repurposed rapier blades

urbanspaceman · 4th January 2025, 11:42 AM

Up here in the North of England, and over into Scotland, there existed (I know this because many still do) a lot of smallswords with narrow double edged blades.
It seems that, at first, the hollow blades were not popular up North.
I have two Shotley Bridge smallswords from 1688, with 28 and 29 inch double-edged, 1 inch wide (at the shell) blades. Both have very sharp edges but are not especially pointed.
One is 60g, the other 65g, with mainly the hilts contributing to the difference. Balance points: 4 and 4.5 inches.
I believe we are seeing a lack of accessible instruction for the new smallsword techniques, but predominantly a 'dyed-in-the-wool' confidence in weightier, sharp-edged swords.
The hollow blade smallsword was not everyone's cup of tea.

4th January 2025, 11:42 AM	#8
urbanspaceman Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Tyneside. North-East England Posts: 577	something completely different - but... Up here in the North of England, and over into Scotland, there existed (I know this because many still do) a lot of smallswords with narrow double edged blades. It seems that, at first, the hollow blades were not popular up North. I have two Shotley Bridge smallswords from 1688, with 28 and 29 inch double-edged, 1 inch wide (at the shell) blades. Both have very sharp edges but are not especially pointed. One is 60g, the other 65g, with mainly the hilts contributing to the difference. Balance points: 4 and 4.5 inches. I believe we are seeing a lack of accessible instruction for the new smallsword techniques, but predominantly a 'dyed-in-the-wool' confidence in weightier, sharp-edged swords. The hollow blade smallsword was not everyone's cup of tea. Attached Images