Custom Kriegsmesser By Pavel Moc
It cuts like a lightsaber and looks like a sword you would loot off of a high-level boss.
There are only a few production kriegsmessers you can buy on the market and even less custom ones. Pavel’s interpretation is a stunning looker, solidly build, and has a blade geometry that begs to be cut with.
OVERALL RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Disclaimer: This sword was paid for in full. It was not sent as a review piece.
Not a scholar? Not to worry. We made a video.
What is it?: Kriegsmessers (War Knife) are a single-edged battlefield sword that was used during the 15th and 16th centuries. Like it’s smaller counterpart, the Langes Messer (long knife), it typically featured a slab-sided hilt construction that made it stand out from the fully encased hilt designs of longswords and arming swords. These great cleaving weapons were often used by various professional soldiers but were made most famous by the Landsknecht. Kriegsmessers varied in size and shape, ranging from agile slicers to top-heavy choppers meant to deal damage to armored opponents. Historians and HEMA practitioners use the Elmslie Typology to define the many variations of messers in modern times. The messer I had commissioned from Pavel would be classified as a “4a+” blade with a custom taper. This particular model, though customized by me, was inspired by a historical find documented by Zornhau.
SPECS
Beautiful metal work on the hilt and cross guard
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Blade: 5160 High Carbon Steel. Dual Tempered to 48-50 HRC at the core
Crossguard and Pommel: Mild Steel and Brass Accents -
Total length: 45.8″
Blade length: 34.9″
Blade width at base: 1.36″
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Total Weight: 3.2 Lbs
POB: 3.3” from Cross Guard
Distal Taper: 6mm to 2mm
How does it Feel?: Seeing the sword up close, one would immediately think it would swing with a lot of top-heavy authority. It’s long and imposing while the crossguard covers a lot of space. Sitting on a stand, the sword screams “you need two hands to use me!”. But upon picking up the sword and moving it around, I was shocked to feel how lively and responsive it is. With a POB of just over 3 inches from the guard, this sword flies fast and stops on a dime with very little energy cost. It is roughly the same size as a hand-and-a-half (bastard) sword.
This made more sense as I began to study up on the history of kriegsmessers. Landsknecht Emporium, a company respected as an authority on messer reproductions, posted an article on their interpretations of kriegsmesser use. Not only did they demonstrate how nimble these swords were in standard use (two hands), but showed how the kriegsmesser could be used effectively one-handed. On top of this, they provided references to these swords possibly being used with small hand-pavise shields. All of a sudden, my sword’s handling characteristics were making more sense. I had to test this idea out and so without delay, I ran outside with a steel buckler and the kriegsmesser.
To my surprise, this rather long weapon paired well with my buckler. That is to say, it will never replace a dedicated one-handed weapon like an arming sword or langes messer, but my many other swords of similar size could never be used as well with a shield. Even my other bastard swords, though useable one-handed, just don’t feel as controllable as this one. This, of course, makes two-handed use a dream. It’s fast and easy to throw multiple cuts.
There is very little information on how people of the past actually fought with these swords but it is generally accepted that traditional longsword techniques work almost 1:1 with them. The ring guard (in place of a traditional Nagel) allows me to use a thumbs-up grip and use standard longsword techniques such as the thwarting cut. Because I had the back edge sharpened, short-edge cuts like those used in longsword manuscripts are also transferable.
The Kriegsmesser next to a Purple Heart Armory VB Techniques Feder. The Messer is slightly smaller
The Pavel Moc Kriegsmesser was inspired by a historical find documented by Zornhau
The Sword: This sword was a customized version of Pavel’s standard kriegsmesser. That being said, every sword he makes is going to have that custom feel. The grips are made out of black walnut, a custom request by me. The slabs are fullered and hollow riveted. with brass hardware. The pommel is a bird’s-beak style cap that has been welded and epoxied on the tang and grips. There is enough mass in this pommel that it effectively counter balances the sword and would make a hellish murder-bonk implement.
The Crossguard is where this sword truly shines, aesthetically. The quillons twist into artistic spirals and terminate with brass/gold flowers. It is one of the features that make this sword seem like some premium loot or an heirloom sword to be passed down. In place of the a Nagel (an additional straight appendage on messers that covers the hand), there is a ring guard that features the same motif as the quillons. I much prefer this ring to a nagel as it protects the hands much more and allows for thumbs-up techniques to be used.
I purchased this sword with a leather and wood-core scabbard. This is an extra cost to those who want something to carry their sword in but the cost was worth it! Pavel’s scabbard is beautifully crafted with a combination of leather and metal work on the outside and latin phrases (from the bible it seems) painted on in gold lettering. I also opted for the suspension system which is another additional cost but is a standalone belt that sets your sword at the perfect angle.
When ordering, I asked for a tip that tapered down to a finer point for thrusting. Pavel did a great job on this and made the sword I was seeing in my head become a reality. The blade shape is a unique 4a+ shape meaning it has some curvature and a jigsaw cutout at the center, leaving more mass at the base and at the tip. The fuller terminates tastefully 3/4 down the blade. The 5160 blade flexes right where it needs to (near the end) and came sharpened, though not very (more on its sharpness below).
Hilt, Pommel, Quillons, and Scabbard
Unique Tip Shape of the sword
How Does it Cut?: By a long shot, this sword is my best cutting two-handed European sword. The grip shape makes aligning the blade a breeze and even though it is one of the dullest out-of-the-box swords I own, it cuts better than my longswords and arming swords. It tracks right along with my Landsknecht Emporium Gottfried Messer as a tremendous cutter and will often leave water bottles standing after a first cut. I can often cut a bottle 3 or more times before it is knocked off of the stand. My sharper swords have a hard time with this so I have to lend this to the ease of aligning the edge and the overall blade shape. Thrusting through heavy bottles is also effortless thanks to the the custom tapered tip I had asked for. This would make the sword less “choppy” but give me more tip-controllability.
Before
After…the base of the bottle didnt move!
Durability: Just like the other swords we have reviewed, I wanted to do a minor torture test on the edge of the sword. Using a 4x4 block of pine I had lying around, I chopped into a corner over and over to attempt to nick or roll the edges of the kriegsmesser. I did this roughly 50 times in different spots with varying pressure. This part of my testing always makes me cringe, especially when abusing a sword I like so much.
At the end of the testing, I could find no divot, ding, chip, or roll in the edge anywhere on the blade. It was completely undamaged. Aside from some scratches on the side of the blade from the 3 months of cutting we have put it through, there was no notable change to the blade at all.
We slammed the sword into a 4x4 to see if we could damage the edge
Criticisms: While I love this blade and it has become my favorite Euro blade I own, it does not come without faults. Firstly is the sharpness. I asked Pavel to make this sword as sharp as they could (since I knew they don’t specialize in sharps). The edge that came on the blade was acceptable but no where near what I wanted when compared to the sharpness of the LKE langes messer I own. I would say this sword is close to “battlefield sharp” to where you won’t slice paper with it but it can still cut. This level of sharpness is historically accurate as soldiers did not want an edge so sharp that it became delicate easily chipped. Still, I would have liked a bit more sharpness for my uses. I also requested that the back edge sharpened but it came rather dull. The bevel lines for a “short edge” are there but I will need to have it sharpened by a professional later on.
There are some blemishes due to the use of epoxy in certain spots. Parts of the hilt are filled in with a dark glue-like material which does make for smooth handling, but stands out. This is not ahistorical, however, as glue was used as a filler in many swords. The leather on the scabbard also came slightly ashy and dry but shined up nicely as soon as I oiled it.
Size Comparison with other swords
Conclusion: It took around 8 months of time and a total of $950.00 USD for a sword, scabbard, suspension belt, and shipping costs to get this sword from the Czech Republic, into my hands in VA, USA. In that time, Pavel communicated back and forth via email to get the details I wanted right. Sometimes, it took a week or so for a response (as he is a busy guy), but he always responded and understood what I was asking for.
So overall, do I think this sword for the price and waiting time was worth it? Absolutely! Like with any hand-made item, there are going to be aspects of forged weapons that are imperfect and in-turn, unique. Nothing that I criticized above is a deal breaker to me. The sword is an absolute looker, cuts well even though not super sharp, and is durable. I think with how much it stands out with other Euro swords that HEMA practitioners may have, I will always have a unique, attractive, and powerful sword I can bring to cutting events and competitions. 4 stars all the way and well done Pavel!
FOR CUSTOM WORK, CONTACT PAVEL MOC DIRECTLY AT moc@swords.cz
