57 types of swords, from the first bronze blades to the katana and the kukri/khukuri
The sword is the one weapon nearly every culture made its own. This guide follows it from the copper blades of 3300 BC to the swords still carried and forged today, grouped by region with dates, countries and blade shapes for every type. Filter by culture, country, era or blade shape, or tap the timeline to jump to a sword.
Every entry links to the matching sword at Everest Forge where we make one. 45 of the 57 types are in our range, and the rest can be forged to order in Nepal.
Culture
Era
Showing all 57 sword types
Swords through time
Each mark shows when a sword type first appears. The scale widens after AD 500 so the crowded later centuries stay readable.
The sword began as a dagger that kept growing. Copper, then bronze, then iron let smiths make longer, stronger blades, and each civilisation shaped them for the way it fought: the Egyptian sickle-sword, the Greek hoplite's leaf blade, the Iberian falcata and the Roman legionary's gladius.
10 sword types · Explore ancient and classical swords
Earliest known swords · c. 3300-3000 BC
The oldest swords yet found: arsenical-copper blades from the palace at Arslantepe in eastern Turkey.
Found with spearheads in a palace complex, some inlaid with silver. They mark the moment the dagger grew into a true sword.
Related at Everest Forge: Bronze Age swords
Sickle-sword · c. 2000-1100 BC
The sickle-shaped bronze sword of New Kingdom Egypt, carried by pharaohs and elite troops. Tutankhamun was buried with two.
Developed from earlier Mesopotamian sickle-swords. The cutting edge is on the outer curve; the hooked end could pull a shield aside.
Also at Everest Forge: Egyptian Khopesh Sword, Khopesh, Deep Recurve
Naue II type · c. 1300-600 BC
The cut-and-thrust bronze leaf blade that spread from Central Europe to Greece and Egypt at the end of the Bronze Age.
Its flanged hilt was cast in one piece with the blade, making it far stronger than earlier riveted swords.
Also at Everest Forge: Bronze Age Sword Replica, Bronze Age Leaf Blade Sword
Celtic leaf sword · c. 800-450 BC
Long bronze and early iron leaf blades of the first Celtic culture, named after the Hallstatt salt-mine cemetery in Austria.
Often fitted with a winged chape and a hat-shaped pommel; the bridge between Bronze Age and Iron Age swords.
Also at Everest Forge: Historical Celtic Leaf Sword, Celtic Leaf Sword, 20 in
Greek hoplite sword · c. 800-300 BC
The hoplite's leaf-bladed sidearm, drawn when the spear broke in the press of the phalanx.
Worn on a baldric under the left arm. Spartan versions were famously short for close fighting.
Also at Everest Forge: Museum Reproduction Xiphos, Spartan Hoplite Short Xiphos
Machaira · c. 500-100 BC
A forward-curved chopping sword. Xenophon advised cavalrymen to carry the machaira rather than the straight xiphos.
Its weight sits near the tip, the same principle as the falcata and the Nepalese kukri/khukuri.
Also at Everest Forge: Simple Kopis Sword, Large Greek Kopis
Iberian sword · c. 500-50 BC
The forward-curved sword of the Iberians, often with a bird- or horse-head hilt. Roman writers praised the quality of Iberian steel.
Forged from several layers of steel, single-edged with a sharpened back near the point for thrusting.
Also at Everest Forge: Falcata, Horse-Head Pommel, Falcata, 24 in
Celtic Iron Age sword · c. 450-50 BC
The iron sword of the Gauls and Celts, named after the lake-shore site in Switzerland. Blades grew longer over time for slashing.
Scabbards were often decorated with dragon-pair and lyre designs.
Also at Everest Forge: La Tène Sword, Celtic Tène Sword
Roman short sword · c. 200 BC-AD 250
The short stabbing sword of the Roman legions, adopted from Iberia in the 3rd century BC. The Mainz, Fulham and Pompeii types followed.
Built for close-order fighting behind the large scutum shield, thrusting rather than slashing.
Also at Everest Forge: Mainz-Type Gladius, Pompeii Gladius, Republican Delos Gladius
Roman long sword · c. AD 1-600
The longer Roman cavalry sword that replaced the gladius by the 3rd century and became the ancestor of the Migration-era and Viking swords.
Carried by auxiliary cavalry first, then by the infantry of the late empire.
Related at Everest Forge: Viking & Medieval swords
From the pattern-welded Viking sword to the knight's arming sword, the two-handed longsword, the Highland claymore and the Renaissance rapier, European swords changed with armour, law and fashion. Single-edged messers, falchions, cutlasses and sabres served the common soldier, the sailor and the cavalryman.
16 sword types · Explore medieval and European swords
Scramaseax · c. 400-1100
The single-edged knife-sword of the Saxons, Franks and Vikings; long seaxes of the 9th-10th century were true swords.
The broken-back blade, with an angled spine near the tip, is the classic late Anglo-Saxon form.
Also at Everest Forge: Anglo-Saxon Long Seax, Long Seax, Broken-Back
Norse sword · c. 750-1050
The prized sword of the Viking Age, often pattern-welded or inscribed. Some of the best carry the Ulfberht name.
A wide fuller lightened the blade; lobed pommels and short guards are typical of Petersen's types.
Also at Everest Forge: 9th-Century Viking Sword, Norseman Pommel Viking Sword, Transitional Viking Sword
Knightly sword · c. 1050-1500
The single-handed cross-hilted sword of the knight and crusader, used with a shield.
Classified by Ewart Oakeshott into types X to XIV, from broad cutting blades to stiffer, more pointed ones.
Also at Everest Forge: Oakeshott Type XII Sword, Arming Sword, Trumpet Quillons
Medieval cleaver-sword · c. 1200-1550
A broad, single-edged chopping sword, from the cleaver-like Conyers falchion to slimmer, clipped-point forms.
Cheaper to make than a knightly sword and a favourite of infantry.
Also at Everest Forge: Falchion Sword, Single edge swords
Hand-and-a-half / bastard sword · c. 1250-1600
The two-handed knightly sword taught in the fight books of Johannes Liechtenauer and Fiore dei Liberi.
A long grip for two hands, used against plate armour with half-swording thrusts as well as cuts.
Also at Everest Forge: Double Fuller Medieval Longsword, Bastard Sword
Basel dagger · c. 1300-1500
A short sword or long dagger with an I-shaped hilt, named after the city of Basel and worn by soldiers and townsmen.
Hans Holbein's Dance of Death drawings show it as a civilian status weapon.
Langes / Grosses Messer · c. 1350-1550
The 'knife' sword of German commoners: a single-edged blade with a knife-style hilt and a nagel spike to guard the hand.
It let townsmen carry a sword where only knives were allowed. The two-handed Grosses Messer was a war weapon.
Also at Everest Forge: Grosses Messer, Shell Nagel, Long Messer, Fullered
Claidheamh mòr · c. 1400-1700
The great two-handed sword of the Highlands, with forward-sloping quillons ending in quatrefoils.
In the 18th century the name also passed to the basket-hilted broadsword.
'Five fingers' · c. 1460-1550
A civilian short sword named for its blade, five fingers wide at the hilt, often etched and gilded.
Worn horizontally at the back of the belt by Italian gentlemen.
Doppelhänder · c. 1500-1650
The huge two-handed sword of the Landsknechts, used to break pike blocks; wavy flamberge blades were a showpiece variant.
A leather-wrapped ricasso and parrying hooks let the soldier choke up on the blade.
Also at Everest Forge: Flamberge, Downturned Cross
Spada da lato · c. 1500-1650
The Renaissance cut-and-thrust sword with a complex hilt of rings and bars, worn at the side with civilian dress.
The link between the medieval arming sword and the rapier.
Degen / espada ropera · c. 1550-1700
The long, slender thrusting sword of the duellist, often used with a parrying dagger in the off hand.
Swept and cup hilts protected the hand in fencing systems such as Spanish Destreza.
Also at Everest Forge: German Degen Sword, Parrying Dagger, Main Gauche
Saber / cavalry sword · c. 1600-1918 (ceremonial today)
The curved cavalry sword that spread west from the Hungarian hussars, up to famous patterns such as the British 1796 light cavalry sabre.
Still carried by officers on parade; sport sabre fencing descends from it.
Also at Everest Forge: Hungarian Saber, Swiss Sabre, Side Ring Guard
Naval hanger · c. 1650-1940
The short, heavy sailor's sabre, used for boarding actions and cutting rope; the pirate's sword of popular legend.
Navies kept it in service into the 20th century.
Also at Everest Forge: Pirate Cutlass Machete, Bushwhacker Cutlass
Cossack sword · c. 1700-today (ceremonial)
The guardless, slightly curved sword of the Caucasus, adopted by Cossacks and the Russian army (pattern 1881).
Worn edge-up in its scabbard for a fast draw-and-cut.
Qama · c. 1700-1920 (older roots)
The straight double-edged short sword of the Caucasus, worn with the shashka by Circassian and Cossack horsemen.
Blades often have offset fullers on each face.
Curved blades rule this region. The Turkic kilij and Persian shamshir shaped the sabre, the Indian talwar and khanda carried Rajput and Mughal pride, and in the Himalaya the forward-curved kukri/khukuri and kora became the national blades of Nepal.
11 sword types · Explore Middle Eastern and Indian swords
Dhu al-Fiqar · Legend from the 7th century
The legendary sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib, shown in later art with a split, forked tip.
The forked image is a symbol on banners and amulets rather than a battlefield pattern; modern pieces are artistic interpretations.
Turkish sabre · c. 1300-1900
The Ottoman sabre, recognisable by its yelman: a widened, sometimes double-edged last third that adds force to the cut.
Its design influenced the Polish and Hungarian sabres and the Mameluke sword.
Also at Everest Forge: Kilij Sword, Ottoman Saber, Kilij Sword
Indian broadsword · c. 1300-1850 (older roots)
The straight, broad Indian sword with a spatulate tip and a basket hilt with a spike, shown in medieval temple sculpture.
The khanda is also a Sikh emblem of divine power.
Related at Everest Forge: Nepalese swords & talwars
Persian scimitar · c. 1500-1900
The slender, deeply curved Persian sword made for drawing cuts from horseback, often forged from wootz steel.
Its Persian name means 'lion's claw'.
Also at Everest Forge: Custom Shamshir
Western name for eastern sabres · c. 1500-1900
The European word for the curved swords of the Middle East and North Africa: the shamshir, kilij, talwar and nimcha.
Use it as a family name rather than a single pattern.
Also at Everest Forge: Arabian Scimitar, Custom Scimitar
Tulwar · c. 1500-1900
The classic curved sword of the Indian subcontinent, with a disc pommel that locks the hand in place for a draw cut.
Carried from the Mughal court to Nepal; the same hilt appears on some early kukri/khukuri.
Also at Everest Forge: Talwar, Indo-Nepalese Sabre, Brass Hilt Talwar
'Foreigner' sword · c. 1600-1800
A long straight sword built on imported European blades and fitted with an Indian basket hilt; favoured by the Marathas.
Its name means 'foreigner', after the European blades.
Khukuri, khukri · 1600s-today
Nepal's national blade: forward-curved, with the notch (kaudi) near the hilt. Carried by Gurkha soldiers for over two centuries.
The earliest khukuri in Nepal's National Museum is attributed to the 1500s, though its date is disputed. Long, narrow sirupate patterns reach sword length.
Also at Everest Forge: All kukri/khukuri, Military kukri/khukuri timeline
Khora · Since at least 1674
Nepal's war sword: forward-curved and widening to a broad, notched tip. Two have been in the Royal Danish Kunstkammer since 1674.
Used alongside the khukuri in the Gorkhali unification wars; today a ceremonial and temple blade.
Also at Everest Forge: Traditional Nepali Kora, Little Kora
Salawar yataghan · c. 1700-1900
The Afghan straight sword with a thick T-section spine tapering to a sharp point, carried on the North-West Frontier.
Grips of horn or bone without a guard; long examples are true swords.
Also at Everest Forge: Khyber Sword
Sacrificial sword · Traditional, 18th century and earlier
The heavy, forward-weighted ritual sword of Nepal and eastern India, used in Dashain and Durga Puja sacrifices.
Often marked with an 'eye' near the tip; some are fitted with a D-guard.
Also at Everest Forge: Ram Dao, Ganesh D-Guard, Largest Ram Dao
China gave the world the straight jian, "the gentleman of weapons", and the single-edged dao, "the general of weapons". Japan refined the curved, differentially hardened blade into the tachi, katana and wakizashi carried by the samurai.
7 sword types · Explore Chinese and Japanese swords
Chinese straight sword · c. 600 BC-today
China's double-edged straight sword, 'the gentleman of weapons'. The bronze Sword of Goujian (5th century BC) still shines today.
Still taught in tai chi and Wudang martial arts.
Also at Everest Forge: Chinese Jian 'Wudang'
Chinese sabre · c. 100 BC-today
The single-edged Chinese sabre, 'the general of weapons', from the Han ring-pommel dao to the Ming and Qing willow-leaf dao.
The everyday sword of Chinese soldiers for two thousand years.
Also at Everest Forge: Chinese Dao Saber, Zhibeidao Dao Sword
Japanese long sword · c. 900-1600
The deeply curved early Japanese sword, slung edge-down from the belt by mounted samurai.
The ancestor of the katana; many old tachi were later shortened into katana.
Related at Everest Forge: Samurai katana
Ōdachi · c. 1300-1600
An oversized field sword, often carried on the back or by an attendant; huge examples were made as shrine offerings.
Used against cavalry in the wars of the 14th and 15th centuries.
Uchigatana · c. 1400-today
The curved, differentially hardened sword of the samurai, worn edge-up through the sash for a quick draw.
The hamon line shows where the clay-coated edge was hardened.
Also at Everest Forge: Samurai-Inspired Katana
Companion sword · c. 1500-1876
The short companion to the katana; the pair formed the daishō, the badge of the samurai class until the 1876 sword ban.
Worn indoors when the katana was left at the door.
Hudiedao · c. 1800-today
Short, broad single-edged swords from southern China, used in pairs and taught in Wing Chun.
A small D-guard protects the knuckles; both swords sheath together in one scabbard.
The wavy kris of Java, the kampilan and barong of the southern Philippines, the cross-hilted takoba and kaskara of the Sahara and Sudan, and the striking prestige blades of the Congo basin: swords of ritual, rank and heritage as much as war.
13 sword types · Explore Southeast Asian and African swords
Keris · c. 1300s-today
The asymmetric, often wavy blade of Java and the Malay world, forged with pamor pattern-welding. UNESCO recognised the Indonesian kris in 2005.
The number of waves (luk) is usually odd; long Moro kris of the Philippines are full swords.
Also at Everest Forge: Kris Flame Sword
Moro sword · c. 1500-1900
The long, single-edged sword of the southern Philippines, widening towards the tip, with a forked crocodile-jaw pommel.
Often has a small spike on the back near the tip.
Tuareg sword · Centuries old-today
The straight, cross-hilted sword of the Tuareg, still carried by men of the Sahara as part of formal dress.
Many old blades were imported from Europe and re-hilted.
Sudanese sword · c. 1500-1920
The long cross-hilted sword of Sudan, carried by the Mahdist forces against the British in the 1880s and 1890s.
Worn in a leather scabbard with a broad, flared tip.
Ethiopian sword · c. 1600-1900
The sickle-shaped sword of Ethiopia, said to reach around an opponent's shield.
A plain hilt of horn and a strongly curved, double-edged blade.
Related at Everest Forge: Khopesh swords (sickle family)
Working sword · Traditional-today
The everyday jungle sword of the Malay world, used to clear forest and, when needed, as a weapon.
Thick spine, forward weight and a short handle.
Also at Everest Forge: Golok Parang Machete
Kabyle sword · c. 1700-1900
The long, very slender Kabyle sword of Algeria, with engraved brass decoration and a beaked pommel.
Built for thrusting; a striking silhouette with no guard.
North African sabre · c. 1700-1900
The curved sword of Morocco and the Arabian coast, with drooping quillons and a knuckle bow.
Many used European blades fitted with local hilts.
Barung · c. 1800-1950
The leaf-shaped chopping sword of the Tausug people of Sulu, famed in the Moro wars.
Its weight sits forward of centre; the hilt often has a cockatoo-head pommel.
Also at Everest Forge: Regal Barong Machete
Maasai sword · c. 1800-today
The leaf-bladed short sword of the Maasai, worn in a red leather sheath.
Still part of traditional dress and herding life.
Congo chopping sword · c. 1800-1950
A broad, forward-weighted chopping sword of the central Congo basin.
A working and fighting blade, often with fullers and incised lines.
Also at Everest Forge: Konda Machete-Sword
Executioner's sword · c. 1800-1950
The sickle-headed prestige sword of the Ngombe and their neighbours, carried as a sign of rank.
Its curved head and pierced openwork make it one of Africa's most recognisable blades.
Also at Everest Forge: Double Ngulu Sickle Blade
Central African leaf sword · c. 1800-1950
Leaf-shaped swords of the Zande and Boa peoples of the Uele region, often with a fluted ridge.
Iron work of high prestige, traded and given as gifts.
Also at Everest Forge: Boa Zande Warrior Sword
No sword matches these filters.
Firearms ended the sword's rule on the battlefield, but not its place in culture. Officers still carry sabres on parade, the kukri/khukuri is still issued to Gurkha soldiers, the kris and the takoba are still worn with formal dress, and martial arts from kendo and tai chi to historical European fencing keep the old techniques alive.
For collectors and re-enactors, a well-made replica keeps that history in the hand. At Everest Forge every blade is hand-forged in Nepal from high-carbon steel, and each replica is marked as an Everest Forge reproduction, never with false period stamps.
Military kukri/khukuri timeline: 43 patternsFree research paper on the military kukri/khukuri (PDF)Swords by cultureKukri/khukuri terminology guide
Swords are usually grouped by blade shape and by culture. Straight double-edged swords include the xiphos, gladius, Viking sword, longsword, jian and takoba. Curved single-edged swords include the sabre, shamshir, kilij, talwar, dao and katana. Forward-curved blades such as the kopis, falcata and kukri/khukuri put their weight near the tip, and sickle swords such as the khopesh and shotel curve the other way. This guide covers 57 types across five regions.
The oldest known swords are the arsenical-copper blades found at Arslantepe in eastern Turkey, dated to about 3300 BC. Bronze swords spread across Europe, the Near East and China over the following two thousand years, and iron took over from around 1200 BC.
A straight sword is good at thrusting and at cutting with either edge, which suits fighting on foot with a shield. A curved sword concentrates the edge into a slicing draw cut, which is why cavalry across Asia and Europe adopted sabres such as the kilij, shamshir and talwar.
The standard kukri/khukuri is a large knife with a 25-40 cm blade, but long, narrow patterns such as the sirupate reach sword length, and Nepal's kora is a true sword. Our military kukri/khukuri timeline covers 43 military patterns in detail.
Yes. Every sword in this guide can be forged to order in Nepal from your drawings, photos or a museum reference. Send the length, the steel and the hilt you want through our custom forge page.
Send us a photo, a museum link or a drawing. We forge any sword in this guide to order in Nepal, to your length, steel and hilt.
Request a custom forgeSee custom forged swordsWritten and researched by Deepak Sunar, Everest Forge. Dates are approximate and follow museum collections and standard reference works; where a type was used over a long period, the range shows its main period of use.
