Both the original and copy have an intricately fabricated iron inlay on the blade, and precious metal inlay on the hilt and pommel. The copper and silver herringbone inlay design used on the reproduction was taken from an early 10^th century Norwegian sword.

Both edges of the physical blade are nominally identical. However, in describing sword technique, it is useful to distinguish one edge from the other, since they are used in different ways.

Double edged swords have what is known as a long edge and a short edge (right). The long edge (also called the true edge in later English combat manuals) is the "front" of the blade, the edge in line with the knuckles. The short edge (false edge) is the "back" of the blade. Cuts with the long edge are more powerful, but the later manuals teach the benefits of short edge attacks, as is described later in the section on sword technique.

Which edge of the physical blade is long and which is short depends only on which way in the hand the sword is being held. 

The photo to the left shows a reproduction of a Viking era sword. The original on which it is based was found in east Iceland and dates from the 10^th century. The sketches to the right show some of the variations in size and shape that existed in Viking era blades and hilts.

The photo below shows five Viking era sword hilts, illustrating the variations in guards and pommels that existed during the Viking age. The hilts are generally classified using a system devised by Jan Petersen and published in 1919. Since a given style was in use only during a given period, the hilt style can be used to help date a sword.

The crossguard of the middle hilt has been pulled up to reveal the details of the shoulder, where the blade narrows to form the tang.

For example, the Petersen Type B hilt shown to the left indicates that the sword was probably made between the middle of the 8^th century and the early part of the 9^th century.

Not only did the size and shape of the hilt components vary, but also the construction details. One example of this variation is the way in which the pommel was fastened to the sword. In the early Viking period, the pommel was riveted to the upper guard, and later, the pommel attached directly to the tang. Usually, the tang was peened onto the pommel, clearly visible in the two pommels to the right. These sorts of variations can also be used to help date a sword.

Hilt components were decorated using several techniques, including scribing and wire inlays. Some historical sword hilts are shown to the left, and a modern reproduction is shown to the right, inlaid with silver and copper.

The inlay was created by cutting myriad tiny channels into the iron of the pommel, and then by fitting and hammering myriad tiny pieces of wire into the channels. The work is extremely tedious and time-consuming, but it results in a striking appearance, which can also be seen in the historical sword upon which this work was based.

More details on Viking-age hilt inlay are available here.

Stories say that sometimes fighters used their swords two-handed. But the grips of most surviving Viking age swords are quite short, with just enough room for one hand, but not for two (left). It's not clear how a sword with a grip this short could be effectively wielded with two hands.

One possibility is suggested by illustrations in later medieval combat treatises, such as Meyer's book (right) from 1570. He shows a dusack ( a one-handed practice weapon) with the second hand gripping the wrist. It seems that this kind of grip would allow more power to be delivered with the blow of a one-handed weapon like a Viking sword, but we do not know if this technique was used in the Viking age.

The grips were made with a variety of materials, ranging from simple wooden grips wrapped with leather, to elaborately decorated grips wound with wire made from precious metals, or covered with embossed plates of precious metals. The historical sword shown to the left has a modern grip which uses a wrap made from highly speculative modern materials.

Since grips generally were made from organic materials, few historical sword retain any of their original grip; the organic materials have long since rotted away (right).

In order to make a usable sword blade with the available materials in the Viking age, the smith created a composite material. He started by bundling together selected bars of different types of iron in a specific order. He used soft, low-carbon iron for flexibility, and hard, high-carbon iron for strength and edge-holding ability. He heated this bundle, welding it together into a layered bar. Then the bar was drawn out to length and twisted. Multiple twisted bars were welded together and shaped into a finished blade.

The partially worked billet on the left was used to make the pattern welded knife blade shown on the right.

The heating and twisting process created a composite, made up of different kinds of iron that together, had the necessary strength and flexibility for a sword blade.

The pattern welding process was independently invented by many other cultures in the world. The photo to the right shows a detail from an Asian pattern welded blade.

Forensic evidence suggests that blade edges received substantial damage during a fight. Nicks and burrs in the edge of a sword blade create parallel striations in the ends of the bones, as the blade severed the bone. Those striations remain visible in the skeletal remains today (left), providing clues about the condition of the sword blade that made the cut back in the Viking era.

The sagas say that swords could be damaged by striking metallic objects. In chapter 13 of Gull-Þóris saga, Þorbjörn's sword blade broke when he hit Þórir's helmet with it. Hrafn hit Gunnlaug's shield with his sword so hard that the sword broke off below the hilt, as told in chapter 11 of Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu.

The historical sword blade to the right shows clear signs of a brittle fracture. It probably wasn't a good situation for whoever was holding the sword at the time.

Vatnsdæla saga (ch. 39) says that Þórir went out to catch a horse with the bridle tied around himself. Along the way, he made an assassination attempt on Guðbrandur. The attempt failed, and Guðbrandur struck back at Þórir with his sword. The sword hit the bridle ring, and took a finger-sized notch out of the blade. The saga says the sword was resharpened and was the best of weapons. One wonders if the historical blade shown to the right might have suffered similar damage, in which the edge was damaged first, which later led to a catastrophic failure of the blade.

The stories also describe instances in which a sword blade bent during a fight. In chapter 49 of Laxdæla saga, Kjartan was ambushed as he rode up the valley past the small hill in the foreground of the photo. He was not carrying his usual sword, a gift from the king, but rather a lesser sword. Several times during the battle, Kjartan had to straighten his bent blade by standing on it.

In addition to creating a more suitable blade, the pattern welding process creates a beautiful, delicate pattern in the surface of the blade as the different types of iron come to the surface. The pattern in the surface of a reproduction blade is shown to the right.

Bladesmiths often combined several twisted bundles together in artistic arrangements. For example, bundles twisted in one direction were placed next to bundles twisted in the opposite direction, creating more elaborate patterns. One sometimes wonders how much of the twisting was done for decorative purposes and how much to control the material's properties.

The photo to the left shows a modern reproduction of a pattern welded Viking age sax (short sword). A detail of the blade is shown to the right. The difference in the patterns on two adjacent bundles is very obvious, and reflects the differing requirements of the strong backbone of the blade compared to the more flexible cutting edge.

This fine pattern welding, in both the original and in the reproduction blade, shows an extremely high level of craftsmanship and control over the pattern welding process.

Later in the Viking era, pattern welding was no longer needed because the iron making process became better controlled, resulting in the availability of better iron. Smelting operations created good, homogenous steel with the required properties for a sword blade. However, pattern welding continued to be used until near the end of the Viking age, both for decorative purposes, and as a mark of quality.

The reproduction blade shown to the right shows the appearance of a blade made out of a single type of steel. The blade has been polished with stones and abrasives using techniques and materials known to have been used during the Viking age. Since very few sword blades survive from the Viking age with even a trace of their original finish, we can only speculate on the appearance of the surface of Viking sword blades when they were new. This reproduction blade represents a very good guess.

Other decorative methods were used on the blade. Blades were sometimes inlaid with metals such as iron, silver, or gold. In some cases, the inlays were simply decorative, but in other cases, they indicated the maker's name. An 11^th century blade with an inlay is shown to the left.

Iron inlays were created by chiseling grooves into the blade to form the letters. Pattern welded iron was drawn into wire, cut to fit, and hammered into place in the grooves. Finally, the blade was heated to forge weld the wire into place.

The photo to the left shows the iron inlay in a modern reproduction blade, which has been polished to the degree that would have been typical in the Viking age. The iron inlay is very subtle in normal lighting.

The photo to the right shows another modern reproduction blade which has been slightly etched to bring out the appearance of the inlay. The pattern welding in the wire inlay is clearly visible.

Sword and photo by J. Pringle,
used with permission.

The stories also give examples of broken weapons that were repurposed and forged into other weapons. In chapter 11 of Gísla saga, Þorgrímr and Þorkell took the broken pieces of the sword Grásiða and made them into a spearhead that measured one handspan in length. Þorgrím's forge was located in the Haukadalur valley, shown to the right as it appears today.

Swords were highly prized heirlooms during the Viking era and were used for generations. The bas-relief shown to the left illustrates an episode from chapter 17 of Grettis saga. When a young man, Grettir prepared to leave Iceland to travel to Norway. His father had a low opinion of Grettir and refused to give him a sword, saying, "I don't know what useful thing you would do with weapons." His mother, who was more supportive, gave Grettir the sword given to her great-grandfather by King Haraldr of Norway.

Archaeological evidence also supports the long and continued use of sword blades. The photo to the right shows an early 11^th century crossguard fitted to a blade made during the migration era, centuries before the Viking age. This evidence suggests that sword blades several centuries old continued to be maintained and used.

A nearly identical crossguard was found at Hedeby, rough-worked with flashing from the casting process still visible.

Early in the period, scabbards were usually slung from a baldric, a belt over the shoulder, as shown to the right. Later, swords hung directly from the waist belt.

In the sagas, there are few examples of swords being slung from the shoulder. One occurs in chapter 20 of Svarfdæla saga. Sigríður gave Karl the sword Atlanaut. He drew the sword and slung the scabbard over his shoulder. Wasting no time, he ran outside and cut Grís in two with the sword.

Some swords had a strap on the hilt which could be pulled over the hand, allowing the drawn sword to hang while another weapon was being used.

In chapter 58 of Egils saga, Egill drew his sword and pulled the loop over his hand in preparation for a fight with Berg-Önundur. During the fight, when Egil's kesja (an unknown pole weapon usually translated as halberd) stuck fast in Berg-Önund's shield, Egil grabbed his sword and was able to run Berg-Önundur through before his opponent could even draw his sword.

A highly speculative interpretation is shown to the left. We don't know the nature of the loop (hönk) on the hilt of Egil's sword. Surprisingly, though, when hung from the pommel, the sword was not much in the way. After the pole weapon was dropped, a simple flick of the wrist brought the sword up into the hand.

The stories talk about the use of a friðbönd (peace strap), straps to prevent the sword from being drawn in anger in places where its use was prohibited. An interpretation of a friðbönd is shown on the reproduction scabbard to the left.

An example of the use of a friðbönd occurs in chapter 28 of Gísla saga, at the spring assembly (várþing) which took place at Þorskafjarðarþing. Booth ruins at the site remain visible today (right).