The Devils Edge Kopis has a blade of sharpened 420 stainless steel; the bolster and guard are brass and the grip is darkly-stained wood brass-riveted to the thick full-tang. It is paired with a scabbard of stitched leather with an integrated belt loop.
This Kopis is robustly constructed Kopis and a good pick for those who want to experience the great chopping power of these ancient Greek swords at a practical price. The thick blade spine and forward-sloping, elongated tip of the of the Kopis combine to give it a chopping and hacking power more akin to an axe than a sword! Its thrusting potential can also be surprising and a good warrior could use that to his advantage as his foe may look at his sword and expect a slash or a cut instead of the thrust.
The Greek warriors who bore the Kopis into battle could expect it to reliably carve into the helmets and armor of their foes – should a Kopis meet the rim of a shield it would not be surprising if the weapon would rend great notches and gouges onto the shield rim and body.
The shorter length of the Kopis was probably not a great issue as the spear was the primary weapon of the battlefield – The sword was to be used when spears became impractical for the front ranks of phalanxes which had become closely entangled.
Some early Kopis were actually quite long, nearly the size of a Spatha in length, though they likely had a thinner spine and a less pronounced elongation of the tip in order to ensure the weapon did not become unwieldy. It was with the dominating ascent of the Macedonian Phalanx that the shorter and thicker chopping Kopis became the preferred form.
The Athenian-born historian and mercenary soldier Xenophon remarked in his work On Horsemanship that: I recommend a kopis rather than a xiphos, because from the height of the horses back the cut of a machaira will serve you better than the thrust of a xiphos.
MrxCrowley –
Arm porn Using this weapon is like an orgy in my hand
Scott –
Dont drop it on your foot Works wonderfully as a heavy machete. Very Solid fittings. Pre-sharpened edge a little too obtuse but still hacks deeply with little effort and a short stroke.
Jesse –
Fun little sword! Very much a chopper, this little sword packs a wallop! Though light weight at two pounds the shape of the blade very much puts the balance in front of the hand that took me a while to get used to. It feels chunkier than it actually is, though it’s still quick and responsive. Asctetically it looks really nice…to me anyway. No one would mistake it for an ancient era weapon but I could see this looking at home on the belt of a WW1 infantry officer. My only complaint is the brass quillon doesn’t have a bevel and if you choke up on the grip as I like to do it can this irritate the forefinger. Also the grip scales could be a littlle more finely shaped, but I can’t be too hard on it considering the price. Honestly a great weapon and if you like a solid, handsome chopping sword that could potentially be used in daily life you’ll like this.
Charles B –
This Greek Kopis looks and feels absolutely amazing! Upon inspecting it I am instantly reassured that it will not break. The tang is visible and very thick. Surmounted by hardwood scales.
The brass bolster is my only problem. Although it looks nice, my hands are huge and the end of the bolster hits right on my index knuckle, implying a change in grip.
With the grip change implemented it cuts like a champion! The hardwood scales are beautiful as well. And the thick leather sheath is nicely stitched with gold thread. This sword is definitely worth the money.
Connor Mcdermott –
Been using it for a year and have not had very considerable degrading of the edge. It still cuts very easily and the weight allows for very powerful cuts. Very nice to look at, and the edge came very sharp. Doesn’t handle fantastically because of the weight, and the handle isn’t big enough to fit two hands so it can’t be treated as a hand and a half weapon, but you can take this with a grain of salt because I am not very strong. My only actual problems are in the sheath, (it doesn’t fit sturdy at all) and the guard (it started to slightly wiggle after about 2 months of not very hard use) but for the price range, these problems are negligible.
William Lansford (verified owner) –
Just received my Devol’s Edge Greek Kopis. In general, I like it. It has a nice thick spine, a decently sharp blade and the handle feels good in the hand. It does however have a few issues.
1) The fit on the guard is pretty rough and asemetrical where it meets the blade and the brass portion is not square. The end result is an uneven seem where the guard meets the brass portion of the grip. This allows a slight wobble in the guard. I expect this will get worse with use.
2) the mirror finish on the brass is uneven and there are obvious tool marks.
3) There is an obvious delamination on the left side of the blade where the belly begins. An effort was made to grind it out which resulted in a shallow groove about 3″ x 1/4″ and maybe 1/16″ deep. This delam was serious enough that toward the tip end it was welded over. The weld is about 3/4″ x 1/2″ and due to it being made of a different metal, quite obvoius at a glance. There is also still a bit of the delam visable as pitting.
4) There is a very slight deviation of the tip, probably from unever grinding.
It would be nice to reciece a weapon without these issues, however, given the very affordable price on this sword I really can’t complain.
4.5 out of 5 stars.