Very well made. more ax than sword. not peened, threaded but full tang.It is the kind of weapon that would break a sword in combat. i could not be happier. my only complaint is the ring through the hilt, cant figure out what its for, oh well. as usual the photos do not do the weapon justice. Very, very well made, cool awesome and badass. i own over 30 windlass weapons and this is in the the top five. GREAT WORK WINDLASS!