Review: Viking sword by Ronin - Tough and affordable

*** Specifications ***

Overall length: 91 cm / 36 in
Blade length: 75.5 cm / 29.72 in
Grip length: 11 cm / 4.33 in
Blade thickness: 6 mm, with a slight distal taper to 4.75 mm near the tip.
Weight: 1163 g / 2.5 lbs

Hilt assembly: Peened
Steel: Unknown, but probably 1075 spring steel?

Price: $250

*** Pros / Cons ***

+ Solid construction, strong hilt assembly
+ Good weight and balance
+ Very good edge geometry, cuts well
+ Affordable price, especially for the quality

- Unpleasant hand shock when chopping, due to vibration in the grip
- Relatively soft steel, can bend (but increased toughness)
- Sticky residue in the scabbard

*** Verdict ***

So far I haven't seen too many budget priced ($200-300) Viking era sword reproductions on the market that I'm comfortable recommending. But this is definitely one of them. It's well made, handles nicely, and can stand up to abuse.

Although this sword is not designed with historical accuracy in mind actually doesn't seem too far off from something like a Peterson type K, and the dimensions are within an appropriate range for the Viking era.

Overall quite a decent sword, well worth the money.

The manufacturer:

Where to find it:

Music:
"Skall's Roar" by Fenrir

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[mattmanbrownbro]

Dude, you censored a curse word with a sword drop sound. That's just badass.

[svartfrasr]

Wait wait wait... you're telling me that thing's pommel was supposed to be five pommels...? Five chances to end him rightly? Approved.

[Epicmonk]

Stabbard: a scabbard with a pointy end

[scholagladiatoria]

Interesting comments on the handshake grip and grip length - I think I'll make another video about this. I try to avoid grips as long as 11cm personally (for this type of sword) as I think it leads to lazy technique - or rather trying to use this era of sword like a later arming sword. And I truly believe that these hilts are designed that way for specific reasons, not just to hurt our hands :-)

[rotellam]

Thanks for reviewing these more affordable swords along with the high end ones. I've begun collecting a bit myself and I don't have a fortune to sink into it so it's nice to get some recommendations from you on more economical weapons.

[NohorseRU]

I mean, if you sharpen that reinforcing metal tip on the end of the scabbard, you could potentially make it into a stabbard.

[Mariuspersem]

Viking Sword
By Ronin
Does not compute

[TheCrusader]

Hi Skall! I think that these stuff on the tip of the blade, when you draw it out of the scabbard, is wax! I have that stuff on 2 of my matter, its only i put a hanger with pipe cleaner on it in the scabbard....works good....greets from germany!

[poseenm]

Petiton to rename scabbards to stabbards.

[John-lrix]

And as always thanks to you for another great video.

(I'm always impressed by how honest you are about things that have been sent to you)

[McMeatBag]

This looks like the best value in swords I've ever seen. The quality seems way above that price point.

[CoffeeSnep]

6:46 One of the cleanest cuts I've ever seen.

[cbrrrturbo]

neighbor.. ( hunny that guys out their again swinging swords, get the children inside! ) lol

[MouseAndShiraz]

Sounds like a very decent starter sword for someone who was looking at getting into functional as opposed to decorative swords.

Simple design, good and sturdy so it'll survive mistakes, has the appropriate balance, and the blade is easy to maintain. For 250 bucks, it's not even a massive commitment.

[pbsoccer]

When I "sheath and unsheathe" I get white residue too XD

[tspmoto]

Your facial expressions while cutting is the key to success! I found Cutting while sticking my tongue out slightly to the left gives me the best results

[chasewilbur]

The residue on the blade after sheathing is probably a storage wax to keep the blade from rusting. They wax it and put it immediately in the scabbard and it will stay there until you draw and sheath it enough to even it out or remove it.

[clothar]

Personally I've always thought with these kind of swords the handle length on high quality ones would have been customized to their specific user. This is because they are intended to fit tightly within a single hand.

[TheSubso]

I saw a comment under your Video saying that you should use another term for viking etc. and after that I started this video and hear you saying that.

Its nice to see that you take the comments under videos into account and that you do a good job explaining everything and why you just name it viking sword.

Keep that good work going :)

[kizarze]

Awesome review, as usual.

The "residue" on the end of your blade from the inside of the scabbard is wax. Wax is often used on wood to help preserve it, and I speculate that for the purpose of a scabbard, is probably better than a modern liquid sealer or oil.