16-Inch Blade Greek Kopis Sword — Hand-Forged Compact Greek Recurved Blade

This Kopis (KOPIS01) is the compact / sidearm-format Kopis with a 12-20 inch blade length range. Our other main Kopis products (KOPIS02 and KOPIS03) run 16-26 inches and sit in the full-sword length range, hence the higher price. The forging process, steel grade, full-tang construction, water-tempering, and customization options are identical across all three. You're paying less because the blade is shorter, not because the quality is lower.

Fully battle-ready. The blade is 5160 high-carbon leaf-spring steel, full-tang, water-tempered, and pre-sharpened at the forge. It meets our battle-ready standard and will cut, chop, and hold an edge under real use. The compact size makes it especially well-suited as a working sidearm, machete-substitute, or bushcraft blade.

The standard blade is 16 inches. You can customize the blade length to 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 inches using the Blade Length option on this product page — shorter lengths reduce the price, longer lengths add to it. The handle adds 6 inches (15.24 cm) on top of whichever blade length you pick. For reference, 12-14" works as a Kopis dagger or knife scale, 16" is the classical infantry Kopis, and 18-20" approaches the lower end of full-sword reach. If you need a length above 20", see our full-size Kopis at 16-26".

Four finishes are available — the standard for this Kopis is satin:

• Satin (standard) — brushed matte surface, low-glare. Excellent working-blade finish. Doesn't catch light in the field. Most popular choice for this product.
• Polished / Mirror (+$10) — bright reflective surface. Pick this if you want a display or presentation finish.
• Raw / Forge (-$10) — hammered, just-off-the-anvil look. Visible forge texture, no polishing. Lowest cost.
• Blacked / Coated — low-reflectivity dark coating. Tactical and modern, suits bushcraft and field use.

All four finishes are applied by hand and don't affect edge sharpness or battle-readiness.

The scabbard is built around a cotton-wood core then wrapped in hand-stitched leather. Six color options: black (classic), brown (period-appropriate for reenactment), yellow, red, green, blue. Each scabbard is sized to your specific blade length so the fit is exact regardless of whether you order 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 inches.

Approximately 800 grams at the standard 16-inch blade configuration. Weight scales with blade length — shorter blades drop weight, longer blades add weight. The weight is forward-balanced, with most of the mass in the belly of the curved blade. That gives the Kopis its chopping authority while keeping the grip end controllable for a one-handed swing.

5160 high-carbon leaf-spring steel — the same alloy used for heavy-duty vehicle suspension springs. Tough, springy, and holds an edge well. Hammer-forged from a single billet (never welded or laminated), water-tempered to optimum hardness, and hand-finished. This is the same steel used across our entire battle-ready sword range.

Yes — every Kopis includes free text engraving AND a custom logo / photo upload option. Two engraving fields on this product page:

• Personalize Your Blade — free-form text for names, initials, Greek lettering (Molon Labe and similar mottos in historically accurate Greek letter forms), dates, mottos
• Custom Logo & Photo Engraving — upload your own image file (family crest, unit insignia, brand logo, commemorative design) and we engrave it directly onto the blade

Both engraving methods are hand-applied during the finishing stage. See our personalized blades page for examples.

Yes — the 16-inch compact Kopis is an excellent bushcraft and machete-substitute blade. The forward-curving geometry that made it effective against Bronze and Iron Age armor translates directly to clearing brush, splitting kindling, and trail work. The satin standard finish doesn't reflect light in the field, the 800g weight is comfortable for extended use, and the 22-inch total length fits a belt-mounted sheath comfortably. If you want a dedicated tactical machete profile, see our 16-Inch Greek Kopis Machete at the same price point — same blade length, different positioning.

This Kopis is forged-to-order — production typically 2 to 4 weeks depending on engraving complexity and workshop queue. After forging we ship worldwide with tracked, insured DHL or FedEx delivery. See our shipping and returns policy for country-specific delivery estimates and our warranty policy for the lifetime craftsmanship guarantee.

Yes. The Greek soldier and historian Xenophon (c. 430-354 BC), in his treatise "On Horsemanship" (Greek: Peri Hippikes), specifically recommended the Kopis-style forward-curved blade over straight swords for cavalry use. His reasoning: from horseback, a downward chopping cut with a forward-curved blade delivers far more cleaving power than a thrust with a straight blade. This historical recommendation is one of the reasons the Kopis is most strongly associated with cavalry and mounted warfare in classical sources, despite being equally used by infantry as a sidearm.