Ensifer Standard Messer (2022 Version)

Ensifer has stopped wrapping their messer grips, which made me sad until I got my hand around this one, my third (one original version, one lefthanded transition version with thicker blade but still wrapped). The wood is dyed thoroughly and retains the secure double taper, but swaps the surer grip of friction for the smoother transitions of the bare handle. I thought I would be upset, but this is not as huge a change as I anticipated. Weight is still low, though slightly higher to account for the thicker blade than previous iterations. It's still balanced perfectly against itself for that agile, rolling blade presence. It's enough that you can't imagine more at its mass, which is a great line to walk for messer. I do find myself wondering how this one might feel wrapped, but the lovely part is that it's an option that remains open to me in the future. These swords are durable, nimble, comfortable, and as safe as they can be. The cross-section favors thickness at the edge and provides an easy, generous flex that only shows up when you want it to and snaps back to true. It will serve you well through much more than you'd imagine.

Have only used it once so far but it is great! The look of it is what drew me in and it definitely looks and feels like a quality piece. You almost don’t want to use it because of how nice it looks. But it’s meant to be used and it definitely feels comfortable in the hand and the nagel is sturdy and stops the blows no problem. It weaves and cuts and responds quick in drills. I’ll update once the holidays pass and I use it more

Love these guys, we have a bunch at our club now. They are light and lively in the hand. But can carry out those messer specific cuts well; the weight of the messer Carrie’s through nicely when performing an entrusthau. This is definitely on the lighter or more nimble end of messers, but for good reasons; messers can hit hard. It’s a great and durable purchase. Compared to the older models, this is slightly heavier, but feels more floaty in the hand. It also has a thicker edge and holds up much better to repeated edge abuse.

I received my beautiful messer within the week that I ordered it, and it was packaged very well. In this new, more difficult era of shipping that we live in, SoCal Swords was a real pleasure to work with.
About the sword, it is nimble blade that demands respect in the bind. It has held up to some hard sparring sessions so far, and it feels great in the hand. I look forward to using tool for many years to come!

Ensifer Standard Messer (2022 Version)