Krieger HEMA Messer M1

This type of weapon is known under many, most often German names -  Messer, Grossmesser, Bauerwehr or Hauswehr. Between 14th and 16th century it was an extremely popular weapon in all German-speaking countries as well as in those, where German colonists or merchants eagerly settled, such as Czechia or Poland. It was widely used by most townsmen and free peasants, but its popularity rose between knighthood as well. Technically speaking, the messer is a big combat knife - therefore, it was often used instead of the sword. Such popularity resulted in many court trials between the sword producers and knife producers and during these lawsuits, they tried to settle who has the only right to produce this weapon type. The messer’s very characteristic feature was the „nagel” - the enlarged hilt rivet which - in case of using messer without a shield - was often the only protection for swordsman's hand and this construction detail determined the method of messer usage.

Krieger’s messer construction is based on big specimens so it easily can be used along with a buckler instead of the one-handed sword. Weapon’s construction has the highest parameters of flexibility and is designed to be as dent-proof as possible - in other words – it is a weapon that will meet the specific HEMA environment requirements. The low weight makes it a safe and reliable choice for long-time training without the feeling of arm fatigue. The hilt is designed to be knife-like - with a flat tang covered with two separate pieces of wood-imitating plastic. Thanks to this the messer gives a feeling of very good grip even in thickest training gloves. The simple, crossguard is an all-time classic, making the weapon very light, and giving a good balance for fencers who are not used to compromise.

Weapon parameters - even during the design phase - were consulted and tested in cooperation with the Polish HEMA Federation - DESW FEDER.