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 sword. That is why so many of them are plainly finished, with a pair of wooden scales pinned to a flat tang and a plain steel cross. A messer built that way looks exactly like what it was, a serious tool made from what was to hand. If you are unsure which category you need, display or battle ready draws the line.

This messer is forged and finished by hand in the Czech Republic. 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 straight steel cross with a side nagel, dark wood grip scales held by three steel pins and a flared steel pommel cap. It ships in a brown leather sheath with a steel end fitting, and shipping inside the United States is free.

Specifications

The cross and the nagel

The cross on this messer is straight, and on its outer face it carries a nagel, the short plate that stands out from the guard to cover the back of the sword hand. It is a real feature of surviving German messers and it turns a blade sliding down toward the grip away from the fingers.

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 they are fitted 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 wooden grip

The grip is a pair of dark wood scales shaped to a flattened oval, which 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 blade than on anything else. The scales are fitted to the flat tang and held by three steel pins, and a flared steel pommel cap closes the end.

Wipe the grip with a dry cloth after handling, keep it out of long soaks and strong sun, and give the wood a light coat of oil once or twice a year. The method is in our wooden handle care guide.

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 wood scales take a crisp rune line, 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.

Made in the Czech Republic

This piece is made by hand in the Czech Republic, in a workshop that still works the old way. The steel is forged, ground, heat treated and finished by smiths who learned the trade from the people before them, and the wood, horn and leather are cut and fitted by hand rather than pressed out on a line. That is also why no two pieces come out exactly the same.

Ransack Viking is a United States company. We import these pieces ourselves, check every one when it lands and ship from our warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives, so your runes or your own design go on before it leaves for you.

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 grain of the wood 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 wood grip change colour?

It will darken a little with handling and oil, the way any wooden hilt 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 straight cross with a nagel and a plain dark wood grip, and reads as a plainer, more workmanlike piece. The rosewood version is heavier in the hand.

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 messer, 31 inches overall
• One brown leather sheath with steel end fitting
• Care card covering blade oiling and hilt cleaning
• Your Elder Futhark rune line or chosen pattern, if engraving was ordered
• Forged and finished in the Czech Republic

Explore the range

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

Other pieces in this group

Also in this group is the Thornreave messer, 32 inches overall. Sitting beside it in the catalogue is the Wolfmarch messer, 44 inches overall. Another in the same line is the Foldwarden messer, 32 inches overall.

For a different piece from the same family, look at the Runemarch falchion. Nothing here exactly right, build one to your own spec on the custom Viking sword page.

Want something you can actually fence with? The Storvekk kriegsmesser is blunt and made for it, and our HEMA messer range is worth a look before you buy.