Hand-Forged Khopesh Sword, Single Fuller

Work down by size, because that is what actually decides it. This one is the largest, at 21 inches of blade and 28 inches overall, and it is also the most worked — the fuller, the checkered grip, the disc guard and the flared pommel are all features the others do not carry. Our other full-size khopesh runs 18 inches of blade at 24.5 inches overall with a plainer hilt and an unfullered blade, which makes it lighter in the hand and quicker to bring round; it is the one to take if you want the shape without the mass. At the other end, our khopesh-style chopper is a short working blade of 10.5 inches, built for camp and bushcraft use rather than as a weapon. In short: this is the display and cutting piece, the 18 inch is the carry piece, and the chopper is the tool.

Because a curved blade already has a weight problem that a straight one does not. On any forward-curved sword the mass sits ahead of the hand by design — that is where the cutting authority comes from — but past a certain size that same mass makes the sword slow to start and slow to stop. A fuller lets you remove steel from the middle of the section, where it contributes least to stiffness, without narrowing the blade or thinning the edge. On a straight sword that is mostly about overall weight. On a curved sword it is about WHERE the weight is: you are taking material out along the blade's length while leaving the belly and the edge intact, which pulls the balance back toward the hand without softening the cut. That is why a fullered khopesh handles noticeably livelier than an unfullered one of the same dimensions. It is also difficult to forge cleanly along a curve, which is why almost no khopesh on the market has one.

Retention, and it matters more on this shape than on most swords. A forward-weighted blade pulls against the hand through the whole arc of a swing, and at the moment of impact it wants to rotate in the grip rather than stay aligned. A smooth timber grip relies entirely on how hard you are squeezing, which fails the moment your hand is wet, cold, sweaty or gloved. Cutting a diamond pattern into the wood gives the skin something to key into, so the sword stays indexed with far less grip pressure — and gripping less hard is itself worth having, because a tight fist transmits shock into the wrist and tires you within minutes. The trade-off is that checkering is harsher on a bare hand over a long session and it hides the grain, which is why we offer smooth timber, horn and wrapped grips as alternatives. If the sword is primarily going on a wall, smooth looks better; if it is going to be swung, take the checkering.

Right on the fundamentals, openly different on the details. The crescent profile is correct, the forward mass is correct, and the edge is on the outer curve, which is the single most important diagnostic and the one most sellers get backwards. What is not period: the original was a single piece of bronze, later iron, with no guard and no separate pommel, and it carried a longer straight section between the hand and the start of the hook. It also carried no fuller at all, because you cannot usefully fuller a cast bronze blade. The disc guard, the flared pommel, the checkered grip and the fuller on this sword are all modern. We offer a strict reconstruction through the custom forge for anyone who wants the period line rather than the improved one.

5160 high-carbon spring steel, oil-quenched and then tempered back. 5160 holds a working edge and flexes under load rather than snapping, which is what a heavy forward-weighted blade needs. It is also the steel family Nepali smiths have traditionally drawn from vehicle leaf spring, so our forge reads it by colour and by sound at the anvil. It is a considerable improvement on the bronze the originals were cast in, which was softer and had to be made thicker to compensate.

Yes. It ships with a working edge along the outer curve, sharpened by hand and ready out of the scabbard. It is not a blunt wall-hanger with a sword-shaped profile ground into it. If it is going into a display case, a costume or a setting where an edge is a liability, ask for it blunted in the order note before we ship and we will finish it that way at no extra cost.

Yes. The tang runs the full length of the hilt with the disc guard, grip and pommel fitted to it, so the assembly is held by steel rather than by adhesive. On a blade shaped like this it matters more than usual: a curved sword loads the hilt sideways as well as along its length, and a short or partial tang will work loose at the guard under exactly that stress. You feel it as a rattle long before anything actually fails.

Yes. Blade length is selectable, and beyond the listed options our smiths will forge to a dimension you specify. The important point on this shape is that the curve is redrawn rather than stretched — a khopesh profile scaled up without redrawing puts the mass in the wrong place and the sword feels dead. The fuller is laid out afresh to suit the new length as well, since a fuller that stops in the wrong place does nothing useful. Both are included in a custom build.

Yes. A fitted brown leather scabbard with riveted straps and a belt harness comes with the sword, cut around this specific blade profile. A deeply curved blade is genuinely awkward to sheath safely, so this is not a generic sleeve the sword happens to fit — it is made around the piece. If you change the blade length on a custom build, the scabbard is made to the new dimensions.

Treat it like any high-carbon sword, with three spots that need attention rather than the usual one. Wipe the blade dry after handling and keep a thin film of camellia, mineral or light gun oil on it in storage. The places a cloth skips are the inside of the sickle curve, the full length of the fuller, and the cuts of the checkering on the grip — the fuller especially holds oil and dust, so run a cloth corner along it every time rather than wiping across it. Do not store the sword sheathed for long periods, because leather traps damp against steel, and condition the leather once or twice a year so it does not dry and crack.

No, and that is inherent to hand forging. Every blade is drawn out under a hammer, so the depth of the curve, the width at the belly and the exact line of the fuller carry small differences from piece to piece. The checkering is cut by hand, so its spacing varies slightly, and rosewood is a natural timber so grain and colour differ on every grip. Weights and dimensions vary by a few percent either way. What is consistent is the steel, the heat treatment, the construction and the edge. If you need a piece to match the photograph closely, note it on your order and we will pick the nearest one in the rack.

Hand-forged in Tokha-3, Kathmandu, Nepal, by our own smiths. Everest Forge is a working forge rather than a reseller putting a name on imported blanks — the steel is cut, drawn, quenched, tempered and ground, the fuller worked in, the grip shaped and checkered, and the scabbard stitched, all under one roof. That is why we can move a piece toward the historical pattern on a custom order: there is a smith at the anvil rather than a catalogue of finished stock.