[Robin M.]

Hello all,

I am coming to you in desperation. In a few months I am getting married to a man who is very proud of his Norse/Viking heritage. I decided to honor this by getting him the traditional Viking wedding gift of a sword.

The problem? I know NOTHING about this kind of stuff.

I was hoping you all might be able to point me in the right direction and recommend a website/manufacturer. I would like to find him a traditional Viking style sword, and am looking to spend around $300.

Thanks so much for any advice/insight you can offer!

[Dan Dickinson]

Personally I would recommend (and have owned) the Albion Squire-Line Viking
http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/sq...viking.htm
which at $389 is a little above your price range. However, it is an extremely nice sword for the price....very nicely balanced.
If that is too far above your price range I've heard that the Generation 2 Witham Viking sword and the Kris Cutlery Viking aren't too bad .....and both are below the $300 mark.
Hope this helps,
Dan

Maybe Mike Arledge will chime in....I think he has owned all 3 of the swords I mentioned.
Dan



also the reviews section of this site are a good place to start.....though I don't think any of the swords I've mentioned are featured there.

http://www.myArmoury.com/reviews.html

[Craig Peters]

[Craig Peters]

By the way, while it's not a sword, an axe might be a nice gift, and it's highly appropriate for someone from Scandanavian descent. Arms and Armor makes one based upon an original from circa 1000 AD, and it's well within your price range: http://www.arms-n-armor.com/pole024.html

[Jeremy V. Krause]

Hi Robin,

I will second Craig's recommendation on the A&A Danish War Axe, I own one and it is great. If you really want to go for a sword go for the Albion Squire Line Viking- hands down. Don't mess with Generation 2 or Kris Cutlery- but that's just me.

Oh, and congratulations! I wish my wife bought me a weapon we we tied the knot!

Jeremy

[Justin King]

By all means if you can afford it, get the Albion(s) mentioned. I believe they will offer the best quality in their price range by far, the sub-300$ price range will sacrifice a good deal of the quality that can be had for just a little more with an Albion.

[Gabriel Lebec]

Hello Robin, and welcome to myArmoury.

A viking sword sounds like a remarkably considerate wedding gift. $300 is a good entry-level price for functional and at least superficially accurate swords. I would however like to point out that some compromises will be made on swords at this price; addressing your request for "traditional" deserves some context.

Actual viking swords were forged by a technique called pattern-welding. Creating a steel billet large enough for sword manufacture was difficult at the time, so metal rods were twisted together to form a complete sword. This resulted in beautiful patterns on the blade surface. However, to replicate such techniques usually means expensive custom work. For instance, Patrick Bárta makes gorgeous work using traditional materials and methods; but his typical Viking swords will cost ~$2000 USD. That is actually a very good price for such quality.

So most swords near your range will not be 100% traditional. This is not a bad thing: with modern steels and manufacturing, they can significantly outperform traditional blades. However for $300 a balance will necessarily be struck between elaborateness of the fittings (inlays, carvings, etc.), quality of the steel and heat treatment, and accuracy of form.

For these reasons the Albion Swords "Squire Line" [entry-level] Viking Sword already suggested is a good choice, despite exceeding your budget. The highest priorities with this item are historical accuracy of form and physical dimensions, and quality of manufacture and heat treatment. The aesthetics may be very simple, but are handsome and completely within the realm of historic precedent.

http://www.viking-shield.com/ sells a variety of Viking-related arms, armour, and related. On their sword page you can find some Del Tin items. These range in price and appearance but are generally closer to your budget; in addition, some of them feature attractive (if not quite custom quality) hilt decorations. The main draw with Del Tin blades is that they are made for reenactors and theaters, so tend to be overbuilt (too heavy). They may not be as stringently accurate as the Albion in form and physical specifications but I'd still recommend checking them out if your budget cannot stretch to the Albion. myArmoury has a Review of the Del Tin 2102 Viking Sword available.

Good luck on your search; I look forward to seeing what myArmoury members better-versed in Vkiking history suggest, as well as your final choice. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage,

-Gabriel L.

[Chad Arnow]

[Gabriel Lebec]

[Jared Smith]

[Stirling Matheson]

Viking shield also has Armour Class blades. While I cannot speak for their viking weapons, their basket hilts are fantastic weapons, and I would be very surprised if their other blades were in any way inferior.

[P. Cha]

Darksword makes a pretty nice looking viking sword if albions are too much.

http://www.armsofvalour.com/miva/merchant.mv?...y_Code=DSA

They don't come sharp though unless you pay extra for sharpening.

[R D Moore]

Hi, Robin

Let me extend a welcome to you as well. You've come to an invaluable resource here at myArmoury. There's a thread on gripping and using a viking sword you may find helpful: Posted: Tue 19 Oct, 2004 8:49 am Post subject: Gripping and using a Viking sword. Using the search function you could type in "gripping and viking". Contributions to it were made by some very learned and experienced people. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage!