Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Choils and "Spanish Notches" on Ethnographic weapons

A. G. Maisey · 17th July 2018, 11:08 PM

By the grouping of notches, choils & etc into a single element for discussion, two (well, at least two) things have been achieved. The first is that all these elements of blade design have been put onto the table for us to examine and consider. I feel that this is a positive initiative.

However, by this grouping of disparate elements, elements that have been added to blade design for different purposes or reasons, we run the very real risk of confusing one element with another.

Ian has given us the term "finger choil", which is apparently a comparatively modern usage, but a very appropriate one. The term itself tells us precisely what that particular indentation in the blade is intended for.

We know exactly what the original use of the word choil referred to, and its purpose. Once again Ian has clarified this matter by providing an illustration that names the usual choil as a "sharpening choil".

So choils are no longer any sort of a problem.

But the Spanish Notch is an element that could generate more than a few opinions.

I think we can probably accept that in latter times this Spanish Notch was simply a decorative feature that served no practical purpose. However, if we consider the design elements that appear in edged weapons that have been used throughout history, and by different societies, for close combat, what we will find is that time and time again either the back of blade, or the base of a blade carries protrusions or indentations that have been put in place to interrupt the travel of an opponent's blade.

These indentations are sometimes referred to, or thought of, as "blade breakers", but that is an erroneous classification in most cases. The purpose of the notch in blades that carried an edge was primarily to interrupt the free travel of an opponent's blade, and by the impact of blade on notch to permit the combatant to drop or divert the angle of his weapon in order to deflect the opponent's blade. On a blade that did not carry a notch, or notches, the opponent's blade could travel the length of a blade and not be felt until it reached either the guard or the hand.

Often a cut, or a stab is not felt in the heat of combat, in fact in any life threatening situation quite severe injury is not felt until after the threat has passed. This is a natural reaction that permits us to preserve life at the cost of perhaps a finger:- little injuries don't count, big ones do.

If we want to see this phenomenon in action we need look no further than top level sporting competitions. Elite sportsmen will continue to compete even though they have suffered an injury that would ordinarily put them into the emergency ward.

In the case of police work, security work, armed combat, I have known men who have been severely wounded in the course of duty, and they were not aware of the wound until after the emergency had passed.

So the reality, on the ground, is that in a combat situation you need to try to avoid being wounded unknowingly:- little wounds can accumulate and open you to the death blow.

The purpose of notches on a blade is to make the holder of the knife aware that he needs to deflect a blow.

The original intent of those notches was not for ornamentation, nor to break an opponent's blade, rather, it was to give warning of imminent danger.

17th July 2018, 11:08 PM	#11
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	By the grouping of notches, choils & etc into a single element for discussion, two (well, at least two) things have been achieved. The first is that all these elements of blade design have been put onto the table for us to examine and consider. I feel that this is a positive initiative. However, by this grouping of disparate elements, elements that have been added to blade design for different purposes or reasons, we run the very real risk of confusing one element with another. Ian has given us the term "finger choil", which is apparently a comparatively modern usage, but a very appropriate one. The term itself tells us precisely what that particular indentation in the blade is intended for. We know exactly what the original use of the word choil referred to, and its purpose. Once again Ian has clarified this matter by providing an illustration that names the usual choil as a "sharpening choil". So choils are no longer any sort of a problem. But the Spanish Notch is an element that could generate more than a few opinions. I think we can probably accept that in latter times this Spanish Notch was simply a decorative feature that served no practical purpose. However, if we consider the design elements that appear in edged weapons that have been used throughout history, and by different societies, for close combat, what we will find is that time and time again either the back of blade, or the base of a blade carries protrusions or indentations that have been put in place to interrupt the travel of an opponent's blade. These indentations are sometimes referred to, or thought of, as "blade breakers", but that is an erroneous classification in most cases. The purpose of the notch in blades that carried an edge was primarily to interrupt the free travel of an opponent's blade, and by the impact of blade on notch to permit the combatant to drop or divert the angle of his weapon in order to deflect the opponent's blade. On a blade that did not carry a notch, or notches, the opponent's blade could travel the length of a blade and not be felt until it reached either the guard or the hand. Often a cut, or a stab is not felt in the heat of combat, in fact in any life threatening situation quite severe injury is not felt until after the threat has passed. This is a natural reaction that permits us to preserve life at the cost of perhaps a finger:- little injuries don't count, big ones do. If we want to see this phenomenon in action we need look no further than top level sporting competitions. Elite sportsmen will continue to compete even though they have suffered an injury that would ordinarily put them into the emergency ward. In the case of police work, security work, armed combat, I have known men who have been severely wounded in the course of duty, and they were not aware of the wound until after the emergency had passed. So the reality, on the ground, is that in a combat situation you need to try to avoid being wounded unknowingly:- little wounds can accumulate and open you to the death blow. The purpose of notches on a blade is to make the holder of the knife aware that he needs to deflect a blow. The original intent of those notches was not for ornamentation, nor to break an opponent's blade, rather, it was to give warning of imminent danger.