Loopwarden Hand Forged High Carbon Hand and a Half Sword with Open Ring Pommel | Brown Leather Grip and Guard | Belt Hung Leather Scabbard | Medieval Gift | RK-2182

A hand and a half sword with an open ring pommel, a long straight crossguard finished in small knobbed terminals, and a brown leather grip long enough for a second hand behind the first. Below the guard a short section of the blade is also wrapped in leather. The blade is 1095 high carbon, mirror polished, double edged and tapering to an acute point, and it comes with a brown leather scabbard hung on two belt straps.

Hand and a half is a description of the grip rather than a formal sword type. The grip is too long for one hand and too short to be comfortable with two hands spread apart, which is exactly the point. You hold it in one hand for reach and add the second hand behind the first when you need to move the blade harder or slower. Fifteenth century sources call these swords by a variety of names and none of them is tidy, but the design intent is unmistakable once you pick one up. Made by hand in the Czech Republic, imported and checked by Ransack Viking, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse.

Long blades carry more legend than the rest, and the legend and what collectors buy separates the story from what people actually own. 1095 is the plain carbon steel we work in, and the steel glossary explains what the number means and why it takes an edge. For a grip that takes one hand or two, look at the bastard swords.

Specifications

The ring pommel and the wrapped ricasso

An open ring pommel does the same counterweight job as a solid wheel but does it with less metal, because the mass sits out at the rim where it has the most leverage. Take a disc of steel and remove the middle and you have lost very little of its usefulness as a counterweight while losing a good deal of its weight. That is why ring and hollow pommels turn up on longer swords, where every gram behind the hand still has to be carried on a march.

The leather wrapped section below the guard is the other detail worth understanding. That is a covered ricasso, and it exists so the off hand can be placed on the blade itself. Gripping the blade shortens the effective lever enormously, which is what you want when the fight has closed and you need precision rather than reach. The leather is there so the hand has grip and so the edge nearest the guard is covered. On this sword it is a straightforward, honest piece of design rather than decoration.

The steel and the polish

1095 taken to 54 to 58 HRC. On a blade this long that is the right window. Hardened much beyond it a sword gains edge holding it does not need and loses the ability to flex under load and return straight, which is far more valuable in a blade you might lean on. Below it the edge deforms too readily. This is a plain carbon steel with essentially no chromium, so the mirror finish is not corrosion resistant and needs oil.

The polish is worked up by hand through progressively finer abrasives, which is why it reads as a genuine mirror rather than a buffed haze. It shows fingerprints immediately and it will etch if they are left, so a wipe after handling matters more on this sword than on a satin finished blade. The fittings are bright polished steel to match, and the grip and scabbard are vegetable tanned hide over wooden cores.

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. This sword carries no existing engraving, so the whole upper blade is open for a rune line, and the wide leather grip takes a stamped design cleanly. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Start with one hand on the grip and the ring pommel sitting against the heel of your palm. Then slide the second hand on behind it and feel what changes. The sword slows down and gains a great deal of control, and that switch between one hand and two is the entire idea behind the pattern. It is a genuinely satisfying thing to demonstrate.

The ring pommel keeps the balance point close to the guard for the blade length, so it does not hang heavy. The scabbard is hung on two straps rather than one, which keeps a long scabbard from swinging when it is worn on a belt. This is a display and collector piece and we make no battle ready claim for it. It is not built or tested for full contact sparring against another blade or for cutting practice.

Care

Wipe the blade every time it is handled, because a mirror polish on 1095 records fingerprints and will etch them in if they sit. A soft cloth and a light film of mineral oil or blade oil over the whole flat is enough. Pay attention to the edge of the leather wrap on the ricasso, where moisture can collect between hide and steel, and lift the wrap edge with a cloth corner to dry it after handling. Feed the grip, the ricasso wrap and the scabbard with a neutral leather cream two or three times a year. Store the blade out of the scabbard if the room is damp. There is more in steel care.

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

Made by hand in the Czech Republic. The blade is forged, ground and hand polished, the ring pommel formed and peened, the guard forged and finished, and the grip, ricasso wrap and scabbard cut and stitched 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 each scabbard for fit, and holds stock in our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse so orders leave from a shelf. Processing runs one to two weeks, at the longer end when an engraving is ordered, because the cut happens after the sword lands. Shipping in 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 ring pommel is formed by hand, so its exact roundness and section vary a little from one to the next. Hand polishing means the mirror on one blade catches light differently from another. Leather is a natural material, so the grip, the ricasso wrap and the scabbard vary in tone, grain and the way the dye has taken, and the two belt straps may sit at slightly different lengths. The steel, the geometry, the hardness and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the blade sharp

It arrives with a finished edge and an acute point. This is a real blade, not a blunt, so store it out of reach of children and handle it accordingly.

Why is part of the blade wrapped in leather

That is a covered ricasso. It lets the off hand be placed on the blade to shorten the lever and gain control, and the leather gives grip and covers the edge nearest the guard.

Can two hands really fit on the grip

Yes, though not spread apart the way they would be on a full two hander. The second hand goes on directly behind the first, which is what hand and a half means.

Can I spar with it

No. It is a display and collector piece and it is not built or tested for full contact use. Use a purpose built blunt trainer for contact work.

Does the scabbard come ready to wear

The scabbard has two leather belt straps fitted to it, so it can be hung on a belt of your own. No belt is supplied with it.

How long does it take to arrive

Processing is one to two weeks from our Memphis warehouse plus transit. Shipping is free within the United States.

What is in the box

• One 1095 high carbon hand and a half sword with an open ring pommel
• One brown leather scabbard with two belt straps
• 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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