Greetings!
Long-time lurker, just registered.

I was reading the book Kaupang in Skiringssal (a great summary of 100 years of archeology in the area dominated by the later Yngling kings) in which they list artifacts from individual grave finds.
One thing listed from several graves is an "iron sword beater". Unfortunately they do not illustrate this object.
Does anyone have a picture or know what the heck this is or what it actually did?

I can speculate that it was either for:
1: Work-hardening an unquenched edge.
2: Re-aligning the steel around a dent or nick to minimize the removal of material through honing.
3: No idea.
Any info would be helpful.

Thanks!

a sword beater is something that isn't what you'd expect,its a weaving tool, sometimes actually made from an old sword(as some have been found pattern welded) there are pin beaters and other typestoo but generally look like the thing theyre described as. :)

When an artifact is dug up, usually the safe assumption is "3. No idea", unless there's some sort of label on it.
Most of the time, it's informed speculation. If we're lucky, we can look at where it was found, and which other items were nearby. This, more than anything else, offers the best clues.

Ah, so it's another name for a weaving sword.
I've heard of them. Calling it a sword beater made me think it was some part of the sword maintenance kit.
Thanks for the clarification KJ!!

Of course you're right Douglas. The artifacts don't speak so clearly to us.
But sometimes one has literary references, and the whole idea of experimental archeology is to duplicate an item, use it in various ways and see if you can create wear patterns which match that on the originals.
Of course this, like our reconstructions of extinct Western martial arts amounts at best to educated guesswork.
Thanks for your thoughtful response!

:D I'm lost and have no ideea what it is, can it be an Rangel?
there are pics of them in the book "De Norske vikinge sverd"