I remember seeing and reading about other earlier swords that had their opposing guard (in the case of the 'kidney pattern' swords)bent downwards at an acute angle to prevent the annoyance of it banging up against one's leg. I did a search trying to find an example, but no luck. I think the ones I've seen were the early English hunting sword types. Perhaps this is why we see so many weapons missing one of their two shell guards?:shrug:

It could also be a 'two in one' solution; the little central spring that holds the guard open/folded could break or lose tension. As the inner guard was a harassing part, the owner could just take it off instead of having the spring replaced.



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