard, and a polished steel wheel pommel carrying a Celtic knotwork disc inside a brass rim. The grip is burgundy leather wrapped over a wooden core with three raised bands turned into it, and the point is rounded rather than acute, which makes this a display build rather than a cutting sword.

The banded grip is a small detail with a real purpose. Those raised risers give the hand something to register against, so the sword can be found in the right position without looking down at it. Surviving medieval grips show cord bound under the leather to make the same ridges, and the practice runs from the eleventh century right through to the sixteenth. The knotwork on the pommel is an Insular interlace pattern, the endless line style that runs through Irish, Scottish and Northumbrian metalwork and manuscript. Made by hand in the Czech Republic, imported and checked by Ransack Viking, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse with a brown leather scabbard.

A single handed sword is the piece reenactors ask about most, and what reenactors actually want covers what gets used and what gets shelved. Insular knotwork travelled with the Norse and came back changed, and the symbols guide covers the shapes that recur. The medieval helmets are the obvious thing to hang beside it.

Specifications

Reading the knot

Insular interlace has one rule that separates it from ornament that merely looks similar. The line is continuous. Follow any strand with a fingertip and it will pass over, under, around and eventually back to where you began without ever ending. Medieval illuminators and metalworkers held to that rule strictly, and a broken strand in a manuscript is usually taken as a deliberate mark rather than a mistake.

Trace the disc on this pommel and you will find the same discipline. Over, under, over, under, no loose ends. That is why interlace works so well on a circular field like a pommel disc, because a circle has no beginning either and the pattern can be made to close on itself perfectly. It is also why interlace is difficult to cut well. An engraver has to plan the whole crossing sequence before the first line goes down, since a strand that goes over where it should have gone under cannot be undone.

Damascus, blueing and brass

The blade is layered 1095 and 15N20, folded and drawn, then etched so the nickel bearing layers stand bright against the darker steel. At 58 to 60 HRC it is harder than the plain carbon swords in the range. Because this blade is finished with a rounded point and no cutting edge, that hardness works for the surface and the etch rather than for cutting.

The guard is heat blued, a controlled surface oxide rather than paint, so it will not chip but it will wear bright at the high points where hands rest. That wear looks right. The pommel disc sits in a brass rim which frames the knotwork and gives the hilt its only warm colour. Damascus is not stainless and the etched surface holds moisture more readily than a plain polish, so it needs oil.

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 fuller takes a rune line and the burgundy grip between the bands takes a stamped design. If you would rather keep the knotwork disc, say so and we will place your engraving on the blade instead. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives. See the engraving page.

Handling and display

The banded grip is the thing to notice when you pick it up. Close your eyes, take the sword, and the ridges tell your hand where it is without any looking. That is the whole point of them, and it is a nice piece of design to be able to demonstrate to somebody.

The wheel pommel puts the balance point close to the guard, so the sword holds a guard position without pulling on the wrist. It is a display and collector piece. The point is rounded and the edges are not brought to cutting sharpness, we make no battle ready claim, and it is not built or tested for full contact sparring or for cutting practice. Hung on a wall or held for photographs it does what it was made to do.

Care

Damascus needs oiling more often than a plain polished blade, because the etch leaves a very slightly textured surface that holds moisture. Wipe the blade after handling and lay a light film of mineral oil or blade oil over it, working along the fuller where a cloth will bridge the hollow. Keep abrasive polish away from the blued guard, since it will cut through the oxide to bright steel in one pass. The brass rim on the pommel takes brass polish if you want it bright, applied on a cotton bud so it stays off the blade. Feed the grip and the scabbard with a neutral leather cream twice a year. More in steel care.

Damascus wants oil more than plain steel does, because the etch that shows the pattern also opens the surface, and caring for a Damascus pattern covers what to use.

Made in the Czech Republic

Made by hand in the Czech Republic. Billet forge welded and folded, blade ground, fullered and etched, guard formed and blued, pommel turned, knot disc cut and set, grip bound and scabbard stitched, all by the people who make it. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Ransack Viking imports them into the United States, checks each hilt for tightness, each blade for straightness and etch, and each scabbard for fit, and holds them in our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse so orders leave from a shelf. Processing runs one to two weeks and sits at the longer end when an engraving is ordered. Shipping across the United States is free, returns run seven days, and the lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings has no end date and needs no receipt.

A note on handmade variation

Hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The Damascus pattern is a cross section of a folded billet and is different on every blade. Heat blueing lands at slightly different shades from one guard to the next depending on how the heat travelled. The knotwork disc is cut by hand, so line weight varies a little, and burgundy dye takes differently on different hides so the grip may sit lighter or deeper than the one photographed. The steel, the hardness, the geometry and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is this sword sharp

No. The point is rounded and the edges are not brought to a cutting sharpness. It is finished as a display and collector piece.

Why are there ridges in the grip

They are risers, and they let the hand find the correct position on the grip by feel. Medieval grips achieved the same thing with cord bound under the leather.

Will the blueing on the guard rub off

It will wear bright at the high points where hands touch it, which is normal and looks correct on a sword. It is an oxide layer rather than a coating, so it does not flake or chip.

How is this different from the plain steel display sword

The blade is pattern welded Damascus rather than plain 1095, the pommel carries a cut knotwork disc in a brass rim, and the grip is banded rather than smooth. The geometry and the display finish are comparable.

Can I have my own runes on the pommel

The disc is small and already carries the knotwork, and your engraving would replace it rather than join it. Most people keep the knot and have runes cut along the blade instead.

Is a stand included

No. The sword ships with its scabbard only. Sword stands and wall mounts are listed separately in the display section of the shop.

What is in the box

• One Damascus arming sword with a Celtic knot wheel pommel and a banded burgundy grip
• One brown leather scabbard
• Your Elder Futhark rune line or chosen Viking design, if ordered
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse

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