Facts About Swords

FACTS ABOUT SWORDS

A sword is a bladed weapon intended for slashing or thrusting that is longer than a knife or dagger . The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographic region under consideration. A sword consists of a long blade attached to a hilt. The blade can be straight or curved. Thrusting swords have a pointed tip on the blade, and tend to be straighter; slashing swords have a sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade, and are more likely to be curved. Many swords are designed for both thrusting and slashing.

The use of a sword is known as swordsmanship or, in a modern context, as fencing . In the Early Modern period , western sword design diverged into roughly two forms, the Thrusting swords and the Sabers. The thrusting swords such as the rapier and eventually the smallsword were designed to impale their targets quickly and inflict deep stab wounds. Their long and straight yet light and well balanced design made them highly maneuverable and deadly in a duel but fairly ineffective when used in a slashing or chopping motion.

The saber ( sabre ) and similar blades such as the cutlass were built more heavily and were more typically used in warfare. Built for slashing and chopping at multiple enemies, often from horseback, the saber's long curved blade and slightly forward weight balance gave it a deadly character all its own on the battlefield. Most sabers also had sharp points and double edged blades, making them capable of piercing soldier after soldier in a cavalry charge.

The sword developed from the Knife or Dagger. A knife is unlike a dagger in that a knife has only one cutting surface, while a dagger has two cutting surfaces.