I don`t believe that the dagger in the Philadelphia Museum dates as late as 1520-1530. It could well belong to the 15th century. That the twisted grip was in use much earlier, can be seen on the attached detail photo of a painting in an Austrian collection, dated 1425, with a rondel dagger with a spirally twisted grip.
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Last edited by Swordfish; 18th April 2012 at 09:40 AM.
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