Caribbean Spanish colonial cuphilt rapier

[fernando]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

... I kind of doubted that Solingen blades would have been used on a piece made in the main country of Spain, as Toledo made some of the best pieces in the world at that time and were their competitor.

You know the concept of best, Mark. It is like Miss World election. They determine who is the best among the ones brought up to contest; but we all know girls out there that would beat those elected by miles.
Which blades were best ... Toledo, Solingen (Passau), or even those from other 'no name' origins ?
But i bet the key point here is that of a statistic basis. Spain had huge sword demands due to their colonies occupation. This would be a coherent explanation for blades having to be massively imported (from Solingen) to cope with their needs. This would make it plausible that a private sword would be (all) made in Toledo and setups with Solingen blades were more often found in Military and New World examples.
Hope this makes some sense; no scholar knowledge here .