Hi Richard,
Its great to see you joining us here!
Thank you for the outstanding explanation on this unusual practice, and the observations on the other example mentioned. I really appreciate your well written attention to detail on this, particularly observations on why this was not a standard practice.
It seems also I had seen a suggestion that in times of war, this custom might have been circumvented as all weapons would be required. Also, warriors of rank typically had several swords, so perhaps alternate ones were 'sacrificed'. One reference noted examples that were not completely finished, as if deliberately produced for the occasion, such as being unsharpened and so on.
All very best regards,
Jim
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