Brassguard Hand Forged Damascus Sword | 30 Inch Overall with 24 Inch Blade | Brass and Micarta Handle and Olive Burl Wooden Scabbard | Collector and Display Gift | RK-510

Brass at the guard and micarta at the grip, with 24 inches of layered Damascus running out in front of them. The Brassguard is 30 inches overall, 35 ounces, and it is the piece in the sword range for the collector who wants real mass and fittings that will never need looking after. It ships in a scabbard turned from olive burl.

The long shallow channel running down the flat of a sword blade is called a fuller, and almost everything most people believe about it is wrong. It is not a blood groove and it has nothing to do with blood or with suction. It is a structural feature, and it works exactly the way the flange of a steel I beam works. Removing material from the centre of the flat, where it contributes least to stiffness, while keeping the edges and the spine intact, gives you a blade that is dramatically lighter for the same resistance to bending. Medieval smiths worked this out empirically centuries before anyone could write the equations, and a fullered blade can be a fifth lighter than a flat one of the same dimensions with almost no loss of rigidity.

This one is forged, hardened, ground and assembled in the Czech Republic, and it ships in its olive burl wooden scabbard with free shipping inside the United States.

Specifications

Mass, balance and what 35 ounces on 24 inches actually means

This is a short bladed sword carrying the weight of a longer one, and that combination produces a very particular feel in the hand.

Weight in a sword is not a problem in itself. Where the weight sits is what matters. Put 35 ounces mostly out at the tip of a 24 inch blade and you have something that swings like a hammer and recovers like a shovel. Put the same weight with a substantial brass guard and a solid pommel behind the hand and the balance point moves back to within a few inches of the grip, which is what makes a heavy sword feel controllable rather than exhausting.

That is the whole reason brass fittings on swords are a tradition rather than a decoration. Brass is roughly as dense as steel, it does not corrode, and it can be cast and finished into complex shapes that steel would take far longer to produce. A brass guard and pommel put mass exactly where the physics wants it while giving the piece a colour contrast against the etched Damascus that steel fittings cannot.

At 24 inches of blade this sits at the short end of the sword range, which makes it easier to display in a normal room, easier to handle for photography and reenactment dress, and considerably less intimidating on a wall than a full 30 inch blade. The profile follows the historical record. For the Norse background to pattern welded blades, read about the Ulfberht swords.

Why Damascus and not stainless

This is forge welded Damascus: two carbon steels bonded at welding heat and worked down together to 352 layers. The pattern sits through the full thickness of the blade rather than on its surface, so it cannot be polished or ground away.

Stainless is the wrong material for a sword and it is worth being blunt about that, because a great many decorative swords are made from it. High chromium stainless alloys are comparatively brittle in the thick cross sections a long blade needs and they do not take the deep hardening and tempering that gives a sword its resilience. The 1095 here reaches 58 to 60 HRC for hardness, and the nickel bearing 15N20 supplies the toughness that lets the blade bend under load and come back straight. In exchange, this steel wants a wipe of oil rather than being ignored. The comparison is set out honestly in Damascus versus stainless.

Brass and micarta in the hand

This is the low maintenance hilt in the range and it was specified that way deliberately.

Micarta is a composite: layers of linen or paper canvas saturated in resin and cured under pressure. It is completely non porous, so it cannot absorb moisture, swell, shrink or split, and it is unaffected by solvents, oils and cleaning products. What makes it a genuinely good grip material rather than just a durable one is its surface. Sanded micarta develops a slight microtexture from the exposed fabric layers, and that texture gets grippier when damp rather than more slippery, which no polished natural material does. It needs no oiling, no feeding and no seasonal attention at all.

Brass needs almost as little. It does not rust. Left alone it will slowly develop a warm darker patina, which most collectors prefer, and if you want it bright again a few minutes with a brass polish and a cloth will do it. There is no lacquer to crack and nothing to reapply.

The one part of this piece that is a natural material is the olive burl scabbard, and that does want occasional attention. Keep it out of direct sun and damp, and give it a wipe of light oil once or twice a year using the same method set out in wooden handle care.

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 or the handle. 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 whether it goes on the blade or the handle. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it.

On this sword the two good surfaces are the blade and the brass. A rune line down 24 inches of etched Damascus reads exactly the way inscribed medieval blades were meant to, and brass takes a fine cut and holds the contrast beautifully, so a name or a date on the guard is a strong option. All engraving is done here before the sword is packed. Options are on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Wipe the blade dry and lightly oiled after handling, because fingerprints on carbon steel are acidic enough to etch themselves into a polished Damascus surface over a few weeks. Twice a year, give it a proper wipe of mineral or camellia oil. The brass and the micarta need nothing.

Do not store it long term in the scabbard in a damp room and keep it away from exterior or bathroom walls where condensation forms on cold surfaces. If the edge ever needs dressing, work a stone along the blade in overlapping sections rather than dragging the sword across a bench stone. Method in steel care and sharpening with a whetstone.

Made in the Czech Republic

This piece is made by hand in the Czech Republic, in a workshop that still works the old way. The steel is forged, ground, heat treated and finished by smiths who learned the trade from the people before them, and the wood, horn and leather are cut and fitted by hand rather than pressed out on a line. That is also why no two pieces come out exactly the same.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import these pieces ourselves, check every one when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, so your runes or your own design go on before it leaves for you.

A note on handmade variation

This sword is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph on this page. Twenty four inches of Damascus gives the pattern plenty of room to be individual and no two billets move the same way under the hammer. The micarta is sanded and finished by hand so its surface figure varies, and the olive burl scabbard is turned from a different piece of wood entirely.

The dimensions, the weight, the steel, the layer count, the hardness and the build are the same on every one. The pattern, the tone and the exact profile are not, because each is worked by hand. That variation is what tells you a person made it.

Frequently asked questions

What is micarta and will it wear out

It is layered fabric cured in resin under pressure, and no, it will not. It cannot absorb water, it does not swell or shrink with humidity, it shrugs off solvents and cleaners, and its grip actually improves when your hands are damp. It is the most maintenance free grip material we use.

Will the brass tarnish

It will slowly darken to a warm patina, which most collectors leave alone because it suits an aged looking piece. If you prefer it bright, a few minutes with brass polish restores it completely. There is no lacquer coating to crack or peel.

Is this sharp and can it be used for cutting

It arrives with a finished display edge rather than a cutting edge. It is sold as a collector and display piece for wall, case, photography and costume, and it is not warranted for test cutting or any form of contact.

Why is the blade shorter than the other swords in the range

Twenty four inches makes it far easier to live with. It fits a normal wall and a normal display case, it handles comfortably for photography and costume, and it still carries the full 35 ounce mass, so it has presence without dominating a room.

Does the scabbard need any care

A little. It is olive burl, a natural wood, so keep it out of direct sunlight and away from damp, and wipe it with a light oil once or twice a year. Do not store the blade inside it long term in a humid room.

When will it arrive

Processing is one to two weeks while the sword is forged, ground, fitted and scabbarded by hand, plus transit, with engraved orders at the longer end. Shipping inside the United States is free and returns are open for seven days after delivery.

What is in the box

• One Brassguard Damascus sword
• Olive burl wooden scabbard
• Protective packaging
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

If you are still comparing, look through Swords, Viking Swords and Dagger Knives. Deeper reading sits in the guides.