Hand-Forged Medieval Quillon Dagger, Knotwork Pommel

A quillon dagger is a medieval dagger built like a small sword: a straight double-edged blade, a cruciform cross guard whose arms are the quillons, and a pommel to balance it. The name comes from those cross arms. It is one of four main medieval dagger families, and the cross is what separates it from the others — the rondel dagger has flat discs above and below the grip, the ballock dagger has a lobed base, and the baselard has an I-shaped hilt. Quillon daggers were the knightly sidearm from roughly the 13th century onward.

Because the type is defined by the hilt form rather than by length, and this is unambiguously a quillon dagger hilt — a cross, a single-hand grip and a pommel, in the proportions a dagger uses rather than a sword. That said, sixteen inches is at the very top of the range. Most daggers stop around twelve inches of blade, and even the large medieval quillon daggers rarely passed fifteen, so a museum cataloguing this would likely note that it sits on the boundary with a short sword. We would rather say that plainly than have you learn it from someone else. If you want a blade squarely inside the historical dagger range, order a shorter one through Custom Forge.

Look at the blade end-on and you will see it is not flat — it rises from each edge to a ridge running down the centre, so the cross-section is a flattened diamond. That shape is the main alternative to a fullered blade and it does a completely different job. A fuller removes metal from the middle to save weight; a diamond section keeps metal in the middle and makes the blade far stiffer, because stiffness in a beam comes from depth at the centre. The result is a blade that resists flexing when you drive the point into something, which is exactly what you want on a thrusting weapon. The trade-off is that a diamond-section blade is heavier than a fullered one of the same dimensions and it does not cut quite as cleanly, because the thick centre has to be pushed through the target behind the edge. Medieval smiths chose between the two deliberately: fullers on cutting swords, diamond sections on blades meant to thrust into the gaps in armour.

Three things, and only one of them is fighting. It was a sidearm of last resort — a knight in armour who lost or could not use his sword closed the distance and went for the gaps at the visor, armpit and groin, which is why so many medieval daggers are built stiff and pointed rather than broad and sharp. It was everyday equipment, used for eating, cutting cord and the hundred small jobs a belt knife handles. And it was a status object: a well-made dagger was worn visibly, often matched to the owner's sword with the same fittings by the same maker, and it said as much about a man as his horse did. That last point is why we offer sword and dagger as a matched pair.

Scale and role. The Crusader Arming Sword has a 22-inch blade and is a sword — a primary weapon, meant to be used with a shield. This has a 16-inch blade and a shorter grip, and is a sidearm: worn on the belt alongside a sword rather than instead of it. Both are single-hand and both carry a diamond-section blade, so they are close cousins in construction, and the fittings differ mainly in the pommel — this one carries an engraved knotwork roundel where the crusader is plainer. If you are buying one blade, buy the sword. If you want the pair as a knight would actually have worn them, order both and we will match the fittings.

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 cross and pommel are solid steel and the tang is peened over the pommel rather than glued or threaded. It is built to be handled and used. Do not use the point as a pry bar and do not cut anything you would not put a good knife through.

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 stiff thrusting blade that toughness matters — a hard, brittle point is the part most likely to snap under load, and 5160 gives you a point that bends before it breaks.

Yes. The tang runs the full length of the hilt and is peened over at the pommel, so the cross and grip are mechanically captured on the tang itself. There is no rat-tail, no weld, and no glued-in stub to fail. This matters more on a thrusting blade than people expect: driving a point into something loads the hilt in compression against the pommel, and a threaded or glued assembly works loose.

An interlace roundel — the continuous woven line-work found across medieval European decorative metalwork, best known from Insular and Celtic sources but used far more widely than that. It is engraved into the face of the disc pommel rather than cast or stamped into a fitting, which is why the lines have depth and why the pattern varies slightly between pieces. You can specify your own pattern, a monogram or a date instead, or a plain undecorated pommel if you prefer restraint.

Yes, sharpened as standard along both edges, 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. Note that double-edged blades face tighter import restrictions than single-edged ones in a number of countries, so check your local rules before ordering.

Yes. Blade length, blade section, pommel style, wrap colour and engraving are all adjustable to order. The section is the interesting choice: a fullered blade in place of the diamond section gives you something lighter and faster in the hand that cuts better and thrusts less stiffly. Tell us what you want the blade to do rather than only what dimensions you want, and we will tell you honestly what the trade-off costs you.

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 and double-edged blades are restricted in more places than single-edged ones, so please check your local rules carefully before ordering.