Very Old Firangi with Rapier blade in need of restoration.

[Jens Nordlunde]

David,

I am with you a long part of the way, and agree with you; but I don’t agree with you, when you say that the pata was mainly used for thrusting. Remember that at least some of the patas were mounted with flexible blades, not at all suited for trusting against a chain mail.

There is, however, one type of ‘sword’, which I thought of when you showed the rapier blade (see the picture). It was used for only one thing, to kill an opponent dressed in a mail shirt, or maybe in plates, trying to find a weak point. The blade is not sharp at all, on the contrary, it is squarish/roundish, but the tip is made for stabbing and it is not flexible at all. I can only remember to have seen one single one before, in the Army Museum in Istanbul.

Richard, the lime cutting - excelent.


Jens