The Gottfried by Landsknecht Emporium is a quick and agile weapon with capable blade presence in the bind. It is the lightest standard Messer on offer among the Landsknecht selection and one of the most popular choices among Messer fencers. The type M3C blade with an elegant clip point is hand ground from 6150 / 51 crv4 steel and is well tempered. Its blade edges are thick and blunt and ideal for HEMA training, sparring and drills.
The hilt components are also ground freehand from mild steel. Landsknecht Emporium is letting some hand-work variance happen in the hilt accessories to not only keep the price manageable, but to also give the sword a more authentic handcrafted appearance at the same time. The Nagel is a separate piece peened on the other side of the quillon block, as it should be. The quillons are slid downwards from the tip with the blade protruding in the bottom. The handmade grip slabs of Beechwood are affixed by a set of solid brass rivets which create a robust hilt assembly with the grip and the thick blade tang. The Nagel is a separate piece peened on the other side of the quillon block, as it should be. The quillons are slid downwards from the tip with the blade protruding in the bottom – a feature seen on depictions of period originals.
Landsknecht Emporium products aim to have the aesthetics of historical pieces, not the finish of mass-produced items. Each product bears the signs of its making; small tool marks and imperfections, which do not affect the build quality or usability but give each of our pieces its unique character.
sean mcelroy (verified owner) –
Great Messer! It has a light but strong blade, perfect for training, and appears very historically accurate. Solid construction – the wood on the handle is a very nice touch and nice thin grip. KOA is awesome as usual, with great customer service, great communication, and quick shipping.
David (verified owner) –
This is the one you want for HEMA sparring – the Günther is too heavy and stiff to be safe, in my opinion, whereas the Gottfried is light enough that it won’t hit too hard, and flexible enough that you can safely thrust without worry. In addition, it handles brilliantly – and of course, it is the best-looking dull Messer of any I’ve seen on the market.
The only issue that prevents me from giving it 5 stars is that the Nagel is very angular at the base – it has a sharp corner that cut me when I handled it without gloves. This took all of 2 minutes to remedy with a Dremel tool, perhaps 5 with a hand file, but it’s worth mentioning that if you get one you’ll need to fix this.
Mario (verified owner) –
This sword is one of the best feeling blades I’ve ever owned. The sword is fast in the hand, light and very safe for sparring. Looks great and has good ergonomics.
Why the two stars? Well, that’s because whatever steel they use here is absolute garbage. This is my *SECOND* after the first one cracked in less than three months. Many in my HEMA club have a similar story: gorgeous blades with piss poor steel that breaks, bends or cracks after a few months. All told we’ve gone through eight after two years!
KOA is great, they’ve replaced each blade when it dies under warranty (hence why my club has had so many) but Landsknecht Emporium was arrogant and pushy blaming me for the break – 8 blades isn’t a user issue Landsknecht – the call is coming from inside the house.
I’m writing this review after my second one got a crack quickly followed by a bend. This one lasted almost a year so quality can very, just remember its YOU who’s rolling the dice on this one.