Left hand dagger for comments

[fernando]

Originally Posted by cornelistromp

... in the middle of the 16th century were, next to Turkish knots, copper soldered rings used to fix the binding of the grip. I believe that this development has started in Italy, you can also find it on late 15thC italian swords of type XVIII.
I do believe the notches inside the ring guard have a job other then decoration, I'm not behind the function yet.
One explanation may be that it prevents sticking your index finger like holding a rapier through the ringguard. as a warning signal in the heat of a fight.
I tried to lock a rapier blade inside a dagger ringguard in the notch however this seems not possible, because the fingers of your left hand are in the way...

Bedankt hoor, Jasper for your lines and the magnificent exemplification pictures.
That being shown and said, i now tend to believe that those notches are now no more than a symbolic condensation, reflecting some earlier and more explicit expression of an actual purpose. Let's see if someone chimes in with further enlightening .