On the bench: all-steel Landsknecht dagger

J

Justin King

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Nov 8, 2009
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I got bit by the dagger bug again, this time the obsession was a style of dagger that is associated with the Landsknecht mercenaries circa the early 16th century. Surviving originals of this type are rare and the 3 that I have seen all feature hilts and guards of bronze or latten, but having developed an aversion to yellow metal on a fine weapon, I chose to make mine from steel. Although this conflicts with the originals on which this piece is based, all-steel sword and dagger hilts were in use during this time period so I can probably forgive myself in due time:o

This is a piece that I started a few years ago, set aside, and finally picked back up, chipping away at it slowly for the last few months. It is still in the rough and will probably stay that way for some time while I nit pick at it, but it's exciting for me to finally have it assembled and see how it all came together. I gotta show somebody besides the wife and kid...

Blade is Aldo's 1084, guard, hilt, and tang nut are forged/fabricated from 1018 mild steel. 16" overall. Assembly is threaded, after a long personal debate. The hilt was broached to recieve the tang using a tang broach made from Cru-Forge V, and lots of elbow grease...

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nice - isn't that a shorter version of the katzbalger (or whatever they called their short sword?)

cool. I always wanted to make one of these, a Holbein dagger, and a baselard. Not at once, but those have always seemed cool to me.
kc
 
Thanks again, guys. This is a difficult sucker to photograph, the reflection of the quillon falls right onto the ricasso/plunge cut area and makes it really hard to see that area clearly.
This style is obviously meant to resemble the Katzbalger swords, although it is only one of 3 distinct dagger types that are associated with the Landsknechts. This style appears to have been in fashion for a very short time ending around 1525.
 
Justin, that's gorgeous! I have a trick for doing solid metal handles, if you are doing another it'll save you hours of broaching :D
 
Justin , absolutely gorgeous! One of my favorite historical styles.
Sam Salvati said:
Justin, that's gorgeous! I have a trick for doing solid metal handles, if you are doing another it'll save you hours of broaching :D
Click to expand...

Come on Sam no being a tease now, what's your trick?
Chris
 
Nice!!! I would love to see someone do something like that for their MS presentation dagger. :D
 
Sam Salvati said:
Justin, that's gorgeous! I have a trick for doing solid metal handles, if you are doing another it'll save you hours of broaching :D
Click to expand...

I would love to hear your trick, Sam. But don't expect me to throw away my new tang broach:)
The handle is made from solid stock but there are hollowed areas inside to help avoid that "boat-anchor" feel. The weight and balance is respectable considering the construction, 14.4 oz. and the COG is right at the plunge cut, 5/16" in front of the guard.

I will get better detail pics eventually, but it may be a while. I still have a lot of sanding to do before it will be worthy of close-ups, and I need to come up with a floral filework pattern for the tang nut. With pieces like this I like to get them to the point where they can be assembled, then spend a good long time being sure everything is right before final finishing. This is the part where I can almost trade patience for skill, the subtle tapers and transitions often take a while for me to absorb, I can look at an area 50 times and think it's right, then look at it again and see where it needs bulk removed. I've already spotted a couple of areas on this one, but will probably have to set it aside for the time being.

I am grateful for the comments, although credit is due to the original craftsman/craftsmen. I'm just following in their footsteps.
 
It solves a bit of the weight problem too. I will make a separate ost about it instead of cluttering this any further. That dagger is slick, I would love to see a full size version :D :D
 
Thanks again, Sam. I added another pic that gives a better perspective of the proportions, the skew of the first one makes it look bigger than it is.
I would like to make a Katz one day but can't HT anything that length yet and am not ready to take that step, tempting as it is. I have owned and handled some really nice swords, so I'm a picky customer and I don't want to disappoint myself.
 
Photoshop fake!!! If it's real you'll send it to me so I can inform everyone that in fact it is real.... That there is a creation of beauty :thumbup:
 
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