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Topic: Smallsword

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	European dueling sword
		The smallsword and the last stage of the rapier were made possible only by metalurgical advances in the seventeenth century.
		Only with the development of the smallsword were weapons fast enough to allow the riposte, where a defensive parry is turned smoothly into an attack without delay.
		Smallswords might be around 78 centimetres in length and weigh 500 grams, considerably lighter and shorter than the rapier.
	www.ebroadcast.com.au /lookup/encyclopedia/sm/Smallsword.html (1298 words)

	The Changing Face of Truth
		In smallswording to keep the point directed at the enemy was to keep your Measure because the horizontal alignment of the blade was the root of all recognised defensive movements for the smallsword.
		However, the crucial factor with the smallsword is that the point of the weapon, in effect, acts as a fulcrum or pivot around which the wrist arcs to provide the angular changes necessary to deflect incoming thrusts.
		Smallsword masters of the past who, all too often, had little knowledge of the cutting sword tried to convince people that the principles of the latter were dependent on those of the former.
	www.thearma.org /essays/truth.htm (2029 words)

	Smallsword
		The smallsword is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood among historical weapons.
		As a weapon, the smallsword was developed in the second half of the 17th Century, and that saw its apogee in the next.
		The blade of a typical 18th-Century smallsword measures around 31 or 32 inches in length, and is almost essentially designed for the thrust.
	www.salvatorfabris.com /SectionSmallsword.shtml (368 words)

	myArmoury.com: Smallsword (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		The smallsword was as elegant as it was deadly.
		This smallsword that Arms & Armor chose to replicate is based upon an original c.1715-1730, located in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
		The hilt of this smallsword is typical of those found during the first quarter of the 18th century, they can be characterized by their large, rounded, pas d' ane (finger rings) and plain decoration of the hilt.
	www.myarmoury.com /review_aa_ss.html (446 words)

	Small sword - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The comparative lightness of the smallsword and the resulting ease of manipulation led to the development of the sophisticated handwork and the linear footwork of modern fencing, and it can be considered as the immediate predecessor of the modern foil and épée.
		The smallsword could, in the right hands, be a highly effective duelling weapon, but as with the rapier its function was often reduced to that of male jewelery.
		The fashion for wearing swords with civilian dress rapidly declined at the end of the 18th century, and the use of the smallsword was subsequently restricted to certain ceremonial occasions.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Smallsword (339 words)

	Getting to the Point
		Smallsword fencing is the direct ancestor of the most common styles of fencing of today.
		Following the revolutions of the late eighteenth century, the sword, and emblem of the aristocracy, was no longer worn with civilian dress.
		Fencing with the foil, originally a practice weapon for the smallsword, continued to develop into a sophisticated art that let swordsmen use their technical mastery of all the techniques of killing in a context where injury was highly unlikely.
	www.historicalfencing.org /Ken's_library/pages/Fencing04.htm (490 words)

	European dueling sword/smallsword Information
		The smallsword and the last stage of the rapier were made possible only by metallurgical advances in the seventeenth century.
		Only with the development of the smallsword were weapons fast enough to allow the riposte, where a parry is followed smoothly by an offensive action without delay.
		While any sword of that size was called a smallsword, there was a form specific to the smallsword: a blade that had a triangular cross-section, although some still had a diamond cross-section well into the 18th century.
	home.comcast.net /~sylvanarrow/dueling-sword.htm (1309 words)

	Understanding Smallsword
		The smallsword blade is generally between 29 and 35 inches long, and may be of flattened diamond, oval or triangular section.
		The smallsword is almost essentially a thrusting weapon; although records exist of its occasionally being “sharpened as a razor” for dueling (naturally applicable only for those blades that could physically take an edge), the major French smallsword instruction treatises focus solely on the thrust.
		The smallsword feint one-two is performed in this manner: when your opponent engages your sword, you disengage with lightness and speed and perform a feint to the opposite side, then foil his parry with an additional disengage to the same side where you started and push your thrust home.
	www.salvatorfabris.com /UnderstandingSmallsword.shtml (1699 words)

	Mike's Homepage: Combat/Fencing Glossary
		The 18th century saw the establishment of the dominance of the smallsword as the subject of fencing instruction and practice, as well as the rise of the French school who eventually would supersede the Italian school in being widely recognized as the leader of the European fencing discipline.
		For certain swords such as the rapier, smallsword, sabre, schlager, or Scottish basket-hilted broadsword, this area was further protected by some form of hand or knuckle protection, such as a knuckle-bow extending from the crossbar, metal shell extending from the bellguard, or a basket comprising of part of the entire hilt guard.
		Technically not a weapon but a practice tool based on the 18th century French smallsword, known by the French as a "fleuret", the foil is the smallest and most flexible of the three classical weapons, and with the smallest hand guard, which was often limited to the size of a small dish.
	mikeliem.tripod.com /combat/cfterms.html (5384 words)

	The Armoury
		Popular from the 1660's to the early 1800's, the smallsword is a thrusting weapon; the point is used to penetrate the skin and puncture vital organs.
		As the use of the sword fell out of fashion, the smallsword became more elaborate and less functional, eventually becoming a piece of jewelry to be worn at court (hence the name courtsword).
		Consequently, the smallsword was constructed for actual use, whereas the courtsword was an elaborate accouterment.
	www.amfence.com /html/armoury.html (2166 words)

	Ethnographic Arms & Armour - English Sword with Arabic Inscription
		Smallsword is not a sword that is small; it is a technical term for a certain particularly evolved (or decadent, depending on your viewpoint) form of rapier (ie sword-hilted spear).
		They were not considered ideal for a battlefield sword, but often found their way there at the sides of people who owned only one sword (and most owned none), or knew/preferred only the smallsword, or officers who may have used it as a pointer to direct their men, more than as a weapon.
		Most of the smallsword of this time are with one short quillon (sometimes straight, sometiems curved) while the second one is just a knuckle-guard.
	www.vikingsword.com /vb/showthread.php?t=321 (1105 words)

	An Introduction to Fencing
		With changes in technique and fashion-- the swords were essentially gentlemen’s sidearms, worn as much for style and status as for defence-- the rapier was gradually lightened and shortened into the smallsword of the 18th and 19th centuries.
		The smallsword was quick enough to be used for both attacking and parrying, eliminating the need for a separate parrying device.
		Killing in a duel had long been outlawed by the beginning of the 1800’s, and by the 1820’s the wearing of swords had passed out of fashion-- fencing was moving into the realm of sport.
	my.execpc.com /~neevel/caliburn/fencint.html (1734 words)

	TherionArms - French smallsword (Cold Steel)
		It was however a somewhat unwieldy weapon especially when it was used in narrow, crowded streets and alleyways.
		The hilt (compared to the rapier’s) was simple and smartly functional, consisting of no more than an elliptical plate, or two shells and a light knuckle guard.
		The Cold Steel smallsword duplicates the original model in weight, balance, triangular cross section, and deadly sharp point, but uses modern materials like 1050 high carbon blade steel, heat treated to a tough spring temper.
	therionarms.com /reenact/therionarms_c588.html (235 words)

	Smallswords (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12)
		(Smallsword 3) This is similar to Smallsword 1 but has a specially fitted riccaso cover.
		(Smallsword 4) Italian design like smallsword 2 but with a fitted riccaso cover and slightly larger guard.
		(Smallsword 6) Note that the quillion block and the riccaso cover are one unit.
	www.popinj.com /smallswords.htm (46 words)

	Photos: Smallsword
		Smallsword, French School: Maestro Martínez demonstrates the disarm and thrust to the flank behind the back.
		Smallsword, Italian School: Attack to the face parried and attempted disarm.
		Smallsword, Italian School: French direct attack parried by Italian simultaneous hand parry and counterattack by thrust stesso tempo under French attacker's arm.
	www.martinez-destreza.com /fenfot05.htm (181 words)

	Donald McBane
		He was also a natural genius with the smallsword, the lighter successor to the rapier.
		McBane, however, was an exponent of the smallsword, which was employed with a system of linear footwork- the left foot at a right angle, the right foot straight forward, and the heels lined up with each other.
		McBane uses this same smallsword footwork for the broadsword and targe, the spadroon and the backsword.
	www.woodenswords.com /WMA/reviews_galicswordsmanship.htm (2040 words)

	The Dubious Quick Kill, Part II
		Anecdotes of duels fought with rapier, sabre, or smallsword, and forensic literature based upon present-day coroner's reports of homicides in which knives and other sharp instruments were used convincingly showed that mortal wounds to the major vessels and even to the heart itself do not always lead to instant incapacitation of the victim.
		While a penetrating wound inflicted with these weapons may appear on the surface to be much smaller than the incising wound produced by the stroke of a sabre, the track of a penetrating wound may extend completely through the body, damaging even the most deeply located structures.
		The immediate consequences to a duelist of wounds inflicted by thrusts or cuts from the rapier, dueling sabre or smallsword were unpredictable.
	www.classicalfencing.com /articles/kill2.shtml (5837 words)

	The Linacre School of Defence
		The smallsword is an inferior weapon, but it is this very feature that makes it suitable as an introduction to the Art of Defence.
		Building on what they knows of the smallsword, students are introduced to the art of the Backsword, according to the syllabus of the Compay of Maisters – a system based on Silver, Wylde and other C17 and C18 masters.
		The basket-hilted backsword or broadsword is a much more complex weapon than the smallsword, being capable of blows on eight different lines, as well as the thrusts of the smallsword.
	www.sirwilliamhope.org /Curriculum.php (623 words)

	[No title]
		A fundamental change in fencing technology and fashion around 1660 ushered in the age of the smallsword.
		In Rapier, the default response to an attack was to move to the side as a first means of self-preservation.
		In contrast, defence against quicker smallsword thrusts required the fencer to rely more on effective parries rather than body movements.
	www.kismeta.com /hopeswrd.html (2921 words)

	myArmoury.com: Custom English Loop-hilt Smallsword
		Many authorities on the smallsword have come to believe that these also were worn as an everyday item of informal dress, which would rule out the idea that they were only worn for somber occasions.
		As a fencer, and one who studies the smallsword (its forms and use), I have to say that I am amazed at how perfect it is in terms of capturing the balance and lightness that is required to make a good smallsword.
		Not only is this one of the finest smallswords that I have the pleasure of owning, it illustrates another example of the quality of work that the good folks at Arms & Armor produce.
	www.myarmoury.com /review_aa_loop.html (1031 words)

	Liancour's Tercentenary
		This lighter sword allowed separate parries and ripostes to be made for the first time, a much more effective method of defence than could be achieved with the long rapier with which rapid hand actions were impossible.
		He was also the first master to omit any reference to cutting strokes, indicating that by his time the classic hollow ground triangular smallsword blade designed purely for thrusting had superseded the flat or diamond-shaped rapier blade with its cutting edges.
		He taught with a lighter and longer foil than his pupils, arguing that a master should not tire himself unduly with a heavy weapon, and that the length of his blade taught pupils to observe the rule of distance.
	www.classicalfencing.com /articles/liancour.shtml (596 words)

	Loop Hilt Smallsword
		It is composed of the knuckle and fore arm much as any smallsword but has the finger rings and shells left of completely.
		The remainder of the guard consists of an elegant sweep that loops from the block to form a ring with a bar that rises to the knuckle bow in a graceful curve.
		An original blade from a smallsword was used as a model to achieve the authentic action for this sword and the hilt was based on two or three examples of the style particularly liked by the commissioner of this piece.
	www.armor.com /2000/catalog/item922.html (191 words)

	Atlanta Cutlery Smallsword? - Sword Forum International
		Most of my opinions are still about the same, but since owning it I've gotten to handle a couple antique smallswords, and have come to realize that the Hanwei piece is really too heavy.
		It still handles fairly well, and could do one heck of a beat attack, but the two original smallswords I got to handle felt much closer to modern epee blades.
		My maestro has 2 antique smallswords, diamond section blades...which....well, feel like foils when in hand..
	forums.swordforum.com /showthread.php?threadid=22988 (673 words)

	Skirmishing - The Sport
		Skirmishing is designed to present the student of historic dueling with a close approximation of how it would have felt to be involved in a duel of honor, or back alley confrontation where anything goes.
		This weapon allows some combination of smallsword /sabre to be used and is extremely cost efficient for the beginner.
		Bearing in mind that a smallsword was not meant to be used as a sabre, we must point out that the weapon in use here is designed to fulfill both functions as they are called for, again being cost effective for beginners.
	pw1.netcom.com /~cecilymc/skirmishsport.html (3147 words)

	[CFML] Finger Loops and Thongs - Fencing.Net Discussion
		smallsword, then the only ones I can see using it would be those who
		My training smallsword has the room to pass through, and it even feels a bit
		Smallsword quillons and pas d'ane were often two small to
	www.fencing.net /forums/thread7805.html (655 words)

	Ethnographic Arms & Armour - Manual del Baratero - A Review
		Yet the transition rapier was further lightened and made nimbler into the Colichemarde, the edged smallsword and the hollow triangular bladed smallsword.
		The smallsword is a specialized weapon for the duel--a refinement of the rapier.
		I know that he simply said that the smallsword was for duels, and the broadsword/backsword was for military usage.
	www.vikingsword.com /vb/showthread.php?p=16091 (6972 words)

	Her Majesty's Royal Musketeers
		The cannon and musket are transforming field battles just as the rapier and smallsword have changed the duel from a matter of faith to one of honor.
		The smallsword can be seen in far off places, but it is typically associated with the crowded streets of Castaka.
		Fought with paired daggers or paired smallswords or smallsword and dagger.
	home.comcast.net /~pktheater/armu/psword.html (2097 words)

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