Two Very Fine Landsknecht Swords, Southern Germany, ca. 1490 and 1525

Carl M · 1st April 2011, 12:32 AM

Hi Matchlock,

In all honestly, I think you guys got a blessing in disguise when you didn't get that second two-hander. I was at the auction (I bought a few pieces, notably the bilbo a transitional rapier and some smallswords), I held every piece there several times and I must say that something was very wrong with that two-hander. The crossguard was said to be later, but the sword itself was waaaaaaaaay too heavy to be functional. It felt like it weighed 15 lbs with poor balance to boot. Functional, large 2 handers are usually in the 6 lb range and well balanced.

All of the dealers that I was there with concurred. It was definitely a composite as stated. The blade looked like it could be original (but you never know). The guard was definitely Victorian and the pommel didn't look right. Looking at the pommel in thos pics shows that the tang was just bent over the pommel in an amateur fashion, not peened. I have never seen that done before. Definitely not worth $12,500. Personally, I wouldn't have paid $800 for it.

Even if it is German and 16th century, there is nothing confirming it to be a landsknecht sword. This sword does not look to be a typical Landsknecht pattern.

1st April 2011, 12:32 AM	#11
Carl M Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 20	Hi Matchlock, In all honestly, I think you guys got a blessing in disguise when you didn't get that second two-hander. I was at the auction (I bought a few pieces, notably the bilbo a transitional rapier and some smallswords), I held every piece there several times and I must say that something was very wrong with that two-hander. The crossguard was said to be later, but the sword itself was waaaaaaaaay too heavy to be functional. It felt like it weighed 15 lbs with poor balance to boot. Functional, large 2 handers are usually in the 6 lb range and well balanced. All of the dealers that I was there with concurred. It was definitely a composite as stated. The blade looked like it could be original (but you never know). The guard was definitely Victorian and the pommel didn't look right. Looking at the pommel in thos pics shows that the tang was just bent over the pommel in an amateur fashion, not peened. I have never seen that done before. Definitely not worth $12,500. Personally, I wouldn't have paid $800 for it. Even if it is German and 16th century, there is nothing confirming it to be a landsknecht sword. This sword does not look to be a typical Landsknecht pattern.