Good call Rick, and Im inclined to agree. It is interesting though, in recent discussions it seems there is some suggestion that the absence of forte does not necessarily eliminate European production. It seems there are examples of swords from some producers without the usual forte block, though no examples spring immediately to mind. Beyond that, there seems to be also the possibility that some blades made in Solingen for export were made specifically for these North African markets and some of them were indeed without the forte.
The Solingen blade producing machine seems to have few bounds in the range of production styles tailored to certain clientele, as has been seen in the rapier blades produced far into the 18th century for the anachronistically favored cuphilts for Spain, long after the advent of the smallsword.
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