16th Century Katzbalger

This 16th Century Katzbalger Mercenary sword has a blade crafted from Chrome-Vanadium high carbon steel with a hardness of 50 HRC. The guard and pommel are steel with an antiqued finish and the wooden grip is bound in thick cord risers and overlaid in tightly-fitted black leather. Most reproduction Katzbalger have notably shorter blades than this offering by Del Tin, but period depictions do show longer-bladed Katzbalger being worn by mercenaries who favored a longer version such as this.

The Katzbalger sword was an iconic sidearm for the late 15th and 16th century Landsknecht mercenaries. Wide-bladed and burly, the sword was designed as a sidearm designed for the sellsword who finds himself in the bloody scrum of entangled halberd and pike formations. The wide blade is robust and built to withstand contact with the heavy weapons and thick hafts of polearm weapons. The large S-guards give good protection to the hand; a welcome addition in the mass melee of close formation combat – like the Romans and Greeks in ages before, the utility of a shorter, wider sword in close knit phalanx-like combat is readily apparent.

An ideal sidearm sword for iconic mercenaries, the Katzbalger was popular for its utility in the organized mass infantry formations created by the German and Swiss mercenaries who toppled the medieval knight from his position as the dominator of the battle.