Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Falchion or Malchus, first half of the 14th century

cornelistromp · 4th December 2023, 12:53 PM

I have noticed this falchion at Herman Historia 63 in 2011, but was unable to see it at the time. Fortunately, it is the only one of this type that I have ever seen for sale, I was recently able to acquire it through a German auctionhaus.
It may looks brittle on the pics , but it is not, the condition is quite solid.
The blade is single-edged on the long side with a false edge of the last quarter on the other side. the back is 7.5mm thick at the tang and 5.5mm thick at the guard and gradually becomes thinner towards the point and towards the cutting edge. The sword is light, 850gr with a blade which is a lot thinner and springier (flexible) than I expected it to be. Not suitable for stabbing, like the falchion type with a similar shape as the early halberds with the cutting edge on the short side and a reinforced point, but this one is particularly effective as a slashing/cutting weapon.
There are some traces of its business life; a deep notch in the thick back as a result of sword defense and at the level of the hole there is a large cut through the blade to the hole in the middle of it, now densely oxidized together again.
The only ones, I can think of, that comes a kind of close is the thorpe falchion and one double edged falchion in NMM.

stats:
OAL 78cm, bl measured from guards oxidation line 64cm, widest part blade 12cm, 4,3cm at cross. pommel 6.0x5.85x2.15cm, grip +-8cm

handling:
it actually feels fast for a cutting sword. The total weight is 850gr with a balance point of 12-13cm on a 64cm blade. (measured with a fictitious weight of the missing guard of 130gr).
The falchion has a thicker tang and blade section close to the guard, and quite some distal taper towards the tip, whereby as a result more mass is close to the POB. This is probably why it doesn't feel blade-heavy and can be properly used to distribute smashing blows to limbs, which requires mass distribution.
What can be a disadvantage with such a wide blade is the torsion that occurs when a cut is out of line.

Please post if somebody does know of any other example of this type ?

4th December 2023, 12:53 PM	#1
cornelistromp Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,057	Falchion or Malchus, first half of the 14th century I have noticed this falchion at Herman Historia 63 in 2011, but was unable to see it at the time. Fortunately, it is the only one of this type that I have ever seen for sale, I was recently able to acquire it through a German auctionhaus. It may looks brittle on the pics , but it is not, the condition is quite solid. The blade is single-edged on the long side with a false edge of the last quarter on the other side. the back is 7.5mm thick at the tang and 5.5mm thick at the guard and gradually becomes thinner towards the point and towards the cutting edge. The sword is light, 850gr with a blade which is a lot thinner and springier (flexible) than I expected it to be. Not suitable for stabbing, like the falchion type with a similar shape as the early halberds with the cutting edge on the short side and a reinforced point, but this one is particularly effective as a slashing/cutting weapon. There are some traces of its business life; a deep notch in the thick back as a result of sword defense and at the level of the hole there is a large cut through the blade to the hole in the middle of it, now densely oxidized together again. The only ones, I can think of, that comes a kind of close is the thorpe falchion and one double edged falchion in NMM. stats: OAL 78cm, bl measured from guards oxidation line 64cm, widest part blade 12cm, 4,3cm at cross. pommel 6.0x5.85x2.15cm, grip +-8cm handling: it actually feels fast for a cutting sword. The total weight is 850gr with a balance point of 12-13cm on a 64cm blade. (measured with a fictitious weight of the missing guard of 130gr). The falchion has a thicker tang and blade section close to the guard, and quite some distal taper towards the tip, whereby as a result more mass is close to the POB. This is probably why it doesn't feel blade-heavy and can be properly used to distribute smashing blows to limbs, which requires mass distribution. What can be a disadvantage with such a wide blade is the torsion that occurs when a cut is out of line. Please post if somebody does know of any other example of this type ? Attached Images