Pappenheimer (and rapiers in general) hilt length

[urbanspaceman]

I acquired this recently purely because it intrigued me and it was very cheap.
It was made by Pillin and Co. for a member of the Knights of Malta which were an off-shoot of the Knights of St John... apparently (see labels).
The blade is from Thurkle with a T slug.
Anyway, the point is this: the hilt is 8&1/4 inches top to bottom and the same from quillon tip to quillon tip. The pommel is huge and very heavy.
On this 31 inch blade is is decidedly unbalanced.
Pillin must have referenced a traditional example, copied the hilt but decided against a longer blade.
ps
The Thurkle history is an interesting one.