Messer as in langes messer, or grosse messer. People argue about what the difference is, but the reality is that there are one-handed, two-handed, and hand-and-a-half versions. I like all three, but they are all variations on the type that bears a resemblance to the sabre.
I'm compiling in typed form my ideas on "fixing" BRP combat (as they have until now been notes in a notebook). I'll post them at some point, just not today. I actually met Sandy Petersen once, and he said he liked the idea of what I was doing (while acknowledging that EVERYONE homebrews to some extent). I'm still going