I thought this would be worth sharing. A little while back I picked up this original dussack from about the last quarter of the 1500’s. Styrian (Austria), and it is pretty much exactly what Joachim Meyer’s fencing students would have been training to fight with.

https://thehemaists.com/2018/03/08/tools-of-the-trade-styrian-dussack/

Note that if you open the images, you then also have to scroll down to where it says, “View full size” to see the full resolution images.

There’s a write up on there about how it handles, but the short answer is that it handles INCREDIBLY. :)

"Tesak" is a derivative with "-ak" (forming occupation, or tool names quite frequently) from verb "tesat", itself from Proto-Slavic "tesati" - meaning "to hew", "sculpt", "tailor". Generally what could be generalized as "processing by cutting". :D

Preserved in Slavic languages mainly in woodworking context, but not only.

So Old Czech "tesák" would simply mean something like "hewer", "cleaver" or "chopper", name for a tooth or claw being special, secondary meaning.


As far as more relevant matter goes, the sword is really beautiful to me - just right blend of "raw" utilitarian look and some aesthetic sense.

Beautiful, I really need to add a tesak or two to my collection. I love swords with utilitarian finish but good practical performance; the swords of the commoner, and along with messers, tesaks generally are archetypal of these 'volkswaffen'.

There is this Del Tin reproduction of a Dussack with a very wide slightly curved blade with a long false edge that would be sharp in the real sword.

https://www.kultofathena.com/product/del-tin-german-dussack-with-thumb-ring/

It has in the description the mention of a " Thumb Ring " but honestly I don't see one in the various pics of the sword on the KoA site ? Missing a thumb ring ? Or an erroneous description ? Maybe the original on which it is based has a thumb ring ?

In any case I show this link to the pic(s) as an example of a very wide bladed Dussack, I assume that blade length and width might vary a lot with originals, but I think that generally the blades would be shorter than contemporary Rapier blades between 36" to 40" or even a bit more.

So a certain reach disadvantage, but the Dussack shown would be a powerful cutting blade, and a descendent of falchions and in use similar to one handed Messers ? At least in the sense of function following form.

By the way I have the Lutel Version of the same sword that came sharp on the main edge but that I also sharpened the false edge. ( Unfortunately Lutel seems to have gone out of business :( )

I was going to say that the Lutel has crisper lines than the Del Tin, but that comparison was from a few years ago when I bought the Lutel Dussack: The current pic(s) of the Del Tin seem to show that this same sword has been upgraded in quality as the earlier ones seem to me to have less definition than the Lutel.

My Lutel Dussack's blade is 27" long, 1 7/8" wide at the guard and 2 1/16" wide at the start of the false edge, blade thickness at guard being 5/32' with some very subtle distal taper.

Handling seem decent enough but the weight of the clamshell guard does make the sword want to twist in the hand a bit, and where having an actual thumb ring would be helpful. ( The Lutel version also doesn't have a thumb ring. )