While the full-length Xiphos was the standard Greek hoplite sidearm — drawn when the spear broke or the phalanx dissolved into individual fighting — a shorter dagger-length version served those who needed a backup blade in an even more compact form. Macedonian phalangites, who carried the enormous sarissa spear, favoured shorter blades as their secondary weapon precisely because the length of the sarissa made a longer sidearm impractical.
The Xiphos Dagger’s leaf-shaped blade carries the same design philosophy as the longer sword — widest at approximately two-thirds of its length for maximum cutting power, with a taper to an acute tip for thrusting. At under 12 inches of blade, it is genuinely a dagger rather than a short sword, yet it retains the visual character and symbolic identity of the Xiphos tradition.
KOA confirms this piece (KOA_AH4238) as battle ready — the EN45 high carbon steel blade hand-forged and unsharpened, the hilt a composite of riveted and contoured wood scale halves over a thick blade tang, with steel guard halves and a wood pommel with steel cap. The scabbard is wood partially bound in tight red leather finely stitched into form, finished with leather banding and brass hanging rings — a complete and visually striking package.
