[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Alex,

Look at it this way, ‘who is the most important man, the one who just ordered a sword, or the sword maker?’ As the man who is going to pay for the sword thinks he is, it will most likely be his name on the blade – unless the sword maker is very famous, as it will then give prestige, to have his name on the blade as well. It did however sometimes so happen, that the sword maker forgot his own name when the decoration was to be made, and only remembered a name of a sword maker more famous than himself. Sheer forgetfulness, but a problem for the collector, one or two hundred years later.

Some, if not most, of the inscriptions are religious verses, and last but not least, a lot of the inscriptions were made later than the blade – some of them much later.

To be able to look through this smoke screen, you need knowledge enough to tell how old the blade is, and to know how the decorations changed through times, when you know this, you can tell if the decoration was made at the same time as the blade – maybe. Sometimes the decorations were made in a style older than the one used at the time of making. Good luck.
Quite a few of the stamps you see on blades are also religious verses, and not necessarily owners or makers mark.

Nice pictures you show, thank you.