One and a half Sword

[Philip]

Originally Posted by ulfberth

The only thing replaced on the rapier is the pommel cap.
One could debate if this is a rapier or a sword, In Italy they used larger blades in they'r rapier guards more often.

Yes, I agree that sometimes the distinction between rapier or riding-sword (Reitschwert / spada da cavallo) can get blurry. Riding-swords used the same style hilts (Oakeshott explains this in his European Weapons and Armour...) but their blades were wider to be useful for both cut and thrust. There were many different systems for fighting with rapiers, some did feature more cutting techniques whereas others were more thrust-focused. In fact, in Italian arms terminology there is sometimes used the word striscia for a weapon of rapier configuration but whose very narrow blade was for point work only.