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Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde
Fernando, I remember it to have been a long rod, pointet at one end and a hilt at the other end, just like the one Tirri shows..
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Maybe the example at Istambul is something for a different purpose, only the rod shape being coincidental. Having or not a sharp point could be due to time wearing or some accident make them becoming blunt.
Judging by NavdeepBal's words Tirri's example was more directed to human (unarmoured) combat. We akso know that a Kirch doesn't have to have a talwar hilt mounted in it. But it is also true that the term has been vulgarized and its attribution corrupted trough time; you may read the term nowadays in the Indian press about people been currently attacked with Kirch, as meaning a "small rapier", a "knife like weapon" a "sharp edged weapon" and other. The only picture available of what seems to be a Kirch in its original attribution, produced by Sikh sources is a rather poor one; in any case i will upload it here.
On the other hand, i have captured parts of what seems to be a rather consensual description of what a French estoc or English tuck would be, (courtesy of Blood & Bourbon) as partly already approached in here before,
as being a type of sword in use from the 14th to 17th centuries, characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for two handed use and a straight, edgeless, but sharply pointed blade of around 36-52 inches in length. Such swords averaged about 4 pounds with no specimen weighing more than 6 pounds. The estoc was a variation of the longsword designed for fighting against mail or plate armor. It was long, straight, and stiff with no cutting edge, just a point. As armor improved, so did the methods of attacking the armor .....Thrusting weapons that could split the rings of mail, or find the joints and crevices of plate armor, like the estoc, were employed....
Whereas the example in Istambul was brought from India or belongs in the family of European estocs, a so called Mec, is something for you Jens, or any of our members to figure out.
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