Thornreave Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Grosse Messer | 32 Inch Overall with 25.5 Inch Blade | Medieval Collector Gift | RK-1294

The grosse messer is one of the odder inventions in European arms. Messer simply means knife, and that is legally what it was. In parts of the German speaking world guild rules and town ordinances restricted who could carry a sword, so cutlers built something that was a sword in every practical sense but was constructed like a knife, with slab scales pinned through a flat tang instead of a grip fitted over a peened one. Whether the loophole story is the whole truth is still argued over, but the construction is not in doubt, and Johannes Leckuchner wrote an entire fencing manual for the weapon in 1482, longer than most treatises on the longsword.

This grosse 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 and polished bright, with a straight back running out to a long clipped point. The hilt is a straight steel cross with a rosewood grip and a fitted pommel cap. It ships in a brown leather sheath with a pale horn coloured chape, and shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

What makes a messer a messer

Three things define the type, and this blade has all of them. First, a single edge with a straight or almost straight spine, so the sword is stiff in the plane it needs to be stiff in and thin where it needs to cut. Second, a clipped point, where the back drops away over the last several inches to meet the edge, giving a tip that can thrust without losing the broad cutting section behind it. Third, knife construction, with the tang carried as a flat plate between two grip scales rather than a narrow rod threaded through a block of wood.

That last point is what makes a messer feel different from a sword of similar size. The grip is broader front to back and flatter side to side, which makes edge alignment obvious. You do not have to think about which way the edge is facing, because your palm already knows. Leckuchner built a whole system on that certainty, full of hooking, winding and short edge cuts that depend on knowing exactly where the edge is at all times.

Why high carbon steel and not stainless

Two steels are used at this forge and no others. Plain blades like this one are 1095 high carbon steel. Damascus blades are 1095 and 15N20 forge welded together.

1095 is about as simple as a blade steel gets, roughly one percent carbon with very little else, and that is why it has been the workhorse of American cutlery for a hundred years. It hardens deep, it tempers to a predictable 54 to 58 HRC, and a stone brings the edge back in minutes. Stainless steels achieve corrosion resistance with a heavy chromium load, and chromium forms hard carbides that coarsen the edge and make long blades brittle. A thirty two inch stainless sword is a decoration. The honest cost of 1095 is that it will rust if it is left damp, and a wipe of oil solves it. Our page on Damascus versus stainless sets out the comparison in full.

The rosewood grip

Rosewood was chosen because it is dense, oily and close grained. It does not go slippery in a warm hand, it takes knocks without denting, and its deep red brown colour with darker figure only improves with handling. The scales are shaped and hand fitted to the tang, and the steel cross and pommel cap are set tight against them.

Rosewood asks for very little, but it is still wood. Keep it out of strong sunlight and away from dry heat, and rub in a little oil once or twice a year so the grain does not shrink away from the steel. See our guide to wooden handle care.

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. The wide flat above the edge on a messer is one of the best surfaces we cut on, and there are examples on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Wipe the blade after handling, because skin oils are mildly acidic and will mark a bright polish within a week or two. A light gun oil or blade oil is enough. For long term storage keep the messer out of its sheath, since leather holds moisture. Rust removal and storage advice is on our steel care page.

A straight backed single edged blade is the easiest thing in the world to sharpen. Lay the bevel flat on a medium stone, work the full length in slow passes, move to a fine stone and strop the burr away on the back. Take care at the clipped point, where the geometry changes, and lift the handle slightly to follow it. Full method on sharpening with a whetstone.

Forged in Memphis

This messer is forged from bar stock, ground, heat treated, polished and hilted in our shop in Memphis, Tennessee, and the sheath is cut and stitched in the same building. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing arrives finished with our name added. Stock pieces ship in two to three business days. Made to order or engraved pieces take two to three weeks, and you will get a real date rather than an optimistic one.

A note on handmade variation

This grosse messer is hand forged. It is not machine made and it is not bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The rosewood grain, the depth of colour in the leather, the exact length of the clip at the point and the way the polish holds light all vary, because each one is worked by hand from natural materials. The dimensions, the steel and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Does the messer come sharp?

Yes, it ships with a working edge. If you need it blunt for stage use or for display where the public can reach it, tell us in the order notes and we will grind it back first.

Can it be used for cutting practice?

Yes. The tang runs the full length of the grip and is pinned through, and the blade is hardened through, so mats, bottles and light green wood are all within its range. It is not built for steel to steel sparring.

Can I have runes cut into the blade?

Yes. Use the rune converter above for Elder Futhark, or choose your own Viking pattern in the engraving option, and tell us whether it belongs on the blade or the grip.

Will mine look exactly like the pictures?

Shape, size and steel will match. Rosewood grain and leather tone will be slightly different on every piece, because both are natural materials cut and finished by hand.

What is the difference between a messer and a falchion?

A messer is narrower, more parallel sided and built like a large knife, with scales pinned through a flat tang. A falchion widens toward the point and uses sword construction, with a grip fitted over a narrow tang and peened at the pommel. The messer feels quicker, the falchion hits harder.

How long does shipping take?

Free within the United States, and stock pieces normally arrive five to seven business days after dispatch. Engraving adds two to three weeks before the parcel goes out.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 high carbon steel grosse messer, 32 inches overall
• One brown leather sheath with pale chape
• 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 rest of the messers, the broad falchions, the whole sword range and the Damascus swords, or read the guides.