News - Update on Sword Find in Oppland

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[@2mirandir]

The sword dimensions for you who don't read norwegian: Weight: 1203 grams Length (Total): 92.8 cm Width (front hilt): 7.5 cm Blade (Length): 79,4 cm Blade (Largest width): 6.2 cm Hilt (Length): 13.4 cm Grip (length): 10.1 cm Hilt thickness (front hilt): 1,65 cm Blade thickness: 0.45 cm Balance point (From the backend): 38,5 cm.

[@grayblackhelm6468]

Johan Karlsson Many thanks.

[@hschan5976]

Point of balance at 38.5 cm from the back end is still pretty far forward. Assuming the whole hilt assembly is about 13cm long that makes the point of balance of the sword 25cm above the crossguard. At 1.2kg that's one hefty axe of a sword!

[@kael180]

I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to swords but I'm going to do my best to translate the measurements: Weight: 1203 gram Length (total) : 92,8cm Width (Cross-guard): 7,5cm Blade (length): 79,4cm Blade, at it's widest: 6,2cm hilt (length): 13,4cm Grip (length): 10,1cm Hilt, thickens (Cross-guard): 1,65cm Blade, thickness (at grip & end of fuller/sword point): 0,45cm Point of balance (from the back): 38,5 cm

[@Viktor_Johansson]

He added the most interesting bit of the measurements: Blade, thickness (at grip & end of fuller/sword point): 0,45cm

[@andnor]

Showed this to a friend who makes "viking era" swords, he is going to make one at the end of the year :D

[@vanuaturly]

I expect that they will find the sword is wrought iron, not steel. Especially with how early the sword is. Wrought iron has enough silica in it to prevent rust.

[@Viktor_Johansson]

Thanks for this. The article had beautiful pictures. I wanna try and recreate this sword with piled steel. One thing that struck me is that it seems to have no distal taper at all, it even swells a bit before the tip right where the fuller ends.

[@The1Helleri]

You should send the museum information about determining blade agility. Since it's non destructive testing. If they were to do it, we would have a better idea of weight distribution and thus how it would handle.

[@Ostenjager]

If the crossguard is the oldest part of the sword, and apparently originally built for a different sword, I wonder if the crossguard was salvaged from an older sword with a lot of sentimental value, and built onto a newer blade.

[@HS-su3cf]

Average rainfall/snow in Lesja is 410 mm a year, which is rather low for Norway.

[@johnurbanek1027]

The gap in the guard they're talking about is shown in the X-ray photo. The one that almost looks black and white. I noticed that before you even got to that part of the article. I also was looking at the gap between the pommel and tang, it correlates with the hasty looking photo of the peen you showed at the end. I would say the pommel was a quick and dirty type of repair judging by how the crack is starting by the peen, maybe laminating different pieces in a way to spend less time making the slot for the tang. It's also seems to have a lot rougher finish than anything else, maybe little more than just smoothing with a hammer. I don't understand why they would reuse the cross guard without making it all fit together properly. Maybe the void was filled with lead solder or something?

[@rileyferrell4617]

The pommel of this sword matches the same sword found in the grave with the female that has sparked so much debate about being a warrior or not. You never see many viking swords with this pommel compared to the others

[@garethlamb6923]

No dislikes. This is why I like this community.

[@tangsoodoarnis4life]

That is one hell of a find and I am sure another one will never come along; perhaps not in this life time.

[@orsettomorbido]

So cool!

[@IPostSwords]

Absolutely agree on the measurements being the most interesting photo. Someone with better financial sensibilities should contract a reproduction of this. I wish they told us the thickness at a few points though - although they did give us 4.5mm of thickness at the base.

[@grayblackhelm6468]

IPostSwords Seeing the photos, the sword may terminate at something like 3-4 mm thick at the tip.

[@IPostSwords]

That's interesting. I wonder how it handles

[@j.g.elmslie9901]

wouldnt be too difficult to travel to Oslo and get more data from it. one detail not many people have noticed is that the fuller is slightly thicker at the centreline of the blade - its a scraped or planed fuller, not a simple forged or ground one.

[@Viktor_Johansson]

They wrote that it was the same measurement at the base of the guard and at the end of the fuller near the tip. It has no distal taper at all. You can see it in the photos as well.

[@an_otherwanderer]

That sword must have belonged to Heimdall and was left there when his fight with Loki was over.

[@brasstard7.627]

Just because it's a thousand years old doesn't mean it was lost that long ago

[@TacDyne]

Still sharp. Excalibur confirmed! :)

[@richstone2627]

It's The Viking Age not era. The waves in the blade are what you get when you forge a sword. It's from the hammer

[@Theduckwebcomics]

If the water is quite pure up there it won't cause too much rust anyway.

[@numbers9to0]

Oh you own one of those 80ies/90es computer desks, that are build without space for a mouse. :)

[@steffenp51]

Just thinking, Peter Johnsson (the swedish sword reasercher) may be interested, but then again, he probably alredy have an eye on this already.. Abot a remake i mean..

[@squatch00]

Would it be possible to clean off the rust and get this sword somewhat back to how it would have looked in the 9th or 10th century?

[@Zickzag]

Very intresting

[@taylor_green_9]

Loklar You found out what happened to the sword's owner! Eaten by a dragon. Should've guessed it myself

[@raphaello5898]

One of the reasons why the sword is in such a good condition is because the climate of Norway is cold and dry.

[@badpossum440]

The edge of that blade is too perfect, there should be more corrosion on the thin edges.

[@lloydbautista2055]

They keep saying iron, but wouldn't a sword from this period have been made of steel?

[@grayblackhelm6468]

Sounds like I should move to the north. As a Norse Pagan I probably should 🤣

[@nathanc939]

Give me this sword, I need to go to battle!

[@Ingeb91]

Translation of the norwegian words from top to bottom: Weight, Length, Width most forward hilt, Blade length, Blade maximum width, Hilt length, Grip length, Hilt thickness most forward, Blade thickness by hilt & by edge of tip, Point of balance from the back end. Let me know if you need anything else translated from norwegian. This is childs play translating, but the guys writing is terrible=)

[@benedictdelacruz2535]

time forged & conditions.

[@lpapay1165]

Actually, if you look at the xray image there is the connection detail right there . Detail highlight drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwjyt99PpETBb0VWQzJCejhaQWs/view?usp=sharing EDIT: also under side /top pictures and closeups there is centimeter-graded ruler.

[@vmfjru47]

Something smells fishy about this find....

[@TacDyne]

Like the uniform patina?

[@edwardkiel3496]

Looks more like something that's been in a shed for 200 years, than something that's been outside for 1000 years. But if it's really viking age, then it's an incredible find.

[@Imakebootysclap]

Sounds like a Viking style sword made by a modern smith and planted there to troll all of us.

[@norseatheart1086]

Coolnicknameguy Nope