RUNAR Petersen Type O Viking Sword - Wulflund - Arma Epona
Jan 20, 2024 12:22:27 GMT
Post by Barahir on Jan 20, 2024 12:22:27 GMT
RUNAR, Viking Sword Petersen Type O, bronze, silver wire
Made by Arma Epona for Wulflund in Czech Republic.
Introduction
A 48-year-old Canadian, I have been collecting swords since 2003. I own all sorts of weapons… ranging from movie replicas, historical replicas, fantasy weapons and a mix of all of these at the same time! I am by no means a weapons expert, nor a historian, nor a time traveler who thinks I know everything (sword snob). I'm just a fan who likes to add shiny steel items to his armory. You may also know me, my name is Philippe Goulet (yes the Viking swords addict) and I often post photos on the SBG Facebook group. I am not used to making very elaborate reviews, but I am launching here to present this magnificent sword which had piqued my curiosity for years ! In fact, it was one of my dream sword ! Here is the Runar Type O Viking Sword from Wulflund (Arma Epona Smithy, Czech Republic).
Full Disclosure
Like I said, I've been eyeing this sword for a long time. As soon as I saw photos on the web, I was won over. Unfortunately, it seemed overpriced at $1600 USD (excluding shipping to Canada and import taxes). Moreover. I have never found a review of this sword (Wulflund reviews are pretty rare!), which could have convinced me to spend this amount. It was only at the beginning of 2024, while browsing eBay, that I came across this sword. A used sword certainly, but at a lower price. After conducting my little investigation into the seller and asking several questions, I decided to bid because I think it was my only chance to get this sword at a good price. I am quite strict on the finishing of my swords so I was afraid that it would not be in good enough condition. The description spoke of ''some pretty significant scuffings on the blade but it just needs polish and will go away, its otherwise in perfect condition, I never cut with it''. Quite contradictory... a sword which has significant damage to the blade but which has never been used. Just kidding, it is the sword itself that I am going to analyze here, and not the condition in which I received it. So, this is a sword that I bought with my own money. I have no affiliation with Wulflund or Arma Epona. This is a sword retailing for 1180 euros or 1600 USD. I paid at auction 400 USD + 52$ shipping. Which makes a total of $452 USD, and with the current PayPal exchange rate, this sword cost me $628 CAD. Oh yes, also included a custom scabbard made by Wulflund too (300$ value). On this let’s go!
Manufacturer Overview
Based in the Czech Republic, Wulflund is a manufacturer of functional swords, historical knives, pewter and silver jewellery (Celtic torcs, viking, and Slavic jewellery replicas) and leather accessories for re-enactors (pouches, belts). This sword is manufactured by their chain called Arma Epona Smithy, also in the Czech Republic. I have never had a sword from this forge but apparently they make swords as good and functional as Albion.
Historical Overview
Owning several Norse type swords myself, Viking period (or whatever name the Viking Sword Police give them), I have already few similar Type O model swords made by Oleg Kozlenkov (Russia), Deepeeka (India) and Windlass Steelcrafts (India). By the way, thanks again to Mr. Yuvraj Windlass for the Loiten commission that he sent me in 2022. Petersen type O is described as the sword with the hilt that consists of the lower guard, the upper guard and the five -tongue-lobed pommel. The type O is considered to evolve from the Carolingian type K. This reproduction, which was used in the 10th century, is a particular subtype O1 is described as a Scandinavian sword with a hilt cast in bronze. The largest number of these swords - 12 up to this day - were found in Norway, other artifacts come from Denmark, Sweden, Baltic countries, Germany, France, England and Iceland. The 30 inch blade is nearly 50 mm wide with fuller. We can notably see this sword in the book “Swords of the Viking Age” by Ian Peirce on page 87. The blade is wider at the guard and narrows towards its upswept point. These swords were terrific cutting swords with a useful sharp point.
Initial Impressions
To make a long story short, this sword was sent to me by an ebay seller and not an official retailer or even Wulflund themselves. My sword made the trip from the state of Nebraska to Quebec (Canada) in two weeks. The seller had chosen a long rigid cardboard tube. But the flowers stop here. The sword was in his scabbard. No oil or grease on the blade. No fourniture of protection of any kind either. The tube was 8” too long. You can imagine and hear how many times everything wandered and waltzed around inside for two weeks, without any protection. Unworthy packaging of a sword of this value. Really. The tube was even eventually smashed and the guard exposed. Ebay is eBay.
However everything seemed OK at first sight. I knew that this sword did not come fresh from the factory. The seller originally purchased this sword from kultofathena. He received it with rust spots on the blade. To remove them, he had clumsily used low grit sandpaper, which resulted in there being significant marks on the blade. I knew that so I wasn't surprised and I had a good idea of how I was going to resolve or improve this problem. Thanks to SBG members for all the advices. For the rest of the sword, the seller promised me that there was no problem, everything was straight and solid. That's why I risked bidding. So from there everything was fine, until I hit the flat of the blade on my knee towards the balance point...
Rattling Issue
What was my surprise and above all my disappointment, that there was a rattling in the hilt. WTF? A sword of this value with rattling? I hate that. I contacted my seller. Since he hadn't used it and didn't know much about swords, I understand he hadn't noticed that. Should I believe it? In short, I couldn't change anything except evaluate my options. I figured I'd first ask Wulflund themselves for advice on how to solve this. It was from there that everything started to go a little wrong. I sent a simple message explaining that I had bought a second hand sword, that there was rattling in the hilt, which seemed to come from the pommel, that this was not normal for a sword of this price, and would like some advice on what I could do to fix this. They started to explain to me that the swords were not guaranteed because you couldn't know what the previous owner had done with them. That second hand swords were not guaranteed. That rattling could be normal because this sword is of decorative purpose (1600$ retail sword???), not made for cutting or sparing. That the materials used such as bronze and silver were only for decorative weapons. They were pretty defensive. Let's remember again that I only sent a message to ask for advice on what to do so that there is no more rattling. I have never asked for compensation of any kind. I was a little shocked by the claims about "decorative purpose" and that rattling could be normal. I told them about it. They told me the same thing again and that they couldn't do anything for me, no compensation and told to contact my seller. Me who hadn't asked for one. I also wrote to the owner of Wulflund (Mr. Krak Mrak) asking the same question. He was more courteous and told me he was going to go to Smithy to check if all the swords were like that and he was going to give me some news. In the meantime, I analyzed my options to see if I could manage on my own. Well, the rattling seemed to be concentrated at the pommel and I could almost feel it moving when I tried to move it or hit there. The pommel is made as it was historically, in two pieces, pinned and riveted. I noticed that the rivets were rough and that there were small gaps. What if I gently dripped some crazy glue there? I tried that. Well, imagine that it all worked! There is no more rattling. The glue seeped in and resolved the rattling. I discussed this with Mr Mrak and not the Wulflund representative. He told me that these rivets were strange and that they don't normally make them like that. He showed me photos. He thinks that perhaps the previous owner would have clumsily tried to modify the pommel. Who to believe here? I don't know. I personally believe that this pommel has not been modified. Wulflund seem very happy that my “problem” is resolved and that the chicken is dead in the bud, as for the future problems that this outcome could bring them.
Okay, now that the rattling is gone, the blade looks better and the fittings are polished, it's time to start reviewing this sword, as if it had arrived new from the Czech Republic. Specs, craftmanship, etc. Is this sword worth it?
Actual Statistics
Blade Length : 30’’ 1/8
Overall Length : 36’’
Handle: 6’’
Grip Length : 3’’ 7/8
Weight :2.14 lb
Edge : Semi Sharp Blade
Pommel : 2 parts peened and riveted
Width : 49mm
Distal Taper : (Thicker Side – back of the edge ) 4.5mm – 4.3mm – 4.2mm
P.O.B.: ’’ Below hilt
Blade Material : 54SiCr6 High Carbon Steel
COMPONENTS
The Hilt
The hilt is very beautiful and refined. It is NOW solid, peened (2 parts riveted and peened). Les fittings sont fait de bronze et sont gravés à la main et ont de belles courbes smooth. Quite comfortable too I must say, along with that leather grip. The leather is not too hard and there is just enough room for one hand. The lines are smooth, and the silver wire is very pretty.
The Blade
The blade is a Type X, according to the Oakeshott Typology. Like many Scandinavian sword from that period. The blade is made of 54SiCr6 High Carbon Steel. The 54SiCr6 spring steel from which the swords blades from Arma Epona are produced, have a high fatigue resistance. The chromium and silicon alloyed steel has high stability, hardness and abrasion resistance. A mold is filled with a prescribed composition of metals and these are then melted into an ingot in the steelworks. It is then rolled out to the required steel thickness. During hot rolling, the material becomes compact or denser (the crystalline structure is homogenized). Since I'm not a metallurgy expert, I can't verify if this is really what Arma Epona used in their forge. But I have no doubt they not lying about that. In order to lighten and help a blade perform, it is often said that there must be a distal taper. Distal tapering refers to a blade's cross-section thinning from its base to its tip. I measured using a caliper and indeed, there is indeed a small distal taper on this blade, a small one but its there. The thickest part of the blade (the back of the single edge) is 4.5mm at the guard, reaches 4.3mm in the middle and ends at 4.2mm near the tip. The blade of this sword comes semi sharp from the manufacturer.
There is no visible wave in the blade, no forging mark, and it is fully straight. Let us remember that this blade is not built using a milling machine (like Albion) but rather by skilled craftsmen. Also noted that I received this sword from another collector who had damaged the finish of the blade. Having received this sword with rust stains, he had tried to clean it with coarse sand paper here and there. There was scuffing in some places. I cleaned everything with sand paper 1500 grits, scotch brite pads 37448, and WD40. I still managed to get a fairly nice finish. Let's imagine that this blade arrived brand new, I didn't see any traces of grinding. The finish was on the satin side. Just perfect like that. there is a fuller (well centered and enough wide) running from guard to 27’’ from the tip. Really nice looking blade overall. Flexible, solid and not too whippy. The length of the blade is 30 1/8'', point of balance at 6.5'' below hilt and *center of percussion is 9.5'' from the tip. It’s definitely a good blade to me.
* Center of Percussion: the point where a perpendicular impact to the blade will produce rotational and translational forces that will cancel out at some other point of interest, causing the blade to pivot about that point. Usually this other point of interest is taken to be the location of the hand on the sword
The sword is solidly built. There is also a relatively good flex to this blade. I bent it in both directions and it went back to true. The tip is perfect and pointy, nothing bent. The blade is about 50mm wide at the guard. I like wide blades but it's a personal taste and not necessarily always historically correct on all Scandinavian / Vikings models. Maybe I would have preferred a 55mm blade but hey… There is no manufacturer mark on the blade. I am not against manufacturers putting their mark. I think it gives character to the sword. But sometimes this choice falls to retailers who prefer to keep the origin of their blade secret.
The Handle (Pommel/Grip)
The hilt is one of the components that attracted me the most when I first saw this sword. As I said, I really love this type sword. A beauty in its simplicity. The amalgamation of these beautiful shiny bronze fittings, silver wire and decorated leather handle.
Well, the pommel is type O, 5 lobed, riveted and peened. Which is historically correct. The guard is straight, and well centered with the blade. The quillons are the same length each side and are slightly curved downwards at their ends. Between the two parts of the pommel and between each lob, there is a beautiful decorative silver wire which is well made but which moves a little. Pretty easy to fix if it's a feature you don't like.
The grip is not rocket shaped (wider towards the guard and shorter towards the pommel) which usually gives a better grip. But at least the grip is rather flat, so the sword won't tend to roll in the hand because the grip is too round. The length of the grip is a bit under 4'', just perfect for our today’s big hands in my opinion. It is comfortable. Let's remember that several manufacturers make swords of this type with grips that are too long.
The leather is very beautiful, with inlaid designs at the ends and bound together with stitches on the reverse. Normally it wouldn't look good but I like the way they did it. It gives character to this sword. The hilt fits nicely to the blade with almost no gap. As expected from higher priced swords (?).
The Scabbard
Basically, the swords sold by Wulflund do not come with a scabbard. At least that's what I thought. Still, the previous owner had one made by Wulflund to go with the sword, for the extra sum of $300. I didn't know that was possible. In short, I inherited it and here is what I think about it. This is a very beautiful scabbard with simple but beautiful decorations. The core is rigid and wooden. The whole thing is covered in leather dyed the same color as the hilt of the sword. The sword fits well in the scabbard. It is even soft on the inside and when you stir, you can hear the blade hitting the sides. Also if you turn the sheath upside down, the sword comes out by itself. This might be a deal breaker for some but it doesn't bother me much. There is also a beautiful belt loop engraved in wood, which is held with small decorative white ropes. The ropes are not tight so the loop was loose and didn't hold much. I added 2 drops of glue and that was it! The leather is not braided on the back of the scabbard. It is rather glued and you can see in certain places that there are small gaps. It's not what meets the eye at first glance but they are there. The scabbard has no metal parts (shapes). Basically, it's good scabbard and pretty. I might have liked a belt wrapped around it but that's personal taste. For an original price of $300, this is an excellent scabbard. Remember that it is made by hand and not by machine, like all the other components of this sword.
Handling
Honestly, I did not do any cutting or strength test with this sword. Maybe small tries on trees but nothing more. I know that many collectors like to see water bottles waltzing into pieces in the air, but it is often only the sharpening of the blade that we analyze in these cases in my opinion, which can be very different from blade to blade for the same model. Also, I treat my swords like oeuvre d’art, and I don't see the point in testing for destruction. There are other ways to analyze the handling of swords than trying to destroy them. That's my personal opinion. I certainly didn't want to have any other problems to solve than rattling! hahah
Now concerning the Wulflund Viking Sword, as we saw earlier in the review, despite the relatively heavy weight (2.14 lb), I find it doesn't handle very bad at all. The way the handle is made, is very comfortable and I have enough room for my hand. The grip is very very comfortable and the fittings are smooth and soft. The blade is still sturdy and flexible, not too whippy. I don't find that the sword feels unbalanced. As I said, I also hit a few dead trees and the blade did not break or damage (as seen following the link to my youtube channel). Nevertheless, overall, I enjoy wielding this beautiful Type O Viking Sword.
Conclusions
Overall, I love this sword. Especially for the price I paid (450 USD shipped with free scabbard). It was my dream sword right ? I am not disappointed after I fixed almost all the issues. Especially with the price I paid. Im think im lucky.
If you are interested in this sword and you live in the USA, click here:
If you are interested in this sword and you live in Europe, click here:
Do I recommend this sword or this Manufacturer? Yes, without any hesitation. For the quality of the craftsmanship, the materials, the historical representation. You can even order a beautiful scabbard to go with it. A bit pricy at $1600 USD though. But the materials are quality (bronze, steel, silver) and everything is handmade by artisans and they invest a lot of time on each sword. All this has a cost. This sword does not come off an assembly line or partial machine made (as Albion). Maybe not as perfect a blade as Albion but given that it's handmade, we can't complain about what's in front of us. Would I have paid full price? If I had the means, certainly! I found this sword magnificent for several years and I had the incredible luck to have a second hand. A sword worthy of a Viking King. A plus for the Jarl or King in you who wants to go on a raid to lead your mens or integrate a shields wall as a warrior! Im very happy with this sword and it still a very nive addition to my collection. Because nothing is perfect in this world, I give a nice 4.5 stars out of 5 for the Type O Runar Viking Sword by Wulflund and Arma Epona Smithy.
To see this sword in images, its here :
To revisit my armoury, its here :