Portuguese rapier blades

[fernando]

Keith, i am the last person to advise you on this issue. My knowledge is extemely superficial. Besides, on what concerns Portuguese blades, i realize they are often hardly Portuguese, with eventual national inscriptions being done after import.
All i dare say is that the term rapier for these blades is hardly the correct one. Also i concur with Radboud in that the blades you show are naturally the ones that came with those swords.
If an example i have in my books is a reasonable approach for the case in discussion, here is a 'Espadim' used in civil (and eventualy military) gala uniform in a date span between 1792-1816. The hilt is in silver, and the blade measures with a 81 cms. length and 15 m/m width. It has an inscription of the Queen and his would be King son in either blade side in its slender blade. In the last three quarters the blade is what the autor calls 'estoque' type, to its four face cross section. It all points to this blade having being initially belonged to the hilt.


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