I've never heard of this combination, but it sounds like wicked sparring fun.

The image below is from a German religious painting of the late 15th/early 16th c. Might be meant to depict Near Eastern arms, but most of these paintings stick to known European varieties of the day. I've never seen a messer grip like this one, though.

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Sean, I've seen knife hilts similar to this one a lot. The European bird's-head grip was very popular well into the 18th century, maybe even the 19th, too. Never seen it in combination with a small buckler before, though. Cool (and yes, I also like the messer/buckler combination idea).

Hi Sean,

Talhoffer, in at least two manuscripts, shows sword and messer used interchangeably with the buckler. Have a gander at this portion of the 1459 Thott Codex: http://flaez.ch/talhoffer/teil7.html

Best,

CHT

I've seen metal bird heads, especially on later hangers, but not wood. But then, on closer inspection, I see what looks like a pommel plate on this weapon. That makes much more sense to me, as many large knives of the period had a somewhat boot-shaped grip with pommel plate. I think we may be viewing this weapon more from the pommel end rather than in full profile.

The more I think about it the more I like this combo. The close quarters of messer fighting seems to be especially dangerous for the off hand, which I assume is why it's sometimes shown held behind the back. A buckler wouldn't allow extensive grappling, but it might prevent coming to grips in the first place.

The messer in the painting reminds me of nothing so much as a Khyber knife, which I love in spite of my arms & armour Euro-centrism. :D

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