Hand-Forged Medieval Arming Sword, Celtic Knotwork

The arming sword is the standard single-hand sword of medieval Europe, in use from roughly the 11th century to the 15th. It has a straight double-edged blade, a cruciform cross guard, a one-hand grip, and a pommel heavy enough to balance the blade. It was carried at the belt as a sidearm and used with a shield or buckler rather than alone. Ewart Oakeshott's typology is the standard reference and sorts these swords by blade profile and pommel form.

No, and it is worth being clear about it. Iron Age Celtic swords of the La Tene period have bell-shaped or anthropomorphic hilts, short organic grips, and no long straight quillons — they look nothing like this. What you have here is a medieval European arming sword whose guard is decorated with Insular knotwork. That decorative tradition is genuinely Celtic in origin and survived in Irish and British metalwork well into the medieval period, so knotwork on a medieval hilt is a plausible regional treatment. But decoration does not determine type. The sword is medieval; the ornament is Celtic.

They are the same class of sword, so the differences are in detail rather than category. The Crusader Arming Sword is a plainer crusader-pattern blade with undecorated fittings and a shorter blade. This one is longer through the blade, carries a knotwork-engraved guard block, a domed brazil-nut pommel, a green leather wrap, and a green scabbard with oxblood strapping. In practice: buy the Crusader for a plain, austere, historically restrained sword suited to crusade-period reenactment; buy this one if you want a decorated hilt and a piece with more visual character. Handling is similar — both are single-hand swords meant for use with a shield.

Yes. It is hand-forged from 5160 high-carbon spring steel, full tang, oil-tempered, and sharpened to a true cutting edge before it ships. The fittings are solid steel and the tang is peened over the pommel rather than glued or threaded. It handles tatami mats, water bottles and light targets well. Do not use it on bone, metal, seasoned hardwood, or anything you would not put a good knife through, and check the peen after every cutting session.

The blade is forged from 5160 high-carbon spring steel, the same alloy used in heavy-duty truck leaf springs, prized for toughness and edge retention. It is oil-tempered for a hard cutting edge backed by a flexible, shock-absorbent spine. On a long single-hand blade that flex matters — a hard, brittle sword of this length would be dangerous rather than durable.

Yes. The tang runs the full length of the hilt and is peened over at the pommel, so the cross, grip and pommel are mechanically captured on the tang itself. There is no rat-tail, no weld, and no glued-in stub to fail.

It is Insular interlace — the continuous woven line-work found in Irish and British metalwork, manuscript illumination and stone carving, best known from pieces like the Book of Kells and the Ardagh Chalice. On this sword it is worked into the guard block at the base of the hilt rather than moulded into cast fittings, which is the difference between a decorated sword and a decorated-looking one. You can specify your own pattern on a custom build.

It is a brazil-nut pommel — a domed, slightly flattened form that Oakeshott catalogued on European swords from around the 10th century. Its job is counterweight, not decoration. Sitting behind the hand, it pulls the balance point of the sword back toward the grip so the blade recovers faster between cuts and takes less effort to hold on guard. It is also the structural anchor of the hilt: the tang is peened over it, so it holds the whole assembly tight under load.

Yes, sharpened as standard and finished by hand. If you need it blunt for reenactment, larp, stage use, display, or to satisfy import rules where you live, choose the display-blunt option or tell us in your order notes. There is no extra charge either way.

A green leather scabbard with oxblood leather strapping and a steel suspension ring, cut by hand to fit the blade size you order. The ring lets you hang it from a belt or baldric with your own straps, which is how a medieval arming sword was worn — at the left hip for a right-handed user, high enough to draw cleanly without fouling the shield arm. A custom blade length gets a custom scabbard to match.

Yes. Blade length, blade width, pommel style and wrap colour are all adjustable to order, and you can specify your own engraving pattern instead of the standard knotwork. Send us what you want and we will tell you honestly how it will handle before we forge it — changing blade length without changing the pommel will shift the balance, and we will say so. Use Custom Forge to start that conversation.

Yes. We ship worldwide from Nepal by DHL or FedEx in 7 to 14 business days with tracking. In-stock specs dispatch within 2 to 3 business days; fully custom builds take roughly 4 to 6 weeks to forge first. Import and blade laws vary by country, so please check your local rules before ordering.