Type S Viking Sword

[Vinícius Ferreira Arruda 28]

This sword was the most challenging piece I made so far and it really let me with a wish to achieve some more on my next swords. The blade was mainly made by stock removal, except for the tip and about 10cm of the cutting edge, as the owner wanted it to have some forging on it. It is 1070.

Guards and pommel are made from a piece of British wrought iron from the Victorian Age and the inlays are brass. They are heavily inspired on the designs from a type S sword from Gjermundbu, Norway, but it is not made to look like the original. As some of you may notice it also resembles some interpretations of the Gjermundbu sword made by Patrick Barta, although I'm really far from his skills with inlays. At least I have the chance to practice more of this amazing technique on an actual piece, rather than on scraps and left overs.

The handle is karelian birch burl from Russia, with one of the most outstanding patterns I've ever seen. The wood was ground to shape and then spent a whole week submersed in linseed oil for stabilization and it got this darker orange-ish color.

On the scabbard I used pinewood and it is lined inside with natural wool. Outside I covered it with linen and then painted with very dark brown. The chape is mild steel and the belt bridge is maple wood and although it is glued with modern methods to the linen cloth for safety, the leather strips would do the job alone fairly well.

I loved the final result and it really made me feel like a talented crafter, even with all the flaws it have. This excitement is the best part of being a blacksmith/bladesmith. As i usually like to do with swords, the is also a short tale I wrote about it that can be seen in my blog. Here is the link for this sword: http://vferreiraarruda.blogspot.com.br/2017/04/type-s-viking-sword.html

Overall length: 94,5cm

Blade length: 78,5cm 

Blade width: 5,3cm 

Blade thickness at the guard: 0,5cm 

PoB: 18,0cm 

Length of the grip: 10,0cm 

Weight: 1,240kg

Edited April 22, 2017 by Vinícius Ferreira Arruda
Text format was weeeeird

[Joshua States 1,483]

Outstanding work. That burl is wicked. It looks like flames. A fine piece of work.

[Collin Miller 136]

Very nice work! 

[Chris C-S 148]

Beautiful work. It's a surprise to me when I see sword dimensions and see just how thin (0.5cm) some of these are.

I have no knowledge of sword making and thus my question, are swords of this size always this thin or were some much thicker? Would blades this thin stand up in real combat?

[GEzell 136]

Wonderful, marvelous, and excellent... Well done man, well done indeed.

[Vinícius Ferreira Arruda 28]

Thank you, everyone!

And Chris:

8 hours ago, Chris C-S said:

Beautiful work. It's a surprise to me when I see sword dimensions and see just how thin (0.5cm) some of these are.

I have no knowledge of sword making and thus my question, are swords of this size always this thin or were some much thicker? Would blades this thin stand up in real combat?

Actually this blade is not so thin compared with other viking sword blades. There are some that are even 3mm thick on it's thickest part and tapers distally to less than that. It all depends on the quality of steel, heat treatment and how the blade is used.

If you had a blade this long and this thick (5mm) with a poor carbon steel, it would probably just bend a little, on the point, but only if hit on the flat. It really endures some heavy use. At least on the shape, I'm not talking about the edge maintenance here. A blade like this with a decent steel and a regular heat treatment would endure much much more and such a reproduction with modern high carbon steel would do the job without any issues for a long time.

I have the plan to make a reproduction of a 14th century german bastard sword that is considerably longer than this viking sword and it is 4mm thick on the crossguard and tapers to about 2,7mm at 5cm from the point. So it is really not an issue.

Hope it helps.

[Jonas Liebel 30]

I love it!

[Alan Longmire 2,379]

Nice!  The hilt inlays especially.  And I think we all aspire to reach Barta's level someday...

[Chris C-S 148]

Thanks @Vinícius Ferreira Arruda. More to learn I have, hmmm, yes.... 

[CarlosCordeiro 1]

As always, great work. I don't know what I like more: the inlay, with its almost nervous energy, or that karelian birch burl grip. 

 

[Kevin Colwell 140]

I agree - Barta is one of the best. I would like to reach his level, but oh well. Maybe if he did Chinese swords, I could tie him.

The sword you havef made looks great, and the inlay is even better.

[Joe Ringuette 0]

That is beautiful! AMAZING job!

[Emiliano Carrillo 188]

I've been following this on Instagram etc, and am very happy to see the finished product! A beautiful piece with righteous and clear lines, grace, and some beautiful inlay!

I love it, and can't wait to see what you do next! Out of curiosity, how deep were you cutting your wire channels before the inlay and what gauge wire did you use? did you use a special punch for flattening the wire? I've been meaning to get back into inlay recently, there is so much to do!