Anatomy of a Sword: Every Part of a Sword Named Correctly

The pommel is the counterweight at the end of the hilt. It is not decoration; it balances the blade back toward the hand and, on a properly built sword, it is peened — hammered over the end of the tang so the whole assembly is one piece.

The grip is what you hold: wood core, usually wrapped in cord and then leather or wire. It should not turn, rattle or creak under a firm twist.

The guard, or cross, protects the hand and catches an opposing blade. It should be seated tight against the shoulders of the blade with no gap you can rock.

The ricasso is the unsharpened stretch just above the guard, where a hand may be laid for control on longer swords. Not every blade has one.

The fuller is the groove running down the flat. It is not a blood groove and never was; it removes weight from the centre of the blade while keeping stiffness, exactly as an I-beam does.

The edge and the false edge run from ricasso to point; the back edge on a single-edged blade is the spine. The forte is the strong third nearest the hand and the foible is the weak third nearest the point — parry with the forte, cut with the foible.

The tip is the last inch and the point is its end. A blade meant for thrusting has a reinforced diamond-section tip; a cutter usually does not.

The tang is the unseen continuation of the blade inside the grip. Everything about a sword's honesty is decided here, and nearly nothing about it is visible in a photograph.

A full tang runs the whole width and length of the hilt. A rat-tail tang is a thin welded rod, and it is the single most common failure point in cheap swords — it snaps at the guard and launches the blade.

Peened means the tang is hammered over the pommel permanently. Threaded means a nut holds it on; that can be perfectly sound in a good maker's hands, and catastrophic in a bad one's.

If a listing will not tell you the tang construction, assume the worst. Honest houses state it plainly.

Overall length is blade plus hilt. Blade length alone tells you how much steel does the cutting. Both matter, and a seller giving only one is hiding the other.

Point of balance is measured from the guard forward. Closer to the guard means quicker and more controllable; further forward means it hits harder and turns slower.

Weight without a point of balance is nearly meaningless. A well-distributed four-pound sword handles better than a badly distributed two-pound one.

Pommel — the counterweight capping the hilt. Wheel, scent-stopper, fishtail and pear are the common shapes.

Tang button or peen block — the small cap the tang is hammered over on a peened sword.

Grip — the handle itself: wood core, cord underwrap, then leather or twisted wire. Wire wrap is the sword-handle part that begins with a W.

Guard, cross or quillons — the bar across the blade's base. Its arms are the quillons; a side-ring or knuckle bow may be added.

Ricasso — the unsharpened stretch above the guard.

Shoulders — where the blade widens out of the tang and seats against the guard.

Fuller — the lightening groove down the flat. Never a blood groove.

Edge and false edge — the cutting surfaces; the spine is the unsharpened back of a single-edged blade.

Forte, middle and foible — the strong, middle and weak thirds of the blade, reckoned from the guard forward.

Yelman — the widened, sometimes sharpened back edge near the tip of a sabre.

Tip and point — the last inch and its very end.

Tang — the unseen steel inside the grip; full, tapered, or the dreaded rat-tail.

Scabbard, throat, chape and locket — the sheath and its fittings, which are not part of the sword but are judged with it.

Tang construction outranks everything. A full, peened tang forgives a plain grip; a rat-tail tang ruins a beautiful one.

Guard seating comes second. Rock the guard against the shoulders with a firm twist — any movement means the assembly will loosen under use.

Grip wrap comes third. Wire and cord under leather should be tight and even; a glued-on grip with no wrap is a display fitting.

Only then look at the fuller, the finish and the pommel shape. Those are the parts photographs sell, and the parts that decide the least.