Roman Maintz Pattern Gladius – Windlass Steelcrafts
In stock
Price range: $179.96 through $269.95
- Shipping estimated at checkout
- 30-day returns for standard grade
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Overall Length
- 27 3/4''
- Weight
- 1 lb 12 oz
- Brand
- Windlass Steelcrafts
- Culture
- Roman
- Era
- Ancient
Overview
Roman Maintz Pattern Gladius - Windlass Steelcrafts
The Roman Army's approach to warfare was direct and pragmatic. It chose the Gladius as its principal sidearm because it was practical and efficient and excelled in any close combat situation. Early versions of the Gladius were wasp waisted with a long point that combined cutting power and stabbing ability in one handy weapon. The Roman Maintz Pattern Gladius features an unsharpened, functional, high carbon steel blade and a carved bone handle. Includes a matching wood scabbard with leather covering and brass accents.
Specifications
Every measurement that matters
- Brand
- Windlass Steelcrafts
- Culture
- Roman
- Era
- Ancient
- Pommel
- Threaded
- Overall Length
- 27 3/4''
- Blade Length
- 19 3/4''
- Weight
- 1 lb 12 oz
- Edge
- Unsharpened
- P.O.B.
- 3 13/16''
- Thickness
- 4.3 mm - 3.3 mm
- Width
- 57.8 mm
- Grip Length
- 3 11/16''
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Country of Origin
- India
- Type
- Gladius
Reviews
What collectors are saying
Q&A
Questions from the community
Q What is the blade made of, and is it sharp? Common Question
The blade is high carbon steel, built to Windlass's Battle Ready standard for strength and durability. It ships unsharpened, making it well suited for display, collecting, and historical study rather than cutting use.
Q Is this a full tang sword? Common Question
Yes. The tang runs the full length of the grip and is threaded at the end to receive the pommel, which is how Windlass secures the hilt on this Battle Ready construction. That threaded connection keeps the pommel, grip, and blade locked together as one durable assembly.
Q What is the grip and pommel made of? Common Question
The grip is carved bone with ridged, segmented facets for finger placement, and the pommel and guard are turned wood. Brass fittings and collars finish the transition between the hilt and blade.
Q How does the balance feel in the hand? Common Question
The point of balance sits about 3 13/16'' from the guard, close in toward the hilt. That keeps the point lively and responsive, in keeping with the gladius's original role as a close-combat thrusting and cutting weapon.
Q What kind of scabbard does it come with? Common Question
It includes a matching wood-core scabbard covered in leather, finished with brass fittings including a decorative engraved chape at the tip and a brass throat fitting near the hilt.
Q What is a 'Mainz pattern' gladius? Common Question
The Mainz pattern refers to an early Roman gladius style with a gently waisted blade profile and a long tapering point, combining cutting ability along the edges with a strong thrusting tip. This piece follows that historical profile in its blade shape.
Q What is this sword best used for? Common Question
This is a Battle Ready piece built for display, collecting, and historical reenactment rather than as a sharpened cutting tool. The high carbon steel blade and full tang construction give it the heft and durability of a real gladius while the unsharpened edge keeps it safe to handle and display.
Q How do I take care of it? Common Question
Wipe down the high carbon steel blade after handling and apply a light coat of oil to prevent rust, since it is not stainless. Store the sword itself in a dry place rather than inside the scabbard for the long term, as the wood and leather scabbard can trap moisture against the blade and accelerate corrosion; a light wipe of oil on the bone grip and wood fittings also helps keep them from drying out.
Video
See it in motion
The Maker
Windlass Steelcrafts
Windlass Steelcrafts not only creates props, clothing, and accessories to customers and popular TV productions, but also military supplies to governments across six continents – a testament to their expertise and quality. Their weapons, armor, shields, clothing and accessories are top notch quality for a price you can’t beat.
Often paired together
So far very impressed with this sword for the most part! So far i’ve been very pleased with my purchase of this Gladius. The finish is excellent, the steel isn’t overly polished nor is it under polished it looks perfect in my opinion. I’m also a fan of the imitation bone grip it looks and feels great in the hand. The pommel and guard are both made out of high quality real wood which I like and it feels very durable.
I received the additional sharpening service and did some testing with it, here are the results. I started with paper, it can cut paper not as easily as other blades, but it still can for sure. Next I cut up some cardboard boxes, seemed easy enough and was pretty fun while I was doing it. Then I moved up to a Gold Peak Tea bottle filled with water to the top. These bottles are made from more dense plastic then other bottles out there. The blade cut couldn’t cut through it! I gave it a few good swings and the blade just simply wouldn’t slice it. After about three swings I got the bottle to leak but that’s it no devastating cut. I stabbed the bottle and obviously this Gladius has a wicked sharp point and it went through like a hot knife through butter with stabs and thrusts. I moved down to a Coca Cola bottle filled with water and it did end up cutting that one pretty decently. Then I moved down to a standard water gallon jug and as expected it cut it right in half no problem. After these tests no damage to the blade or anything else occurred and the sword is still holding up nice and firm just like it was out of the box.
Moral of the story is this blade is best at what it was designed to do, thrust and stab. I would recommend this Gladius to anyone looking for a good battle ready sword in the $200 price range and after more testing I will follow up with a new review if my opinions change.
Better than it looks Ive had this maybe 10+ years. Just as a novel inexpensive semi functional play piece. Sharpened and wacked at all sorts of stuff. After years of being generally abused The grip and pomel has loosened a little but thats about it. Finally it got tossed aside and forgotten after the shed it was in was crushed during a storm. Found a year later completely rusted and weathered. So wth, i figured i could try it on huge tree log. Cut through it like an ax. So am clening off the rist and keeping it still, lol
The point of perfection! Wow…this sword is very sharp looking with a wicked pointy edge making me bit nervous at first handling it, this is my first roman gladius sword and what a gem to start with. Thanks KOA for your outstanding service and top quality products every time I order!
I love this Gladius. Compared to my Windlass Pompeii Gladius, the sheath on this Maintz Gladius is more decorative and the brass work is better made. Contrary to a few YouTube videos, the sheath on mine has a very good friction fit and the blade does not rattle at all. Best of all, the balance on this Gladius is great especially when compared to the more forward balanced Pompeii even though they have the same overall weight. This results in a very nimble sword.
Overall, I’m very happy with this sword. It’s beautiful, and one of the more accurate Maintz-pattern gladiuses I’ve seen in this price range. It’s weighted and balanced very well, it’s got a very comfortable grip, and the scabbard fits well and is very good-looking. Three reasons I’m docking a star- first, the blade has a slight kick off to one side. It’s very slight and you really have to look carefully to see it, but it’s not completely straight. Second, some of the brass fittings on the scabbard aren’t fitted that well, with some significant gaps. Third, and biggest, is that the metal cap on the guard is a bit loose and rattles if you move the sword around at all.
Got this as a decorative item to replace a Deepeeka one I was less than thrilled with. Blade quality and scabbard fit are excellent. Scabbard brass fittings look great, but some pieces could have used some extra attention and care when fitted into place. The wood parts of the hilt look great, but the simulated bone grip obviously looks like plastic.