Bastard Swords

Buying a Bastard Sword: Which One to Choose and What to Check

The bastard swords above are double-edged blades with a hand-and-a-half grip. Most are hand-forged; some designs are machine made. Steel, tang construction, and fittings vary by design, so check the product page for the specification of any sword you are considering. Nearly all come with a scabbard.

Pattern-welded Damascus, our flagship steel

Damascus is not one steel. It is many steels forged into one. Ours starts as eleven separate pieces, five of them high-carbon 1095 and the rest carbon steels chosen to work with it. They are forge-welded, drawn out, folded and welded again, five folds in all, until the bar carries 352 distinct layers.

That process is the whole point, and it is where the quality of the raw material shows. Cheap Damascus is welded from whatever will bond, and while the pattern looks the part, the blade underneath does not. Ours is built from high-carbon stock chosen for how it behaves after the forge, which is why the finished blade lands exactly where a blade should sit: hard enough to take a keen edge and hold it through years of use, and springy enough to flex under load and come back straight rather than chipping or taking a permanent bend. Hardness on its own gives you a brittle blade. Flexibility on its own gives you a soft one. Folding is how smiths reconciled the two for more than a thousand years, and nobody has improved on it since.

Those layers are visible in the finished steel as a flowing pattern, and because it is forged into the blade rather than etched onto the surface, it runs the full depth of the steel. No two are alike. Looked after, a Damascus blade will outlast the person who buys it. These are pieces that get handed down.

Why high carbon matters

Carbon is what lets steel be hardened and tempered at all. A high-carbon blade, folded Damascus or single 1095, can be brought to a genuine working hardness, will hold an edge, and can be resharpened for a lifetime. Every serious blade tradition in history was built on high-carbon steel, and it is still the line between a forged blade and an ornament.

1095 high-carbon steel is the classic single steel: high carbon, clean satin finish, and the backbone of the American blade tradition. Simpler than Damascus, and outstanding in its own right. Stainless steel trades some of that carbon for corrosion resistance, so it asks the least of you in upkeep. Our sword steel guide compares all three in detail.

Beyond the steel: the King's Sword series adds decorative guards and pommels, and the clay-tempered model shows a visible hardening line along the edge. If none of them is quite right, the custom sword builder lets you set the steel, guard, grip, and pommel yourself.

Bastard sword vs. longsword vs. arming sword

The three differ in the grip. An arming sword is one-handed, with a short grip. A longsword is two-handed, with a grip long enough for both hands. The bastard sword — the hand-and-a-half sword — sits between them, with a grip that accommodates one hand or two, which is why it is often called the most versatile of the medieval swords. Historically it belongs to the late 14th through 16th centuries and the Oakeshott Type XVIII family; the name comes from the French épée bâtarde, meaning simply that it fit neither the one-handed nor the two-handed category. Our guides cover the bastard sword in depth and compare it to the claymore and the broadsword.

What to check before buying any bastard sword

A full tang, a named steel grade, and a described heat treatment. Each product page states these for the sword in question; when you are comparing elsewhere, a listing that omits them is usually a wall-hanger. Proportion matters too: on a well-made bastard sword the blade tapers and the balance point sits just in front of the guard, so it handles far more nimbly than its size suggests.

Frequently asked questions

What is a bastard sword? A double-edged European sword with a hand-and-a-half grip, bridging the one-handed arming sword and the two-handed longsword. The terms "bastard sword" and "hand-and-a-half sword" are used interchangeably.

What is the difference between 1095 and Damascus? Both are high-carbon steels that harden, hold an edge, and resharpen. 1095 is a single steel with a clean satin finish. Damascus is forged and folded from many layers, 1095 among them, which is what produces both its pattern and its balance of hardness and spring. Damascus is our flagship and our most popular choice.

How are these made? Battling Blades is a family-owned sword maker. Most blades are hand-forged to our specification in 1095 high-carbon or pattern-welded Damascus, with fittings that may include wood, leather, and brass; some designs are machine made. Where a piece is hand-made, small variations in pattern and finish are part of its character.

How do I care for one? Wipe it after handling, keep a thin coat of oil on the blade, and store it dry. Our sword care guide covers the rest.

What comes with it? Included fittings vary by design, so check the product page for what ships with a given sword. All orders are covered by our return policy. Custom builds are made to order and take longer than in-stock swords.