What is purpose of fullers on blades?

[RobertGuy]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Thanks for info so far, but I am still not sure WHY they are there. Most European (military) swords do not have them and do not seem to suffer from either weakness of heaviness. So the question really remains as to what purpose they serve.
Stu

Not sure what time period you are referring to but most of my European military swords have fullers. All of my 18th and 19th century cavalry swords do as do most of the infantry ones. There are a few exceptions; British 1833 General Officers sword, Drummers swords, some hangers and cutlasses. Pipe backed blades were a slightly different attempt to add stiffness without compromising weight too much but were not used for long.