Mossgrave Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Langes Messer | 32 Inch Overall with 25 Inch Blade | Medieval Collector Gift | RK-1296

Langes messer means long knife, and the name is not a joke about size. The German cutlers who made these weapons were knife makers by trade, not swordsmiths, and their guild registrations said so. The tang is a flat plate. The scales are pinned through it. The guard is slotted on. Every part of the construction is knife practice scaled up to sword length, and it produced a weapon that stayed in use for well over two hundred years, from the middle of the fourteenth century into the seventeenth, long after the knightly sword had become a court accessory. Johannes Leckuchner’s 1482 manual gives it more than four hundred illustrated plays, which is more attention than most swords ever received.

This langes messer is forged and finished by hand in Memphis, Tennessee. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel hardened and tempered to 54 to 58 HRC, straight backed with a long clipped point and polished bright. The hilt is a straight steel cross with a dark hardwood grip and a steel pommel cap. It ships in a brown leather sheath, and shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

Why the clipped point does so much work

The single most recognisable feature of a messer is the clip. Over the last five or six inches the straight spine drops away in a long shallow curve and meets the edge in a point. Most people read that as decoration. It is not.

Removing steel from the back of the tip takes mass out of the very end of the blade, which is the worst place to carry it. That lowers the moment of inertia and makes the messer change direction faster, which is why these blades feel lively despite being long and broad. It also produces a point that is thin enough to thrust with while leaving the belly of the edge full width for cutting. And because the clip on a messer is usually left unsharpened for most of its length, you keep a strong false edge that can be sharpened later or used to hook and press in the bind. It is a lot of function packed into one line of grinding.

Why high carbon steel and not stainless

This forge uses two steels. Plain blades are 1095 high carbon steel at 54 to 58 HRC. Damascus blades are 1095 and 15N20 forge welded and taken to 58 to 60 HRC. Nothing else.

1095 is plain, predictable and deep hardening. At sword length that predictability is everything, because the difference between a blade that flexes and returns and one that takes a set is a matter of a few points of hardness across a long piece of steel. Stainless steels solve rust by adding a great deal of chromium, and that chromium forms carbides which coarsen the edge and make long blades brittle. A carbon steel blade will rust if you ignore it, and that is a fair trade for a sword that behaves. See Damascus versus stainless for the detail.

The dark hardwood grip

The grip is dark close grained hardwood, shaped to a flattened oval and fitted directly to the flat tang with the steel cross slotted on and the pommel cap closing the end. Because the tang is a plate rather than a rod, the grip cannot twist, and because the section is flat you always know where the edge is pointing. That certainty is what makes a messer easy to learn on.

Wood moves with humidity. Keep the messer out of direct sun and away from dry heat, and put a little oil into the grip once or twice a year to stop the grain shrinking back from the steel. Our wooden handle care guide explains what to use and how much.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel or the handle. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us whether it goes on the blade or the handle. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. Have a look at the engraving page for lettering sizes and finished examples.

Care and sharpening

Wipe the blade with an oiled cloth every time you handle it, and store the messer out of the sheath if it is going away for a season. Leather holds damp against steel and will freckle a bright polish surprisingly fast. Rust removal, oils and storage are covered on our steel care page.

To sharpen, put the existing bevel flat on a medium stone and work the whole edge in slow controlled passes, then refine on a fine stone and lift the burr off with a couple of passes on the spine side. Roll the handle up gently as the edge sweeps into the clip so you keep the point crisp. Our guide to sharpening with a whetstone has photographs of the motion.

Forged in Memphis

The blade is forged, ground, hardened, tempered, polished and hilted in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee, and the sheath is cut and stitched here too. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue with a label swapped on it. In stock pieces leave in two to three business days. Made to order or engraved messers take two to three weeks, and we will give you a real date rather than a hopeful one.

A note on handmade variation

This langes messer is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so the piece that arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. Wood grain, leather tone, the precise length of the clip and the way the polish takes the light all vary, because everything here is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the steel and the build are the same every time. The character is not, and that is the point.

Frequently asked questions

Is it sharp when it arrives?

Yes, it ships with a cutting edge. If you want it blunt for stage work or an open display, leave a note on the order and we will grind it back before dispatch.

Can I throw it or spar with it?

No on both counts. A messer is not a throwing weapon, and steel to steel sparring needs a blunt trainer with rolled edges. It is built for cutting targets and for display.

Can I have runes engraved on the blade?

Yes. Use the rune converter above to convert a name or short phrase into Elder Futhark, or choose your own Viking pattern in the engraving option.

Will my messer be identical to the photograph?

The dimensions and steel will match exactly. The grain of the grip and the shade of the leather will be their own, because they are natural materials.

What is the difference between a langes messer and a kriegsmesser?

Length and grip. A langes messer is a one handed weapon of around thirty inches. A kriegsmesser is the two handed war version, longer in the blade and with a grip you can get both hands onto.

How long is delivery?

Shipping is free within the United States and stock pieces arrive five to seven business days after dispatch. Engraving adds two to three weeks.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 high carbon steel langes messer, 32 inches overall
• One brown leather sheath
• Care card with oiling, storage and sharpening notes
• Your Elder Futhark rune line or chosen pattern, if engraving was ordered
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

See the other messers, the broad falchions, the wider sword range and the Damascus swords, or read the guides.