Excellent!!! This is the kind of stuff that cannot be found in books! only through many years of handling weapons and astutely noticing the differences that occur in various elements, blades in particular. This is because the blades tend to remain in circulation while hilts often are replaced for various reasons. As noted by AVB Norman (1980), changes in fashion or alignment with local favorite styles in relocation are often common.
I wonder if, as you note, the simpler geometry in blade design might come from the fact that fewer blades in production in earlier times allowed smiths to be more detailed, as their craft was truly artisan oriented?
Later, production dictated more volume and less time for more elaborate detail?
|