The three masters I apprenticed to in Bonn earned their diplomas while serving in the Belgian Army. If you live in country that has no professional accrediting body, I think you could legitimately be named a master by successfully completing an apprenticeship to another master, but such a title would probably not be recognized by professional fencing organizations of other countries. Many fencers wonder how good a particular master may really be. Much depends on where he was trained and who trained him. More depends on how long he has been active and what he may have focused on.
Masters can differ widely on their approaches to fencing.
As a group they tend to have a reputation for gruffness and are often quick to speak their minds. They are often thought to be perfectionists. I place the above text in the public domain as of 12 March 1995. This puzzled me somewhat at the time and I inquired as to why there was this apparent usurpation of the traditional authority of the German professional fencing association. The Deutsche SportBund, part of the Ministry of the Interior, had then stepped in and authorized the DFB to set up a certification program of their own.