Yup Fernando, definitely not postcard material!!!
That is the point, there is no widespread presence of the paternoster term being used in sword nomenclature or terminology, in fact virtually none. It is only in the often unexpected material presented in Burton that this is presented as some sort of known practice or representation.
Interested party, thank you for your observations and good points. The presence of rapier blades with openwork panels in the blade center/fuller suggests that pierced blades were known in degree. These do not however qualify with reference to paternosters. I know there are examples out there with holes or dots, but have yet to find them.
Well noted that if intended to represent actual rosary beads, there would be significant numbers in those large denominations, but the simile comparing the holes is just that, a comparison in colloquial sense much as with the rocks.
To recite prayers accompanied by a physical object (bead or rock) is the intended note, not necessarily the number.
The objective here is to find blade examples with holes (as suggested by the authors I noted, often in transverse and vertical lines of holes. Also to find this term used in sword descriptions and/or referred to in any of the sword literature.