Students often liked to duel in order to prove their courage, and many of the student fraternities set up from the 16th century organized contests between each other. As the injuries caused by the thrusting weapons originally used to conduct these bouts were often fatal, fencers made the switch to slashing weapons in the 18th chentury. Now the worst that someone could expect was a nasty scar, which became prized as a status symbol.

Two main types of weapon were used in fencing matches by the 1850s: the Glockenschläger and the Korbschläger. The difference between the two types of weapon was found in the form of their hand guard and explains their names. Whilst the Glockenschläger (Glocke means “bell” in German) has a bell-shaped metal guard between the handle and the blade, the Korbschläger (Korb is the German word for “basket”) features a metal mesh basket covered with a solid fabric. Fraternities in the eastern regions of Germany mostly used the Glockenschläger; students in the rest of the country preferred the Korbschläger.

The Korbschläger on display in the Deutschlandmuseum is a ceremonial weapon. With a blunt edge and point, it was never used to fight an opponent, but was carried by students elected to an office in their fraternity to mark their position. The colours on the hand guard are those of the fraternity, indicating the group represented by the student.