Hand-Forged Flamberge, Downturned Cross

A flame-bladed sword — one whose edges run in a regular series of waves rather than a straight line. The German sources call the type a Flammenschwert. This blade is exactly that: deep, even undulations running from just above the cross all the way to an acute point.

One honest qualification on the word. Strictly, flamberge and Flammenschwert describe a LARGE TWO-HANDED sword, the kind carried by Landsknecht doppelsoldner in the sixteenth century, and the term got attached to it by later collectors rather than by the men who used it. This is a single-hand sword at a third of that size. The blade is a genuine flame blade; the word carries a two-hander's history with it, and you should know that before a collector tells you.

A little, and far less than the internet claims. The honest answer has three parts. A waved edge puts more inches of steel in contact with whatever you are cutting than a straight edge of the same blade length, which can help a draw cut. In a bind, the undulations give an opposing blade or a spear shaft something to catch on, so the parry is grabbier than a smooth edge. And it is visually alarming, which on a Renaissance battlefield was worth something on its own.

That is the whole list. The waves do not make the sword cut deeper, they do not make it stronger, and they cost you something too: a wavy edge is slower to sharpen, the blade is narrower at the troughs than at the peaks, and the extra edge length is extra edge to maintain. Anyone selling you a flame blade on performance grounds is overselling it. Buy it because it looks extraordinary, which it does.

No to both, and these are the two myths that follow this sword everywhere. The first says the waves tear a ragged wound that cannot be closed. The second says the undulations set up a vibration in a parried blade that cracks or shatters it. Neither has any support in the period sources or in physics.

The vibration story is the more persistent and the more obviously wrong: a sword in a bind is in sliding contact under load, which damps vibration rather than amplifying it, and the steel in an opposing blade is not brittle enough to shatter from a scrape regardless. Wavy blades were made because they looked magnificent and bound slightly better, not because they had a secret mechanism. We would rather sell you one honestly than repeat a story you will later find out was invented.

Not on a flat stone, which is the practical thing nobody mentions before you buy. A bench stone or a flat hone rides across the peaks and never reaches the troughs, so the edge goes dull in the hollows and stays sharp on the crests, which is the worst of both.

What you need is a round tool that follows the curve: a tapered round file for reprofiling, and a ceramic or diamond rod for maintenance, worked along each wave in turn rather than dragged down the blade. It takes maybe three times as long as a straight edge of the same length. That is the real ownership cost of a flame blade, it is entirely manageable, and it is worth knowing before rather than after. Our forge terminology page covers the other blade features you will meet.

The standard build carries a 24 inch blade and a 9 inch hilt with a 6 inch grip, 33 inches overall. That is a default rather than a fixed specification — every blade we make is forged after the order, so the dimensions are yours to set.

Two changes are worth thinking about on a flame blade in particular. A longer blade gives you more waves and a more dramatic silhouette, and takes the sword toward the two-handed proportions the word flamberge properly describes. A longer grip lets the off hand crowd the pommel, which matters more here than on a plain sword because the waves add weight without adding reach. Neither costs extra.

1,240 grams with a 24 inch blade, which is about 52 grams per inch of blade. A straight single-handed sword of this length would run nearer 40, so it is around a quarter heavier than the historical equivalent — robust rather than lively, and in line with how we build across the sword range.

The 6 inch grip is a single-hand grip with room to crowd the pommel with two fingers of the off hand, which we would suggest doing. If you want a genuinely two-handed sword, ask for a longer grip and a longer blade and we will build it, at no extra cost. If you want it lighter, ask for thinner stock with more distal taper and we will tell you honestly what that costs in robustness.

Yes, both edges sharpened through every wave and ready to use, unless you tell us otherwise. Sharpening a flame blade properly takes longer than a straight one and it is done by hand along each undulation.

Unsharpened builds are free, for display or for an awkward import, and on a wavy blade an unsharpened build is a genuinely popular choice because the silhouette is the point. A stage combat build — rebated edge, rounded tip — is also available at the same price.

5160 high-carbon spring steel, which we use across the whole range. The blade is forged to shape, quenched, and then tempered back by hand as a separate operation afterwards. Those two steps are distinct and the second is what matters: quenching alone leaves a blade hard and brittle, and tempering trades a little hardness for toughness.

On a flame blade the heat treatment matters slightly more than usual, because the waves mean the blade is narrower at the troughs than at the peaks and the section is not constant along its length. A blade left hard and untempered would find those narrow points first. 5160 is not stainless, rusts if left damp, and holds an edge far better than any stainless we could sensibly forge. We do not make pattern-welded or laminated blades at all, by choice.

Close to the hand for a sword of this length, because the waves remove steel as well as adding outline and the hilt carries a solid cross and a faceted pommel behind it. In practice it feels quicker than 1,240 grams suggests.

We do not publish a single point-of-balance figure, because hand-forged blades vary and a number two inches out is worse than none. Ask before dispatch and we will measure the actual sword we are sending you, from the cross, and send you the number. Our sword guide explains what the measurement means and why it is worth asking any seller for.

The standard build has a black leather-wrapped grip over the tang, a polished steel cross whose quillons sweep downward toward the blade and taper to flattened tips, and a faceted steel pommel. Everything metal is forged and finished by hand rather than cast.

Grip material and colour are both selectable. Rosewood, horn, bone, micarta and other leather colours are all available at no extra cost, and we will match the scabbard to whatever you choose. Cast fittings are cheaper to make and they are the first thing to fail on a sword that gets handled, which is why we do not use them.

A leather scabbard with a moulded raised spine down each face and a stamped panel at the throat, carried on a strap arrangement with brass fittings. The standard build pairs it green against the black grip, and the colour is yours to change.

A flame blade needs a scabbard built with clearance rather than a close fit, because an undulating edge cannot be drawn through a throat cut to a straight profile. Ours is made to suit the blade. If you want a different colour, a belt rather than a strap rig, or a wall mount cut to this blade's outline, those are custom forge items and we will quote them.

Nothing is held in stock. Every blade is forged after the order arrives, which is why the dimensions, the grip material, the finish and the edge specification are all free to change — there is no standard version already made. Standard builds dispatch in 2 to 3 business days; genuinely custom work runs 4 to 6 weeks depending on the queue.

The sword ships sheathed and braced in a rigid carton with the strap rig packed separately so nothing bears on the blade, by DHL or FedEx with tracking, typically 7 to 14 business days from Kathmandu. Import duty and local taxes are the buyer's responsibility and vary by country.