Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword (9 page)

As a fencing style of swordplay became more and more popular as a method for settling various disagreements of a serious social nature, efforts were made to improve the sword. Early in the 17th century the cup hilt was developed, and then the dish hilt. Various blade lengths and sections were tried, until the small sword was developed. This is considered by many to be the ultimate fencing weapon. Generally a hollow triangle in cross section, with a blade length between 31–36 inches, it was very light and very fast. One variation, called the "colichemarde," had a blade that thickened at the forte of the blade. This allowed it to be used to parry cuts from heavy blades. Although, as stated, it was quite fast, it suffered from the problem of not having any edges. In a really nasty fight this made gripping the blade a viable and useful tactic.

The colichemarde blade thickens at the forte of the blade.

However, this was done to another kind of thrusting sword, the tuck or the estoc from northern Europe. This long, straight sword of the 15th century was intended solely for thrusting and the earlier versions were designed to penetrate armor, either mail or plate. Some of the later versions do not have quite the thick, heavy blades of the earlier models, but have blades that are almost heavy rapiers. Many think that these weapons were the ancestor of the rapier, but I do not think it is possible to know this for sure.

As an interesting side note: many are not aware that the Turks used a large number of estocs. There are many in the museums in Istanbul. Although I have not been fortunate enough to study them personally, a fellow sword lover has sent me some photos and descriptions. They are impressive, and are truly bars of sharpened steel. The blades appear to be about one-half inch in thickness, square in section, with a smooth, even taper and a very strong point. You have no doubt that in the hands of a strong man it would penetrate plate armor.

Swiss tuck, 50.25 inches overall length. HRC25C.

Not all swords are for thrusting, and for many the primary purpose is the cut. Even so, there are very few who wish to do away with the point entirely. Thus cut-and-thrust swords have a point, just not as pronounced as on the thrusting sword. The blade in back of the point is somewhat wider, and thus able to give a stronger blow than the narrow blade of a thrusting sword. It is an effective sword, doing both cutting thrusting with equal facility.

But there is one type of point that has been generally ignored, and that is the cutting point. I know that it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it really isn't.

When you cut with a sword you usually try to hit with the optimal striking point. This is the area of the blade where you will encounter the least amount of vibration. This is the same as the sweet spot on a baseball bat or a tennis racket. Swords will have two such spots, one well up the blade and one close to the hilt. To find them all you need to do is to tap the sword on a stump or something of that nature (whatever you do, don't use a piece of furniture; wives are quite unreasonable about this sort of thing). When you find the area that does not produce vibration, this is the sweet spot. When you strike with this area you are able to deliver the greatest amount of force to the given area. But there is a problem with this. When you strike with this area, you are effectively shortening your sword. I have a superb recent copy of an early medieval sword. The blade is 32 inches long. However, the sweet spot is only 22 inches from the hilt. When I strike with this section, I am reducing the length of my sword. This is true with swords such as the katana, which don't have very long blades to start with. Now, the katana overcomes this problem easily. The Japanese developed a very effective cutting technique.

The sweet spot is indicated on this reproduction cut-and-thrust sword. HRC181.
The sweet spot is indicated on this katana. HRC105.

But we are talking about the design of swords. So look at the history and the development of the rapier to small sword, and then look at the Japanese katana.

There is no question that the katana is perfectly suited for the style of combat in which it is used. A relatively short blade (about 28 inches average) with a two-handed handle, it was capable of delivering some truly terrifying cuts, and also some perfectly acceptable thrusts. The sword was in use for close to a thousand years, and in that time there was very little change other than in materials and the skill of manufacture.

Japan, having a very stable (some might say static) culture, with very little outside contact, saw no reason to change. Whereas Europe, quite dynamic, with plenty of outside contact, was constantly changing.

If you cut with a broad-bladed strongly tapering medieval style sword you will use the optimal striking area. Should you happen to hit with the top 3–6 inches of the blade, you will not be able to deliver a very strong cut. A thickened thrusting point produces a great deal of drag, enough to reduce the depth of the cut fifty percent or even more.

The katana has a point that is rounded, and every bit as sharp as the rest of the sword. This allows a cut with no drag, as the point slices its way through the material. In most cases the katana was used so that the attacks were made with the front 6 inches of the sword. This also prevented the sword from being hung up in the body of the opponent. Remember, we are talking war and killing. People do not remain still when hit with a sharp sword, and it is possible for the sword to be trapped in the body, and pulled from the hand. This was also one of the reasons that the curved cavalry saber was popular.

This rounded cutting point is, however, also quite effective in the thrust. The edges of the curve are sharp and are able to penetrate well by simply cutting its way in. The shape of the point, almost a quarter circle, is quite strong, and with sufficient force able to cut through mail.

 
Katana (left) and Viking (right) points.

Now, I can't say that the development of the curved point was done deliberately; it could have easily been accidental. But it does work.

But the Japanese were not the only ones to develop a cutting point. The Europeans did it, particularly the Vikings. It has often been said that the Vikings and the medieval knight did not know about the thrust. This is based on the frequency of somewhat rounded points and that it is often said that the Viking and medieval sword are "far too heavy to fence with."

Well, that's true, they are too heavy to fence with. But they were never made for fencing, they were made for fighting and killing your enemy. As for thrusting, the Vikings used spears a great deal, and the sagas record many instances of someone thrusting his sword into his opponent's body.

For instance, in
Njal's Saga
, one sea battle is related that occurred between Hrut and Atli Arnvidarson, who was a pirate. When the two fleets converged and Atli found out that Hrut served King Harald Grey Cloak, battle was imminent. Atli remarked that, "your Norwegian kings have had much for my father and myself." And Hrut replied, "That's your hard luck, not theirs." Atli snatched up a spear and hurled it at Hrut's ship, where it struck a man and killed him. That was the beginning of the battle and it was quite a fierce one. The pirates had trouble gaining a foothold on Hrut's ship. Ulf the Unwashed (wonderful name, that) was laying about him with sword and spear when one of Atli's men, called Asolf, leapt on to Hrut's ship before Hrut became aware of him and turned to face him. Asolf lunged with his spear and drove it through Hrut's shield before Hrut, with a single blow, killed him. Ulf the Unwashed remarked, "That was a heavy blow, Hrut." At that very moment Atli noticed a gap in Ulf's defense and hurled a spear that went right through him. So the Vikings knew all about the dynamics of the thrust.

My own experiments have shown that a rounded sword point can be used successfully in the thrust provided that the sword is sharp. It should be remembered that mail was not worn all the time, nor was it worn by everyone, even in a battle. The improvement in range and cutting ability more than makes up for a slight decrease in cutting power.