The Khopesh: Egypt's Sickle Sword and How It Was Used
Long before the straight double-edged sword ruled the battlefield, Egypt fought with a blade that looks like nothing else in the sword family: the khopesh. Part axe, part sickle, part sword, it was the sidearm of pharaohs and the weapon in Tutankhamun's tomb. This guide covers what a khopesh actually is, how it was used, and what to look for in a modern reproduction.
What is a khopesh?
The khopesh is a bronze-age Egyptian sword, typically 20 to 24 inches, with a distinctive hooked, sickle-shaped blade. Unlike a farming sickle, the cutting edge runs along the outside of the curve, which makes it a chopping and slashing weapon closer in spirit to an axe than to a slicing sword. It emerged around 2500 BC from the epsilon axe, and for nearly a thousand years it was the signature blade of Egyptian and Canaanite warfare.
How it was used
The khopesh did three jobs at once. The curved belly delivered axe-like chops against shields and light armor. The hook could pull an enemy's shield aside or drag a rider from a chariot, the same trick the Gurkha kukri and the bearded axe would rediscover millennia later. And the point could still thrust. Reliefs show pharaohs from Ramesses II onward raising the khopesh as a symbol of authority, and by the New Kingdom it was as much a ceremonial object as a service weapon; two were buried with Tutankhamun.
Why the shape died out
Iron killed it. The khopesh's geometry suited cast bronze, which is strongest in thick, curved sections. Once forged iron and steel made long, straight, springy blades practical, the straight sword's reach and versatility won, and by around 1300 to 1100 BC the khopesh had faded into ceremony.
Choosing a modern khopesh
Steel, not bronze. A modern working reproduction should be steel; bronze replicas are for display only. Our khopesh comes off the forge by hand in two steels: pattern-welded Damascus, which shows the layered figure along the curve, and 1095 high carbon steel, which takes the hardest working edge. Both are 24 inches, the classic service length.
The checks. Full tang construction, an edge on the outer curve (some cheap replicas sharpen the wrong side), and a balance point forward of the grip so the chop carries weight. Care is the same as any carbon steel blade: wipe dry, oil before storage.
The khopesh sits at the very start of the sword's family tree; you can follow the branch that grew from it through our Greek swords, whose kopis and falcata inherited the forward-curved chopping edge.
Frequently asked questions
Is a khopesh a sword or an axe? It is classified as a sword, but it evolved from the battle axe and chops like one. Egyptologists call it a sickle sword.
How big was a real khopesh? Most service examples ran 20 to 24 inches and roughly 2 to 4 pounds in bronze. Steel reproductions at the same length run lighter.
Which side is sharp? The outside of the curve. The inside edge was usually left blunt, and on some examples the hook was used to trap and control rather than cut.
Did pharaohs really fight with it? They were certainly buried and portrayed with it. The khopesh was the New Kingdom's symbol of military authority, which is exactly why it appears in royal tombs and temple reliefs.
About the author
Owen Juarbal is Director of Marketing and head writer at Battling Blades. He has been with the company since 2021 and writes or reviews every guide the team publishes. Read more about Battling Blades.
