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Originally Posted by Victrix
Does the absence of a pointed sword tip suggest it might be an executioner's sword?
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Quite a few swords from various cultures which have seen some combat have tips which are not truly pointed, but are sharpened all round the end. This includes katzbalgers, a number of Scots basket hilts, and even a few Indian and Chinese double edged swords I've handled. I'm sure other collectors on this forum can add others from their experience.
Most likely, the original points were broken or chipped away in battle, and what we see now is just a carrying-along of a field-expedient repair to get the sword back in action. My experience in restoring and polishing old blades tells me that re-grinding the original tip profile on a broken point can involve a lot of labor. Also, a swordsmith friend has pointed out that if the edge is sharp all around the blunted profile, the blade is still deadly!
European executioners' swords (at least the familiar "Germanic" type also used in Switzerland, Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary) have much wider blades than the typical combat broadsword, and the width does not taper, i.e. they are parallel-sided. In fact, one in my collection widens slightly from forte to end by a few millimeters. Their cross-sections are, for specialized functional purposes, a lot more restricted as to form -- invariably they have a short fuller at the forte which usually extends no more than 20% or so of total length, and the remainder is relatively thin and of lenticular-section with no central ridge or flat.