Anatomy of the Sword

The hilt can come in many different shapes and sizes from a half circle to the small clamshell shapes to the swept hilt of this rapier. The first third of the blade closest to the wearer is the forte and is the strongest part of the blade and the part of the blade that should be used for parrying your opponent's sword. The middle of the sword is the mezzo and the last third of the blade is the foible. The foible is the weakest part of the blade. Your rapier has two edges, a true edge and a false edge. The true edge is used for cutting motions and is the edge turned towards the opponent's blade for most parries.

Thanks to Patrick for lending me his rapier.

Sword Parts Hilt - The lower portion of a sword consisting of the cross-guard, handle/grip, and pommel (most Medieval swords have a straight cross or cruciform-hilt). Called the Handhabe in German. In Old French the crosspiece was called helz, the grip called poing, the pommel called pom, and the handle might be bound with metal rings called mangon. Cross - The typically straight bar or "guard" of a Medieval sword, also called a "cross-guard". A Renaissance term for the straight or curved cross-guard was the quillons (possibly from an old French or Latin term for a type of reed). Fiore Dei Liberi in 1410 referred to it as the crucibus. Fillipo Vadi in the 1480s termed it the cross-guard or "crosses", Elza term. Called the Gehiltz or Gehultz in German. Called the Kreuz in German and Croce in Italian. Quillions: A Renaissance term for the two cross-guards (forward and back) whether straight or curved. It is likely from an old French or Latin term for a reed. On Medieval swords the cross guard may be called simply the "cross", or just the "guard". Pommel: Latin for "little apple", the counter-weight which secures the hilt to the blade and allows the hand either rest on it or grip it. Forte': A Renaissance term for the lower portion on a sword blade which has more control and strength and which does most of the parrying. Also called prime or fort. Foible: A Renaissance term for the upper portion on a sword blade which is weaker (or "feeble") but has more agility and speed and which does most of the attacking. Fuller - A shallow central-groove or channel on a blade which lightens it as well as improves strength and flex. Sometimes mistakenly called a "blood-run" or "blood-groove", it has nothing to do with blood flow, cutting power, or a blade sticking. A sword might have one, none, or several fullers running a portion of its length, on either one or both sides. Narrow deep fullers are also sometimes referred to as flukes. The opposite of a fuller is a riser, which improves rigidity. Grip - The handle of a sword, usually made of leather, wire, bone, horn, or ivory (also, a term for the method of holding the sword). Ricasso - The dull portion of a blade just above the hilt. It is intended for wrapping the index finger around to give greater tip control (called "fingering"). Not all sword forms had ricasso. They can be found on many Bastard-swords, most cut & thrust swords and later rapiers. Those on Two-Handed swords are sometimes called a "false-grip", and usually allow the entire second had to grip and hold on. The origin of the term is obscure. Shoulder - The corner portion of a sword separating the blade from the tang. Tang - The un-edged hidden portion or ("tongue") of a blade running through the handle and to which the pommel is attached. The place where the tang connects to the blade is called the "shoulder". A sword's tang is sometimes of a different temper than the blade itself. The origin of the term is obscure. Annellet/Finger-Ring: The small loops extending toward the blade from the quillions intended to protect a finger wrapped over the guard. They developed in the middle-ages and can be found on many styles of Late-Medieval swords. They are common on Renaissance cut & thrust swords and rapiers they and also small-swords. For some time they have been incorrectly called the "pas d`ane". Compound-Hilt/Complex-Guard: A term used for the various forms of hilt found on Renaissance and some late-Medieval swords. They consist typically of finger-rings, side-rings or ports, a knuckle-bar, and counter-guard or back-guard. Swept-hilts, ring-hilts, cage-hilts, and some basket-hilts are forms of complex-guard.