Hand-Forged Guts Raider Greatsword, Golden Age Anime Pattern

The Greatsword Guts Carried Before the Dragon Slayer — Hand-Forged in Thick 5160 Spring Steel

This is the Raider sword: the oversized mercenary greatsword Guts fights with through the whole Golden Age arc, forged as a real steel slab rather than a cosplay cut-out. Broad central channel down the flats, short pointed tip, thin twin-plate riveted guard, a long leather-wrapped two-hand grip and the square riveted block pommel — every piece hand-forged to order in Kathmandu, in your choice of blade length, finish, wrap, fittings and scabbard.

Not an official or licensed Berserk product. This is an independent, hand-forged interpretation of the sword as drawn in the Berserk anime. Berserk, Guts and the Band of the Hawk belong to Kentaro Miura, Studio Gaga and Hakusensha; Everest Forge is not affiliated with any of them, and nothing on this page should be read as a claim otherwise.

Underneath every option is the same sword: a 36-inch blade in hand-forged 5160 spring steel at around 14 mm on the spine — roughly twice the stock of our longswords — on a full riveted tang, at approximately 47 inches overall and 6.5 kg in the hand. It is built to read as Guts' sword when it is leaning in the corner of a room, which is where most of them will live.

The Real Sword, Not a Render

Photographs of finished swords from the forge in Kathmandu, in the satin finish. Every order is photographed the same way before it ships.

Your Choices

Left-handed? Write Left Handed in the order note and the forge builds the grip and scabbard for it. For the manga-pattern guard on this blade, a blunt edge, or anything outside the list, use the order note or our custom forge service.

The Sword Before the Dragon Slayer

Everyone knows the Dragon Slayer. Fewer people remember that for most of the story that matters — the Golden Age — Guts is not carrying it. He is carrying this: a plain, brutally oversized greatsword that is already far too big for an ordinary man, the sword he brings to the Band of the Hawk and keeps through the Bazuso fight, the duel with Nosferatu Zodd, the hundred-man fight in the forest and the siege of Doldrey, where it finally breaks against Boscogn. The anime draws it with a wide, almost parallel blade, a shallow channel down the middle of each face, a thin riveted guard of two plates, a long cloth-wrapped grip and a squared-off pommel block. Fans and replica makers call it the Raider sword; in the story it never gets a name, which is rather the point of it.

That is the sword on this page. We have kept the proportions of the anime drawing — width to length, grip to blade, the small guard against the big slab — and built them in forged steel at a weight that makes sense for the drawing rather than for a fencing hall.

Anime Pattern or Manga Pattern?

Berserk draws this sword two ways, and we make both. This listing is the anime pattern: the lighter twin-plate guard, the central channel, the white wrap and the block pommel. The manga pattern — a big block guard with six rivets a face, a deep full-length fuller, a dark leather grip and a large faceted pommel, the sword of the Hundred-Man Slayer episodes — is a separate build: the Hand-Forged Guts Hundred-Man Slayer Greatsword. Same steel, same forge, same five lengths; choose by which drawing you grew up with. The post-Eclipse slab is its own listing too, the Hand-Forged Dragon Slayer Greatsword.

Built as Steel, Not as a Shape

Most "Guts swords" on the market are 3 mm stainless sheet cut to an outline and bolted to a cast handle. They weigh what a sheet of steel weighs and they flex like one. This blade is forged from 5160 leaf-spring stock at around 14 mm on the spine, with the central channel hammered and ground in, the edge bevels ground by hand, and the tang running the full length of the grip and riveted through the wooden scales. The guard is two forged plates riveted through the shoulder of the blade; the pommel is a riveted steel block. Nothing is cast, nothing is welded on.

The consequence is weight. At the standard 36-inch blade this sword is around 6.5 kg bare and 7.4 kg in its scabbard; the 45-inch build is a two-handed lift at over 10 kg. A genuine fighting two-hander from a museum with a 45-inch blade weighs under 3 kg. We say this plainly because it is the whole character of the piece: it is a display and collector's sword at the proportions of the anime, not a cutting sword, and we do not sell it as one.

Blade Length and Approximate Weight

Weights are forge estimates from the blade geometry. Every sword is weighed and photographed on the scale before it ships, and the photograph comes to you.

Which Blade Finish Suits a Guts Sword?

Handle, Fittings and Scabbard

The grip is wooden scales on the full tang under a leather wrap. White is the cream wrap of the anime and the one most buyers choose; black and brown make it read as a plain mercenary's sword, and red, blue and green are there for the collector who wants it to be theirs. The fittings cover both the twin-plate guard and the block pommel, so the choice changes the look of the whole hilt: black is the anime; silver-iron is bare forged steel; brass and copper warm the hilt against a satin or black blade. The scabbard is leather over a wooden core shaped to the blade, with carrying straps, in six colours. On the 40 and 45-inch builds the scabbard is a serious object in its own right — well over a kilogram — and is built with cross-grain reinforcement so the long core does not split.

Engraving

The personalisation field takes a name, initials, a date, a dedication or a short line, cut into the ricasso where the channel begins. You can also upload a crest, a unit badge, a logo or a photograph and we reproduce it. We do not engrave third-party trademarks or copyrighted artwork; your own design, yes.

Why This Raider Sword Works

Standard Build Specification

Because every piece is hand-forged, small variation in weight, dimensions, grain and finish is normal; width and spine scale with the blade length you choose.

An Honest Note on This Sword

An honest note. Three things worth saying plainly. First, this is heavy on purpose. A slab this thick is edge-hardened and tempered rather than hardened through, it is not balanced for cutting, and nobody should swing a 10 kg sword at anything; if you want a Guts sword you can actually cut with, ask us for the thin-stock version through the order note. Second, it is an interpretation of a drawing. Berserk never gives this sword dimensions, so the widths and the grip length are ours, scaled from the anime; the manga draws it differently and that version has its own page. Third, 5160 is not stainless. A blade with this much surface area will spot if it is left in a damp scabbard; wipe it, oil it, and store it out of the leather.

How Your Order Is Made

Caring for a Big Slab of Carbon Steel

Wipe the blade down after handling and keep a light film of oil on both faces; the channel holds moisture longer than a flat, so run the cloth along it. Do not store the sword in its scabbard for long periods — the leather holds damp against the steel — and if it lives on a wall or a stand, oil it every few weeks in a humid climate. If you have it sharpened, keep the edge at the angle it came with. Brass and copper fittings patina with handling and polish back with any metal polish; black fittings and a black coated blade want only a dry cloth.

Shipping, Returns and Warranty

A greatsword at this size ships in a long crate, and shipping adds seven to ten days after the forge is done. Orders to the USA and Canada travel with FedEx; everywhere else ships on a DDP service, which means duties and taxes are settled before the parcel moves so there is nothing to pay on delivery. Every piece carries the Everest Forge manufacturer warranty against defects in forging and heat treatment. Because a configured and engraved sword is made to your specification, it falls outside our standard returns window except where the blade is faulty — full terms are on our shipping and returns page. Import rules on large edged blades vary by country and are the buyer's responsibility to check before ordering.

The Guts Sword Collection

Questions About the Guts Raider Greatsword