Hi All,
I won't disagree about broad tips being better for cutting. That argument got hashed out years ago, to the point where I don't even want to try recovering the link (it's pre-2004).
However, we've got a number of issues to hash out. One is the question of what I'll call the "machete tip," just to keep Mark Bowditch from blowing a fuse. This is a blade with a blunt, sharp, tip, backed up by a thin blade--the classic situation with a machete. Yes, it can be used to stab, but with the blade so thin, there's a question of whether you can actually penetrate with it. This is something where someone really should try it on what's left of a thanksgiving turkey (or some similar target, such as a ham) to see if the blade penetrates when you stab it.
The bottom line here is the it would be good to know how well these broad tips stab. If they don't stab well, then I'd say they're primarily cutting tips.
Second issue are the swords that (I think) Jim was talking about, that have relatively narrow blades and rounded, sharp tips. These are the tips I'm talking about, and they go back to the Bronze Age (see attached image of an accurate reconstruction of a Mindelheim type C sword). In these blades, I'd say the tip was blunted so that it would be a decent slashing tip, and not get embedded in the target.
Basically, we've got different possibilities for the reasons for blunt tips. I absolutely agree that broad, blunt tips are great for cutting, and I also agree that they're easier to sharpen. I also think that they can be specialized more for slashes, rather than stabs.
F
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