Greatsword vs Longsword: The Grip Tells You Everything — 2026 Buying Guide

The difference between a longsword and a greatsword is grip length, not blade length: a longsword grip runs about 18 to 23 cm and a greatsword grip starts around 26 cm. That single measurement decides how the sword is held, how it accelerates, and whether you can use it with one hand at all.

Sellers use longsword, bastard sword, hand-and-a-half and greatsword almost interchangeably, so the name on the listing tells you very little. This guide shows you which number to read instead, using the actual measurements of swords we ship. If you are comparing European steel against Japanese, we have a dedicated katana versus longsword comparison.

What actually separates a greatsword from a longsword?

The handle. A longsword grip is short enough that your second hand is optional; a greatsword grip is long enough that your second hand is mandatory and your hands work as a lever.

Ewart Oakeshott, whose typology from The Archaeology of Weapons (1960) is still the reference framework for European blades, separated the great swords of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries into their own types precisely because of hilt proportion rather than blade shape. Two swords can share a blade profile and belong to different families entirely.

Here is what that looks like in swords you can actually put your hands on:

Read that table twice. The Templar is sold as a longsword and the Kingsbane as a greatsword, and they are dimensionally the same sword. And the Ravenfang carries a blade 20 cm longer than either 96 cm sword above it in the table, yet it still handles as a hand-and-a-half, because its grip stops at 18 cm.

Why does grip length change the way a sword moves?

Because your two hands are not doing the same job. The front hand pivots, the back hand pulls, and the distance between them is the lever arm.

On an 18 cm grip your hands are almost touching. You get power from the shoulder and the wrist, cuts are fast and tight, and you can drop the back hand entirely to reach further or to hold a buckler. That is the whole appeal of the hand-and-a-half format, and it is why the medieval fencing traditions codified by Johannes Liechtenauer in the German school and Fiore dei Liberi in the Italian, around 1409, are built on it.

On a 28 cm grip your hands are a full palm apart. The back hand becomes a lever that rotates the blade around the front hand, which makes a 2.1 kg sword change direction far faster than its mass suggests. The trade is that you have committed both hands permanently and the sword is now 128 cm long, which is longer than most people's dining table is wide.

This is also why weight comparisons mislead. Our Kingsbane Greatsword weighs 2.1 kg, roughly 50 percent more than a typical katana, and feels quicker in the guards than the number implies because the octagonal pommel counterweights the blade and the long grip gives you leverage.

What is a bastard sword, and is it a real category?

It is a real historical word and a useless modern category. Fifteenth-century French sources use épée bâtarde for a sword belonging to neither the one-handed nor the two-handed family. Today it means whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean.

The Blackthorn Bastard Sword is a good illustration. It carries a 64 cm spring steel blade on an 18 cm leather-wrapped wooden grip, with a 304 stainless crossguard and a wood-and-leather scabbard. Those numbers are identical to the Azure Lion Longsword, which costs $60 less and is sold under a different family name.

What you are paying the difference for is finish, not format: the Blackthorn runs a darker, more austere fitting set while the Azure Lion is built around a blue-and-black dual-tone wrap with brass accents on the scabbard. Both are the same weapon underneath. Buy on the aesthetic, not on the taxonomy.

Which steel belongs in a European sword?

A spring steel. Europeans blades are long, straight and thin in cross-section, so the failure you must design against is a snap, not a dull edge.

A katana is curved, thick at the spine and short by European standards, which is why differential hardening works so well on it. A 91 cm straight double-edged blade under a bad-angle cut experiences bending loads a katana never sees. That changes which alloy is correct.

One detail worth knowing: on every functional sword in our medieval range, the crossguard and pommel are 304 stainless steel while the blade is not. That is intentional. The guard does not need to flex, it needs to resist rust from hand contact, and 304 is the correct choice for a part that gets gripped and sweated on. If you want the full alloy discussion including folded and Damascus construction, see our steel comparison guide.

How heavy is a real medieval sword?

1.1 to 1.8 kg for a longsword and 2 to 3.5 kg for a two-handed greatsword. Nothing a knight carried into a field weighed 10 kg.

The heavy-sword myth is Victorian. Nineteenth-century writers, working from ceremonial bearing swords and parade pieces that were never intended for combat, produced weights that were then repeated for a century. Surviving battlefield swords in museum collections cluster tightly in the range above.

Our two-handers land exactly where history says they should: the Kingsbane and the Templar both weigh 2.1 kg at 128 cm. That is heavier than any katana we sell and lighter than most people expect after a lifetime of films.

Distribution matters more than mass. A sword with a heavy pommel and a blade that tapers in thickness from guard to tip will feel alive; the same weight concentrated forward feels like a crowbar. The octagonal pommel on the Kingsbane and the long fuller running down its blade are both there for that reason.

Which medieval sword should you buy at your budget?

Buy a hand-and-a-half first at $260 to $340, and a two-hander second at $460 and up once you know you like the format.

If the sword is going on a wall rather than into a training hall, the Ravenfang at $340 is the sweet spot: it reads as a serious medieval sword at 118 cm without demanding the floor space a 128 cm two-hander does.

How do you display a 128 cm sword?

On a wall, horizontally, with the scabbard on. Our Japanese stands are sized for katana at 40 cm long and will not balance a two-hander safely.

Be honest with yourself about the space before ordering. A 128 cm sword mounted horizontally needs about 140 cm of clear wall, and it needs to be above head height or behind furniture, because a horizontal blade at chest level in a hallway is an accident that has not happened yet.

Two practical points for spring steel specifically. First, store the sword in its scabbard but check it monthly, since leather-wrapped wood holds humidity against the blade. Second, wipe the blade and oil it lightly whenever you handle it, because 5160 and 65Mn are carbon steels and will spot in the same way a katana blade does. The oiling routine in our display and care guide applies without modification to European blades.

Are medieval swords legal to own?

Ownership by an adult is legal across most of the United States and Western Europe. Carrying in public is where the restrictions live.

The usual pattern is: buying and keeping a sword at home is unrestricted or subject only to an age minimum, while carrying it outside requires a legitimate reason such as transport to a reenactment, a training venue or a photo shoot, and the sword must be sheathed and out of immediate reach in a vehicle. Some jurisdictions add their own rules on blade length or on mail-order delivery.

The rules are national and often regional, and they change. We keep a country-by-country breakdown in our sword legality guide by country, which covers European blades under the same frameworks. Check your own jurisdiction before ordering.

Ready to choose?

All 27 European blades, from arming swords to two-handers, are in the medieval sword collection. If you already know you want the two-handed format, the greatsword collection narrows it to three. And if you are still deciding between East and West, the full katana catalogue sits alongside for comparison.

FAQ

What is the difference between a longsword and a greatsword?

Grip length. A longsword has a handle of roughly 18 to 23 cm, long enough for a second hand when you want it and short enough to use one-handed with a shield. A greatsword has a handle of 26 cm or more and was never meant to be used with one hand at all. Blade length follows from that but is not the deciding factor: our Ravenfang Longsword carries an 84 cm blade on an 18 cm grip, while the Kingsbane Greatsword carries a 91 cm blade on a 28 cm grip. The extra 10 cm of handle is the entire difference in how the two swords move.

How heavy is a real medieval sword?

Between roughly 1.1 and 1.8 kg for a longsword, and 2 to 3.5 kg for a two-handed greatsword. The idea that knights swung 10 kg swords is a Victorian invention with no basis in surviving museum pieces. Our Kingsbane Greatsword weighs 2.1 kg at 128 cm overall, which is representative of the real late-medieval two-hander. Weight alone tells you little anyway: a sword with a heavy pommel and distal taper feels lighter in the hand than a lighter blade with all its mass forward of the guard.

Is a bastard sword the same as a longsword?

In practice yes. Bastard sword and hand-and-a-half sword are both later labels for the same object: a sword whose grip accommodates one hand comfortably and two hands at a squeeze. The word bastard appears in fifteenth-century French sources as épée bâtarde, meaning a sword that belongs to neither the one-handed nor the two-handed family. Modern makers use the three terms loosely, which is why you should ignore the product name and read the grip measurement. Our Blackthorn Bastard Sword has an 18 cm grip, exactly the same as our Azure Lion Longsword.

What steel should a medieval sword be made of?

A spring steel, not a knife steel. European swords are long, straight and unsupported along most of their length, so the failure mode you care about is a snapped blade rather than a dull edge. 5160 is a chromium-silicon spring steel with roughly 0.60 percent carbon, the alloy used in vehicle leaf springs, and it flexes and returns instead of breaking. 65 manganese is the equivalent Chinese spring steel, around 0.65 percent carbon with 0.9 to 1.2 percent manganese. Both are correct choices for a functional European sword. Avoid stainless entirely at this blade length.

Are medieval swords legal to own?

In most of the United States and Western Europe, yes, a medieval sword is treated as a collectible bladed item and can be owned by an adult. What varies is carrying it in public, which is generally prohibited or requires a specific reason such as travel to a reenactment or training venue. Some jurisdictions add age minimums at purchase and rules on how the sword must be transported, typically sheathed and out of immediate reach in a vehicle. Check your national and state or Land rules before ordering, since the seller cannot waive them for you.

Which medieval sword should a beginner buy?

A longsword with an 18 cm grip in the $260 to $350 range. That geometry teaches you the most: you can practise one-handed guards, two-handed cuts and half-swording on the same blade, and it fits a normal wall without dominating the room. The Azure Lion Longsword at $260 and the Ravenfang Longsword at $340 are both spring steel with full stainless crossguards and leather-wrapped grips. Buy a greatsword second, once you know whether you actually enjoy the two-handed guards, because a 128 cm sword is a commitment in both handling and display space.

The Bottom Line

• Read the grip measurement, ignore the product name. Under 23 cm is a longsword, 26 cm and over is a greatsword.
• Spring steel or nothing. 5160 and 65 manganese both flex and return; stainless snaps at this blade length.
• 2.1 kg is a real two-hander. Anyone quoting 10 kg is repeating a Victorian error.
• Start at $260 to $340 with a hand-and-a-half, move up to a two-hander once you know the format suits you.
• Measure your wall before you order a 128 cm sword. It needs 140 cm of clear space and it does not belong at chest height.

Related reading: Katana vs longsword | Broadsword vs katana | Katana steel comparison: T10, 1095, 1060, Damascus

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By the Katana-Sword.com Team — sword practitioners and enthusiasts. We have tested blades from manganese to T10 and san-mai, trained with iaido and tameshigiri practitioners, and spent years helping first-time buyers navigate the modern sword market. Questions? Contact us directly.