Ariel,
Thank you for these additional notes regarding kindjhal use, and will add to my notes. I do recall a quote by Pushkin, an avid duelist, which I think was in "Sabres of Paradise" (Leslie Blanche) noting that the thrust was not honorable or to that effect.
While tempting to consider the 'malle perce' or needle like point on many kindjhals and of course many Tatar sabres (ordynka), to be intended for thrust....it seems more likely for slashing cuts.
What you say makes perfect sense as far as deliberately augmenting hilt orientation as discussed would be considered unseemly as far as weapon use for dueling such as with kindjhals, such restrictions would not apply with sabres and cavalry swords such as the pallasch I noted. As you note, in warfare there are no 'rules' despite romantic notions of many writers.
I completely agree on the disposition of the examples of kindjhal discussed here in the thread, both with unintended cant of hilt present.
My notes on angled or canted hilts was simply informational as far as instances where hilts were deliberately postured in this way, and not directly relevant to these examples.
I also would consider it interesting to know more on kindjhal examples which indeed had this hilt feature intentionally fashioned, which as you well note, would seem to be anomalies.
|