Messer (weapon) Messer (weapon) A messer (German for "knife") is a single-edged sword with a knife-like hilt construction. While the various names are often used synonymously, messers are divided into two types: "Lange Messer" ("long knives") are one-handed swords used by Bourgeoisie (middle-class civilians) for personal self-defence. They were about a meter long and may have evolved from the "Bauernwehr" ("peasant's sidearm"). They are also known as "Großes Messer" (Great Knife). "Kriegsmesser" ("war knife") are curved weapons up to 1.5m long, used with one or two hands, and normally wielded by professional warriors of the 14th to 16th century, such as the
Clauss Cutlery Company Clauss didn't live long to enjoy that success as he died later that year. In the early 1920s the cutlery business faced a serious setback as Germany was permitted to export shears and scissors duty-free to the United States. The idea behind this was to help Germany pay back its World War I debts. As a consequence, German shears sold at half the price of American made shears. Despite the fierce German competition, Fremont counted twenty-five cutlery businesses and was known as the "Cutlery Center of the World". After World War II, Henkel–Clauss was unable to compete with European firms