Cold Steel - Viking Sword

The typical Viking sword of the 9th and 10th centuries featured a long wide blade with a broad central fuller and two keen edges. The preferred stroke with this ferocious weapon was a determined slash or mighty chopping blow. A simple but functional guard with forward curving quillons was often utilized and combined with an equally utilitarian wooden handle that was covered with leather, bone, or even cast in brass. What really made the Viking Sword so distinctively recognizable from its contemporaries was