Estocs

Styria, 4th quarter of the 16th century

Estocs or even rapiers were carried by soldiers on horseback as well as by the infantry.

Their narrow, four-edged blade was intended to be used on the areas of the body that were not protected by armour. Some of the swords have been conserved with their leather-covered sheaths and a carrying ring.

The bladesmiths Wilhelm Gabler from Graz, Georg Lindl from Judenburg, Conrad Meisgen and Michel Eckhart from Passau and the swordsmiths Thoman Schimbl and Bartholomäus Heinrich from Graz are well known as producers of the Panzerstecher or estoc. All of their deliveries to the Styrian Armoury occurred in the 1570s and 1580s.