I've developed an interest recently in the pugio. The two pugios that have caught my eye are the MRL version and the Deepeeka version that Albion sells. To me, as a rank amateur, the Deepeeka looks like the more accurate of the two.
The trouble is, I haven't really heard anything on Deepeeka, good or bad. Any thoughts, opinions, etc.? Thanks. :)

Would like to know about the quality also: Is the steel capable of taking and holding a decent edge and how strong is the tang ? Just had a look on the Albion site and it does " look " good, and the price is low enough that I don't expect the same quality a $500 dollar version would be.

The tangs I've seen in picture of originals didn't look very robust to me !

Sometimes I don't mind if one makes things " better " or stronger than what was historicaly done.

With a little positive feedback I might be tempted " Again " :eek:

I can't help but question Deepeeka's quality, based upon the prices of their swords at By The Sword. On the other hand, I can't imagine a company like Albion selling a total piece of junk either. Hmmmm......... :?: :)

That's exactly why I'm even thinking about it: But this one might be closer to the wall hanger side of the quality spectrum :confused: :D

If, nobody gives us an informed first hand opinion about it soon, I might just E-Mail Mike at Albion and ask !

I've handled the depeeka pugio at a ren fair...unless you want a wall hanger or a blade which has an edge like 2mm thick I'd recommend looking elsewhere. :)

I bought the one Albion carries because Legio XX opined that it's the "only acceptable off-the-shelf dagger," though it has "minor problems "(see their pugio page here: http://www.larp.com/legioxx/pugio.html ). I'm impressed with the peice. It's very well made. It's a steal. Buy it.

PS: Notice that Legio XX does not like Deepeeka's "Royal" pugio.

The edges are blunt, but it has a sharp point, which I think is, uh, the point with Roman arms. That strong central rib is to reinforce the blade for thrusting.

Interestingly enough, near the bottom of the Legio page, it says that the Deepeeka 3264E, which looks like the one Albion sells, is no longer acceptable, due to the brass accents riveted to the front of the scabbard. :eek: Whatever. :wtf: Of note, however, they are faulting the incorrectly-decorated scabbard as the "fatal flaw" (their words) rather than the pugio itself. Fortunately, I'm not quite so hardcore about rivet-for-rivet accuracy, so it still looks appealing to me. :)

The Deepeeka Pugio is, for better or worse, the only fairly historically-accurate pugio (despite the scabbards) on the market right now. The Paul Chen pugio looks real nice, and I'd like to handle one, but at first glance there are some obvious flaws as regards accuracy -- the fullering on the blade, and the blackened decoration of the scabbard (the original on which this pugio was based had silver-inlayed decoration, which of course would be cost-prohibitive on a budget-priced mass production item). And the MRL/WS pugios are not historically accurate at all, especially not their newest wood-gripped version.

I really wish one of the higher-quality manufacturers would make a decent-quality ACCURATE Roman pugio!

I should add that I don't mean to imply that the Deepeeka pugio's thick, rounded edge is correct. I have a photo of an excavated cache of pugio blades, and their edges look thin enough to take an edge. I just wanted to emphasize that this appears to be primarily a thrusting weapon (like the gladius, which also has a sharp cutting edge). If this weapon was used like most soldiers use their knives, it may have been intended as a heavy-duty, all-purpose blade.