Rounded points on European Swords

Jim McDougall · 21st November 2008, 05:11 PM

A short while ago, Fernando posted a most interesting Walloon sword, of the time typically associated with the Low Countries on the Continent in the 17th century. While discussing the features of the sword, one of the most notable was the distinctly rounded tip on the blade.

The question is of course, was this something commonly done on blade tips, and why?

It appears that this rounded tip does occur on a number of European sword blades of 17th century and later, particularly in Germany it would seem.

While not directly pertaining to European blades, it is worthy of note that in ethnographic regions that typically received trade blades from Europe, again most notably Germany, the rounded tip does seem prevalent. The two regions and weapons that come to mind are of course the Tuareg takouba of the Sahara, as well as the Omani kattara of Arabia.

21st November 2008, 05:11 PM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	Rounded points on European Swords A short while ago, Fernando posted a most interesting Walloon sword, of the time typically associated with the Low Countries on the Continent in the 17th century. While discussing the features of the sword, one of the most notable was the distinctly rounded tip on the blade. The question is of course, was this something commonly done on blade tips, and why? It appears that this rounded tip does occur on a number of European sword blades of 17th century and later, particularly in Germany it would seem. While not directly pertaining to European blades, it is worthy of note that in ethnographic regions that typically received trade blades from Europe, again most notably Germany, the rounded tip does seem prevalent. The two regions and weapons that come to mind are of course the Tuareg takouba of the Sahara, as well as the Omani kattara of Arabia.