[Sean Flynt]

Exactly, and given the fact that Roman soldiers also were expert builders/foragers, I can certainly imagine that the pugio was put to many creative uses.

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!

Figured I'd better chime in here and clarify what's on my Legio XX site! The Deepeeka pugio that Albion carries is indeed #3264E, the "Embossed" version as Deepeeka calls it. I banned it from my group because the scabbard is a hypothetical construction--there are no surviving examples of iron scabbard shells with brass plates riveted on. Deepeeka copied it from a photo in Dan Peterson's book, even though he advised them not to.

Deepeeka also makes a "Brass Beaded" pugio, #3264 B, which Legio XX *does* accept for use, though I don't think Albion carries it. It is based on an example from Leeuwen in Holland, though the raised dots on the scabbard are done differently (embossed on the repro, but cast in strips and soldered onto the original). The other problem with this piece is that the original is unique, and having a bunch of them in the same unit gives an inaccurate impression of the "typical" pugio. (That's a minor beef!)

The dagger itself is pretty much the same for both types, though the hilt plates are steel on 3264E and brass on 3264B. The blade is kind of thick and heavy, quite blunt, and I think the midrib is too pronounced. The hilt is also kind of chunky, though it should be possible to disassemble it and narrow the whole thing down some. The ends of the guard of front plate extend around the end of the guard and overlap the back plate--this is also copied from a photo in Peterson's book, though I don't know if it is a feature ever found on originals. In any case, Deepeeka didn't do it very well, so I recommend trimming that wrap-around bit off anyway.

As has been said, any "pugio" MRL/Windlass makes--heck, almost ANYthing they call "Roman" or "Greek"!--should be widely avoided unless you are looking for fantasy pieces.

We would LOVE to see a decent pugio in regular production somewhere! It is a very frustrating item to find. Part of the problem is finding enough good information about dimensions and construction, so that the craftsman doesn't have to guess at anything.

Pugio scabbards are usually so ornate (and sometimes the hilts, too), that I'm a little leery of thinking of them as equivalent to a modern soldier's utility knife. They would certainly be effective weapons, though I agree that they'd be rather last-ditch. I have a feeling that they got more use in mugging civilians than anything else... Smaller single-edged knives are common enough that I don't think the pugio was used much for eating or other common chores. It really seems to be too much of a status symbol.

Valete,

Matthew

[Sean Flynt]

Welcome, Matthew!

And thanks for the information (and a great site)!

[G. Scott H.]

Let me second that welcome, Matthew. As I stated in a previous post, I'm not concerned with rivet-for-rivet accuracy, I'm just looking for something that could have been used in the past. Right now, the Deepeekas look like the best (if not completely accurate) replicas available off the shelf. I do have a question, however: have you ever taken one of these Deepeekas apart? Is the hilt riveted just to the shoulder of the blade, or is there some kind of tang under the grip/hilt assembly?

Thanks.

[Matthew Amt]

Thanks for the welcome! I've been popping by to take a look for quite a while, irregularly, but seldom have time and opportunity to contribute.

I don't think we've ever taken a Deepeeka pugio apart, but you can see the tang clearly since it matches the outline of the hilt. It's quite solid, too, a good quarter-inch thick. So it's plenty strong.

The "organic" layer is black, and is hopefully black horn. We just hope it's not plastic... Way back when, one of my guys was trying to take apart the old MRL pugio, and discovered that the hilt was GLUED together! The rivets in the plates were just for show, and the plates were epoxied to the tang.

If you aren't concerned with detailed accuracy, man, Deepeeka is like a dream come true! Sure, there's some sloppy workmanship, but that's actually VERY authentic for Roman stuff. Heck, even us picky folks could spend a pile, there. Happily, I'm flat broke!

Valete,

Matthew