Ariel, great to learn about the mec-kilic. I think these chainmail piercing swords have been around almost as long as chainmail itself. In Europe estocs were used in medieaval times but in islamic (for want of a more appropriate word?) lands they continued in use longer presumably because chainmail continued in use, probably because of a greater traditional attachment to archery?
The use of the Slavic word mach for this type of sword could be that the Ottomans first encountered these weapons during the conquest of the Balkans. This does not have to mean the swords originated here but that they were manufactured in the traditional centres in Passau and Brescia etc and imported to the Balkans which was the first point of contact for the Ottomans with European warfare. It makes you wonder if the crusaders did not use these weapons in which case they might have been called franji-kilic (Frankish sword) instead? Also I would be surprised if the mongols and tatars did not have chainmail piercing swords in which case the Turks would have adopted these swords alng with curved sabres. Not sure Circassians or Crimean Tatars spoke Slavic languages?
There was an earlier discussion about estocs here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21249 . You may find posts #13 and 16 in particular interesting.