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Old 29th December 2020, 02:39 PM   #8
urbanspaceman
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Tyneside. North-East England
Posts: 496
Default explanation

Quote:
Originally Posted by cornelistromp
The above small sword has no colichemarde blade, almost all colichemarde blades do not have a fuller, can you please explain what you mean.
I've re-read my text and cannot find any ambiguity, but I will attempt to express my statement in more comprehensive terms as it is a fascinating topic but not specifically pertinent to the original post:
the blade in question IS NOT a colichemarde...obviously, but it does feature a constant width groove on the wide face - or lower/bottom face - that is a characteristic of every colichemarde I have seen to date.
It is virtually impossible - even today - to design a machine that will mechanically grind a hollow/fuller, that has a decreasing radius, in a single pass.
It is possible to use a roller to produce a constant width groove.
The stock triangular (cross-section) material was placed, wide face up, into a mould cut into a block, and the roller forced the metal down and formed two small - pre. shaped - hollows as it pressed a groove into the wide face. Obviously, this was done while the metal was hot and malleable.
That block with a mould cut into it was used as early as the Middle-Ages to produce a version of the Estoc, but in that case the pressure came by hammering a 'fuller' (this is the name of the tool and it gave its name to the result) down onto the metal. We used the same principle to produce early Brown Bess bayonets.
Exactly why this machine was used to produce colichemardes is something I have yet to ascertain and it fascinates me; hence my request for sight of anomalies.
There are a few colichemardes that feature the groove extending all the way to the top of the forte although most end at the lower shoulder.
I'm sorry if I have hi-jacked this thread; I do not wish to clutter it with an entirely different subject. Perhaps the admin could separate it, with a link to a fresh thread, in case folk would like to indulge in this new and previously ignored research of mine. I would be grateful for all the input and assistance I can get.
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