Palebriar Hand Forged High Carbon Steel Messer Sword | 31 Inch Overall with 24.5 Inch Blade | Medieval Collector Gift | RK-1295

Long knives were the everyday sidearm of late medieval Europe. A townsman who would never own a knightly sword still carried a messer, and the type turns up in city inventories, guild records and court cases far more often than any glamorous weapon. That is why so many of them are plainly finished, and why the ones with pale bone or antler grips stand out. Bone was not a luxury material. It was a byproduct of the butcher’s yard, cheap, hard wearing and easy for a cutler to work, and it produces a grip that whitens and polishes with use rather than darkening. A messer with a bone toned hilt looks exactly like what it was, a serious tool made from what was to hand.

This messer is forged and finished by hand in Memphis, Tennessee. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel taken to 54 to 58 HRC and polished bright, straight backed with a long clipped point. The hilt is a steel cross with slightly drooping quillons, a cream bone toned grip and a pale pommel cap. It ships in a brown leather sheath with a matching pale chape, and shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

Why the quillons droop

Look closely at the cross on this messer and you will see the arms are not dead straight. They angle very slightly forward, toward the point. That is a real feature of surviving German messers and it does two jobs. It closes the gap between guard and hand, so a blade sliding down your opponent’s edge is turned away from your fingers rather than into them. And it puts the ends of the cross where they can be used, hooking a wrist or a weapon in the binding techniques that fill Leckuchner’s manual.

The other detail worth noticing is how far the guard sits from the blade shoulder. On a messer the tang is a flat plate that runs the whole length of the grip, and the cross is slotted over it and pinned. There is no shoulder to stop the guard, so the fit has to be exact. A loose cross on a messer rattles for the rest of the sword’s life, which is why we fit them tight before the scales go on rather than after.

Why high carbon steel and not stainless

Only two steels are used in this workshop. Plain blades are 1095 high carbon steel. Damascus blades are 1095 and 15N20 forge welded in alternating layers. There is no third option and no mystery alloy.

1095 is chosen because it is simple and it behaves. Around one percent carbon and almost nothing else means it hardens deeply and evenly, tempers to a reliable 54 to 58 HRC and sharpens on a plain stone rather than needing diamond plates. Stainless steel earns its corrosion resistance with a lot of chromium, and chromium carbides are hard, coarse and brittle. They stop a long blade taking a fine edge and they make it far more likely to break under a bad cut. We would rather sell you a sword that needs oiling than one that shatters. Our page on Damascus versus stainless explains why.

The bone toned grip

The grip is a pale cream, shaped to a flattened oval that sits differently in the hand from a round sword grip. That flatness is deliberate. It tells your palm where the edge is pointing without you having to look, which matters more on a single edged weapon than on anything else. The scales are fitted to the flat tang and pinned through, and the pale pommel cap closes the end.

A pale grip shows dirt more than a dark one, so wipe it down after handling with a barely damp cloth and dry it. Do not soak it and do not leave it in strong sun, which will yellow it unevenly. If the piece has a wooden liner or spacer, the advice in our wooden handle care guide applies to that as well.

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. A pale grip takes a cut and darkened rune line beautifully, and there are examples on the engraving page.

Care and sharpening

Oil the blade after handling and before it goes away for any length of time. Store it out of the sheath rather than in it, because vegetable tanned leather is slightly acidic and holds damp against steel. Light spotting comes off with oil and a cloth, heavier marks with the method on our steel care page.

Sharpening is simple on a single edged straight backed blade. Follow the existing bevel on a medium stone, refine on a fine stone, then take the burr off with light passes on the spine side. Roll the handle up slightly as you reach the clip so the point does not get rounded. See sharpening with a whetstone.

Forged in Memphis

Every stage happens in our own shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The blade is forged from bar stock, ground, heat treated, polished and hilted here, and the sheath is cut and stitched here. Nothing is drop shipped from an importer catalogue and nothing is bought in finished. If the piece is in stock it leaves in two to three business days. If it has to be made, or if you have ordered engraving, allow two to three weeks.

A note on handmade variation

This messer is hand forged, not machine made and not bulk produced, so the piece you receive will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. The tone and figure of the pale grip, the colour of the leather, the exact angle of the clipped point and the way light runs along the polish all vary, because everything is worked by hand from natural materials. Dimensions, steel and build stay the same. The character does not.

Frequently asked questions

Is the blade sharp when it arrives?

Yes, it comes with a working edge. Ask in the order notes and we will supply it blunt instead, which is what most stage and museum display buyers want.

Can I cut with it or is it for display?

It is a functional messer with a full flat tang pinned through the grip. Mats, water bottles and light green wood are fine. Steel on steel sparring is not, because that needs a blunt trainer with rolled edges.

Can I have a name engraved on it?

Yes. Use the rune converter above for Elder Futhark or pick a Viking pattern in the engraving option, and tell us whether you want it on the blade or the grip.

Will the pale grip stay this colour?

It will mellow slightly with handling, the way any light coloured hilt material does. Keeping it out of direct sunlight and wiping it down after use keeps the tone even.

How is this different from the rosewood gripped messer?

The blade geometry and steel are the same family. This one is a little shorter and lighter, has a pale bone toned grip and drooping quillons, and reads as a plainer, more workmanlike piece. The rosewood version is heavier in the hand and darker in tone.

How quickly will it arrive?

Shipping is free inside the United States and stock pieces usually land five to seven business days after dispatch. Engraved orders add two to three weeks.

What is in the box

• One hand forged 1095 high carbon steel grosse messer, 31 inches overall
• One brown leather sheath with pale chape
• Care card covering blade oiling and hilt cleaning
• Your Elder Futhark rune line or chosen pattern, if engraving was ordered
• Forged and finished in Memphis, Tennessee

Explore the range

Browse the other messers, the falchions, the full sword range and the Damascus swords, or read the guides.