Medieval Swords - Edge

The edge of a sword is the part that does the primary damage in swords of this style. I should comment that there are "poking swords" which are meant to be impaled into their enemy, long thin swords such as rapiers. In comparison, the swords shown below are generally meant to slide the enemy, to use a dragging motion of the sharp edge to chop off limbs and heads.

When you are holding a sword so that one edge of the blade is pointed towards the enemy, that edge is known as the "true edge". The edge that is facing away from the enemy is the "false edge" - it can still be sharp depending on the sword, and it can still be used for attacks. If you were to flip the sword around in your hand so the opposite edge is facing the enemy, now the one that is NOW facing the enemy is known as the "true edge". It has to do with the sword's orientation to the enemy, and has nothing to do with the sword itself.



The hand forged sword has an edge on each side of its blade, so it could be used coming and going.



The Charles V sword also has an edge on each side, but as it is much lighter, you'd probably want to go against an unarmored peasant with this one :)



The wooden sword has a pair of edges but they are not very functional. I suppose you could give someone a nasty splinter.



Parts of a Sword
Medieval Swords and Swordfighting

Medieval Conflict
Medieval Bows and Arrows
Medieval Keeps and Castles
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Life in Medieval Days

Academy of Knightly Arts - Live Sword Training School in New England


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