Cold Steel MAA Messer Review
Apr 4, 2016 18:25:39 GMT
Post by chrisoro on Apr 4, 2016 18:25:39 GMT
Introduction
This is my first review here, so I apologize in advance if I use the wrong terminology at places or if my english (which is not my first language) is off.
The sword as it sits in the scabbard.
I first found out about this sword when looking trough Cold Steel's "New products for 2016"-page, and thought it looked interesting. I used to own Cold Steels 1917 Naval Cutlass, but sold it as I didn't like the grip, the balance and the way it felt in the hand. I have looked for another short sword or cutlass since, that would fit in with my budget, and thought this sword might do the trick. As I couldn't find it for sale in any Norwegian stores, I had a Norwegian seller of Cold Steel knives import it for me. More on that in the disclosure statement below.
Historical overview
The "langes messer" (German for "long knife") is a class of single-edged, single-handed short swords of the German Late Middle Ages (14th to 16th century). This class of swords derived from the medieval falchion and preceded the modern saber. While having quite a bit of variation in design, they are noted for their special hilt, which generally included a long cross guard with a nail-like side guard protruding from the flat of the blade, called a "nagel" (German for "nail"). This "nagel" was apparently usually fastened to the blade by driving it straight trough it. Several German fencing manuals of the late medieval period included curriculums for the use of the langes messer, including manuscripts by masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Johannes Lecküchner and Hans Talhoffer. Generally, messers were used by commoners and were not as expensive - or well made - as other types of swords, with thinner blades and a more utilitarian construction. In some areas, because of legal restrictions, messers were the only type of sword that commoners could legally carry.
Illustration from Żabiński, Mitchell & Fritz (2012, page 19).
Illustration from Żabiński, Mitchell & Fritz (2012, page 26).
The sword reviewed here was, according to Cold Steel's product listing, designed by Luke LaFontaine and Dave Baker. As many of Cold Steel's other historical products, it is a modern interpretation of the historical sword. As far as I know, it is not based on any particular historical messer, but according to Żabiński, Mitchell & Fritz's (2012) discussion of various types of historical messers, the cold steel offering seems to have features from several of them.
Full Disclosure
I could not find this sword in any Norwegian brick and mortar stores or webshops so this sword was imported for me by a Norwegian seller of Cold Steel knives, as I didn't want to deal with the at times nightmarish Norwegian customs service. I have heard of other people having this guy import certain products for them, so I simply made a deal by e-mail to have him import this sword for me, and then payed an agreed upon price which included the cost of the sword and any expenses he had for importing it as well as a small fee for his trouble. I have no prior personal connection to this dealer, and he does not sell this specific product in his own store. Also, as far as I know, he has no plans to start selling it.
I have no connections with Cold Steel, other than owning and having owned a few of their products.
Initial Impressions
The sword came in a black cardboard box, and was shipped with the sword in the scabbard. It had a heavy covering of grease on both the sword and the scabbard, and was then wrapped in several layers of plastic and paper. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it when it first arriwed.
The first thing I noticed when handling it was how solid the design felt, and how light and quick the sword felt in the hand.
Statistics
Blade Length: 22" (21.85" as measured by me)
Blade Thickness: 1/5", or 5mm.
Blade Steel: 1090 High Carbon (0.90% Carbon content).
Handle Length: 6" according to Cold Steel. The wooden part of the handle is 4.7".
Overall Length: 28"
Guard Width: 7"
POB (Point of Balance): 1.2" above the guard.
Weight: 30.9 oz
Components
The Blade:
The blade is polished and blued. The bluing is even, and I could find no scratches or rust anywhere. It has a quite wide fuller, and has a hollow grind. The blade is quite thin as swords goes with a thickness of 1/5inch or 5mm, and tapers towards the tip. This is actually quite in line with many historical messers, as they were mostly seen as an inexpensive commoners sword, and used both as a weapon and a tool in much the same way as machetes are today. Most of the blade was quite sharp, but it was somewhat duller towards the middle.
Blade as seen from the guard.
The spine.
Blade as seen from the tip.
Closeup of the tip. Some residue of the shipping grease can still be seen...
The Handle:
The handle was surprisingly comfortable, considering it is uncovered wood. As previously mentioned, I used to have the 1917 Naval Cutlass by the same company, and the handle on the MAA Messer feels far better in the hand. As far as I can see, the handle seems to be a single piece of rosewood. I could not find seams anywhere.
The handle as seen from the side.
The handle as seen from the front-ish. The "spots" on the guard are dust.
The handle as viewed from the back.
The handle seen with a standard size zippo for comparison.
The Guard:
The guard, including the "nagel" consists of a single piece of metal, and unlike historical messers, the "nagel" do not seem to penetrate the guard and blade. The guard seems to have a very solid fix, and I cannot detect any movement at all. For the most part I like the guard, however, I am not so fond of the way the "nagel" is facing downward. When holding it in a hammergrip with the middle knuckles of the fingers in line with the partial knucklebow, the top of the nagel touches the baseknuckle of my index finger. This is somewhat unpleasant when swinging the sword, but is not a problem when using a handshake or sabregrip.
The guard seen from the side of the "nagel".
Sword held in a hammergrip.
The decorative lines on the "nagel" is a bit rough and uneven...
The Pommel:
I'm not really sure what to say about the pommel other than that I guess the tang, which I presume is a rat-tail type because of the enclosed grip, is fastened by a round screw-on nut at the end. There are some marks on the "nut", which looks like the result of "screwing" it thigh with a pair of pliers. But I could be wrong here, as I haven't attempted to take this sword apart.
The pommel and "nut".
Sword seen from the pommel end.
The Scabbard:
The scabbard is made of stitched leather, with no wood liner. For the most part, it looks like the same type of scabbard as one can find on the Cold Steel 1917 Frontier Bowie, or the Scottish Dirk, just widened and lengthened. It has blued steel fittings at the foot and the mouth, and did not come with a frog or any other way to hang on a belt.
The scabbard mouth.
The metal fittings at the top of the scabbard.
The metal fittings at the tip of the scabbard, and the stitching. Some residual grease can be seen on the leather
Handling Characteristics
This sword feels very quick in the hand, and although only 3 oz lighter than the Cold Steel 1917 Naval Cutlass, it feels significantly lighter. I tried doing C. Roworth's Six Cut Saber Drill from "The Art of Defence on Foot (1824)", and this Messer felt far quicker and livelier than any historical saber I have trained with. This might be attributed to the light weight of the sword, as well as the fact that the balance is just over an inch above the guard. I did the six cut drill continuously for a full 5 minutes with this sword without getting very tired in the wrist, underarm and shoulder, something that would have been far more fatiguing with a saber or cutlass. (Disclaimer: I'm 5 feet 10 inches, about 174 pounds, and reasonably fit.)
According to what I have read and heard about historical messers and their use, for example in the historical introduction of The messer of Johannes Lecküchner Part 1, by Agilitas TV, the handling of this messer seems to be quite close to the historical ones, although I have yet to handle any other Langes Messer, historical or reproduction, so this statement should be taken with a grain of salt.
Conclusions
All in all, I'm very happy with this sword. As mentioned above, it feels very good in the hand, has great handling, and the fit and finish is for the most part very good, with the exception of the uneven decorations on the nagel. All parts seems to fit snugly, and I couldn't find any movement or play anywhere. For an all-wood grip, the grip feels very comfortable, but it is important to be aware of the possibility that the down-swept nagel could get in the way if you have large hands, or use certain grips.
However, the lack of a belt loop or frog on the scabbard for carrying the sword on the belt is a somewhat puzzling drawback, and I have trouble understanding why Cold Steel chose to omit this. Also, I am unsure of how well this somewhat thin blade and unknown tang-design would stand up to heavy cutting over time, so if that is your main use for swords, be aware of this possible limitation.
Unfortunately I was unable to do any test cutting myself with this blade, but I will try to do this in a future follow up as time and circumstances permit.
Pros:
- Comfortable grip.
- Very nice handling, balance and "feel" of the sword in hand.
- Nice look and design, while not based on any specific historical messer, seems to be in line with various historical samples.
- For the most part nice fit and finish.
Cons:
- No belt loop or frog.
- Somewhat uneven sharpening out of the box.
- Somewhat uneven decorations on the nagel, which gives a sloppy impression.
The Bottom Line
I would recommend this to a anyone into the German Langes Messers or who is interested in a fully functional semi-historical european sword of this type. I'm also sure this sword would work as an excellent self defense weapon, for those interested in that.
Bottom line is that I'm very happy with this sword, and even for the price I payed (which is more than what I have seen the sword be sold for in various web shops) I would gladly have bought it again.