Italian Storta

[Victrix]

Sword #47 in the picture above is a falchion. The author Mario Kovac writes that in German this sword is called malchus. He writes that the purpose of the swords were different so they are built differently. He says the main distinguishing feature of the Storta is that this single bladed sword loses its spine near the tip where it forms a false edge like a sabre. The falchion is also single bladed but has a clipped tip. In “A Guide to the Arms and Armour Collection in Cesta Castle, San Marino” (1969) G. Giorgetti allegedly claims falchions were typical weapons of the guard of the Holy Inquisition but the author questions this. [I hope I got this right as I used Google Translate]

My sword, which is a Storta, has a fairly thick spine so I think it’s meant for some quite heavy cutting in close combat. The blade is wider than my 17-18thC hussar sabres. What’s interesting with this blade is it’s wider near the hilt for strength with a step decrease after a quarter of its length and then the spine disappears in the final 19cm into a false edge like a sabre.