The single part of the sword that shares the similar characteristics is the hilt. It has two or four quillons. In the 4-quillon version the smaller two quillons are swept downwards toward the tip of the blade. In fact it is arguable if these are Quillons since they are mirror images of the Vajra projections on the Buddhist religious axe and perhaps serve no defensive purpose.
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Despite the popularity of increasingly complex hilts, Thibault's ideal hilt was relatively simple. It featured straight quillons, equal in length to the sole of the swordsman's foot, as well as finger rings and side rings, with little else. Thibault gives proportional measurements for the various components of the hilt, each based on his circle diagram. These measurements dictate that the sword's quillons are to equal the length of one's foot, the combined length of pommel and grip should equal exactly twice the length of the guard from the quillons forward, and so on.
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Although many bayonets of the time used a muzzle ring, Mauser avoided one since these altered the vibration harmonics of the barrel when fired, affecting accuracy. All the bayonets featured quillons that curved back towards the hilt. These were much less effective at catching the opposing blade than the forward-swept quillons used by some other nations. The first model had a grip made of one single piece of wood, which was wrapped around the tang.
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These oldest sabres had a slight curve, short, down-turned quillons, the grip facing the opposite direction to the blade and a sharp point with the top third of the reverse edge sharpened.
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The term "basket hilt" eventually came into vogue to describe such designs, and there are a variety of basket- hilted swords. Simultaneously, emphasis upon the thrust attack with rapiers and smallswords revealed a vulnerability to thrusting. By the 17th century, guards were developed that incorporated a solid shield that surrounded the blade out to a diameter of up to two inches or more. Older forms of this guard retained the quillons or a single quillon, but later forms eliminated the quillons, altogether being referred to as a cup-hilt.
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The quillons are normally cylindrical with knobbed tips, and in many instances are decorated with spiral fluting. The pommel is normally decorated to match the quillons and made to resemble the pommel of its matching rapier, while the grip is usually made of wood and wrapped with twisted and braided wire. The blade is normally made in three distinct sections or zones. The first section, near the hilt, comprises the ricasso (unsharpened portion) which is flat-sided and slightly beveled at the edges with one or two small holes at its forward end.
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Its most characteristic feature was a wide knuckleguard that curved from the quillons to the pommel and protected the hand. The guard was usually (but not always) triangular in outline, and the quillons typically measured 11 or more inches from tip to tip. Since this style of dagger was usually made en suite with a cup-hilted rapier, the decoration of the knuckleguard tended to reflect that of the cup of the rapier. The edges of the guard are usually turned over toward the outside, possibly to trap the point of the opponent's blade and prevent it from slipping into the defender's hand.
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It extends past the grip enough to be fastened to the pommel and to hold the rest of the foil together. When an Italian grip is used, see below, a ricasso extends from under the guard, inside of the grip's quillons, into the tang.
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Malloy, Michael T. "Zounds! Gadzooks! These wars engulf entire known world; hordes of Middle Ages fans gather for mock combat; but please, no pillaging" The Wall Street journal. Western edition [0193-2241] yr:1984 pg:1 Non-striking surfaces (such as quillons and basket hilts) may be made of rigid materials like metal, rubber, or plastic.
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Medieval bichuwa from south India are typically decorated with the face of a protective yali (demon) on the hilt. Some have finials to the pommel or even protruding laterally as quillons or guards. A few bichuwa are forked or even double-bladed. The weapon's small size meant it was easily concealed in a sleeve or waist band.
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Parrying daggers were an important development of the ubiquitous quillion dagger form, appearing in the early to mid-16th century starting with the so-called left hand dagger. Although this is often used as a term of convenience for parrying daggers in general, it also refers more specifically to the earlier and simpler form of the weapon. It had stout quillons (straight or curved) for effective parrying as well as an additional guard in the form of a ring or shell on one side of the quillons where they crossed the grip. In addition to straight blades, there are examples of left hand daggers with wavy blades, those with saw edges and blades that are perforated along the central fuller with small holes, all designed to make the weapon lighter or to aid in defense.
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The Sinclair Hilt was one of the earliest basket-hilt designs and was of south German origin. On average the blade of a Sinclair or "compound" hilt sword measured 38in. It had long quillons and an oval leather-wrapped grip that was originally designed for falchion blades but was soon applied to the broadsword.Replica Sinclair Hilt Sword. Retrieved on 4 December 2008.
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Trident dagger, 16th century, made in Germany. Picture taken at the Château d'Écouen, France. Trident daggers (or triple daggers) have blades divided lengthwise into three parts which fold together to resemble a conventional blade. When a mechanism near the hilt is released the two side blades open under spring pressure to form the "trident", flying apart until they are stopped by the ends of the curved quillons.
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Most varieties of estoc provide a long grip like that of a greatsword, though others mimic the zweihänder in providing a long ricasso with a secondary guard of parrierhaken. As on the zweihänder, this extended grip gives the wielder the advantage of extra leverage with which to more accurately and powerfully thrust the long weapon. Some other forms provided finger rings, curved quillons, or other varieties of compound hilts.
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Meroka offers herself up to the vorgs but before she is harvested the vorg behind her is killed by members from Swarm. Swarm airmen kill off the remaining Skullboys and Vorg and pronounce Quillons group to be "clients of Swarm". They are taken aboard one of the hundred and fifty airships that make up the entity of Swarm. The gang get taken back to Swarm's HQ and are taken to see the leader Riccasso.
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They also use a number of mounting systems with the main ones being M-LOK, KeyMod, and Picatinny. When talking about melee weapons, a "handguard" refers to the crossguard (also known as the quillons or crosstree), the enlarged front part of a sword, saber or knife/dagger's hilt, which protects the wielder's hands from an opponent's blade sliding towards the hilt, or prevents the wielder's own hand and fingers from accidentally slipping onto the blade when stabbing.
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The shamshir is a one-handed, curved sword featuring a slim blade that has almost no taper until the very tip. Instead of being worn upright (hilt-high), it is worn horizontally, with the hilt and tip pointing up. It was normally used for slashing unarmored opponents either on foot or mounted; while the tip could be used for thrusting, the drastic curvature of blade made accuracy more difficult. It has an offset pommel, and its two lengthy quillons form a simple crossguard.
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A main-gauche replica The main-gauche (French for "left hand", ) was used mainly to assist in defense by parrying enemy thrusts, while the dominant hand wielded a rapier or similar longer weapon intended for one-handed use.Giacomo Di Grasse, True Art of Defense, IX. Rapier and Dagger, 1570, first edition in English 1594. (accessed Aug. 14 2013) It was a relatively large dagger, having a longer and heavier blade (often measuring 19 inches or slightly more in length) and very long, straight quillons.
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In some examples there are two arms running parallel to the sides of the ricasso with spaces inbetween, designed to catch the opponent's blade in a manner similar to the curved quillons of a dagger. On the side of the ricasso opposite the knuckleguard there is usually an oval depression for the thumb. The second section of the blade is normally single-edged with a flat triangular cross- section. The edge faces the wielder's left when the dagger is held in the ready position.
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The pommel and the quillons are very beautiful as each of them ends with a carved Iconic finial. The hilts are often encrusted with gemstones as in the eyes of Ruby stones and inlaid with silver or made entirely of silver or gold. The scabbards of the Kastane swords are made of wood or Rhino horn and are decorated with brass, silver and/or gold. It is a testament to the skill of the traditional craftsmen operating in Sri Lankas ancient Royal Sword Workshops.
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After the end of the Middle Ages, crossguards became more elaborate, forming first quillons and then, through the addition of guard branches, the basket hilt, which offered more protection to the unarmored hand. Ewart Oakeshott in chapter 4 of his The Sword in the Age of Chivalry (1964) classifies medieval cross-guards into twelve types: Swiss two-handed longsword, 15th or 16th century, with a prominent straight crossguard # a plain horizontal bar, tapering towards the end. This is the basic shape found from the late Viking era through the 17th century.
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The back of the blade (the dull edge) in this section is usually filed with a series of grooves or notches. The third and longest section of the blade extends to the point, and is double-edged with a diamond cross-section. It will occasionally have notches or serrations for a short distance along the edge which corresponds to the back of the previous zone. Although this form is typical, numerous variations can be found including those with curved quillons, rounded guards or blades with only two sections.
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A typical schiavona of the late 17th century. Juxtaposition of an early broadsword with quillons with a 17th-century schiavona, from The Encyclopaedia of Sport & Games (1911) Portrait of Donald McBane, a Scottish fencing master, from Donald McBane's The Expert Swordsman's Companion (1728). This image portrays McBane in the "Inside Guard" with a broadsword, while the table next to him has both broadswords and smallswords. The wall behind him has a targe with flintlock pistols on each side The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand.
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The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages. In modern times, this variety of sword is also sometimes referred to as the broadsword. The basket-hilted sword was generally in use as a military sword, in contrast with the rapier, the slim duelling sword worn with civilian dress during the same period, although each did find some use in both military and civilian contexts. A further distinction applied by arms historians and collectors is that a true broadsword possesses a double-edged blade, while similar wide-bladed swords with a single sharpened edge and a thickened back are called backswords.
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The 19th century introduced the concept of the sword bayonet, a long-bladed weapon with a single- or double-edged blade that could also be used as a shortsword. Its initial purpose was to ensure that riflemen could form an infantry square properly to fend off cavalry attacks when in ranks with musketmen, whose weapons were longer. A prime early example of a sword bayonet-fitted rifle is the British Infantry Rifle of 1800–1840, later known as the "Baker Rifle". The hilt usually had quillons modified to accommodate the gun barrel and a hilt mechanism that enabled the bayonet to be attached to a bayonet lug.
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Some pulwar hilts were fitted to Persian blades which are slimmer and more curved and tapered towards the tip than the more typically robust pulwar blades. The hilt is characterized by two quillons which are short and turned to point in the direction of the blade in the manner of some shamshir and saif, a feature typical of swords produced in Qajar period Iran. Like the tulwar, the hilt is made of iron, and is attached to the tang of the blade by a very strong adhesive resin. Unlike the flat disc surrounding the pommel of the tulwar, the pommel of pulwar exhibits a cup-shape.
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Kastane is a short traditional ceremonial/decorative single-edged Sri Lankan sword. Kastanes often have elaborate hilts, especially shaped and described as a rich mythical style inherited from Buddhism in blending a variety of Icons including, Lions, Kirtimukha Serapendiya, Nagas, crocodile/human monsters and other dragon and gargoyle like effigies. Some appear seemingly emitted onto the hand guard and cross guard with Vajra style pseudo-quillons whose finials are also decorated by minor monsters and a rain-guard decorated by the Makara or Serapendiya peacock tail or fish scales which occasionally flows over and onto the blade at the throat. The scabbard is occasionally seen with a miniature beasts head at the chape also emitting an icon or cloud pattern.
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Sometimes a small human face decorates the hand-guard which is a half human/half crocodile monster. The main aspect of Kastane Hilts shows the central monster accompanied by supporting minor iconic forms and the peculiar guard arrangement incorporating Buddhist style Vajra quillons. The National Museum of Colombo displays the oldest surviving makara-guard adorning a pre- kastane sword from the early Kotte kingdom.The sword of Mahanaga Rajasinghe Kuruvira Adithya Arsanilaishta (1416 AD) - the oldest representation of the Makara knuckle-guard: Ancient Swords, Daggers and Knives in Sri Lankan Museums, P.H.D.H. De Silva and S. Wickramasinghe, pp.82,90,101-5 (National Museums of Sri Lanka) The cross and hand guards are further embellished with lavish decoration often spilling over onto the blades throat.
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This distinctive flaring tip is called a "yalman" (false edge) and it greatly adds to the cutting power of the sword. Ottoman sabres of the next couple of centuries were often of the Selchuk variety, though the native kilij form was also found; Iranian blades (that did not have the yalman) were fitted with Ottoman hilts. These hilts normally had slightly longer quillons to the guard, which was usually of brass or silver, and sported a rounded termination to the grips, usually made of horn, unlike that seen on Iranian swords (Iranian swords usually had iron guards and the grip terminated in a hook-shape often with a metal pommel sheathing). The finest mechanical damascus and wootz steel were often used in making of these swords.
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Some experts on historical combat believe this technique of sustained blade swinging was used as a tactic for swordsmen to penetrate pike formations. However, once the pike line was broken, the swordsman then used the ricasso on his sword to shorten his grip, allowing the sword to be more effectively manoeuvred in the tight press within the enemy ranks as well as offering more leverage and ability to thrust. The ricassos of two-handed swords often have a second, smaller set of quillons past the ricasso, effectively creating a secondary grip. This technique is very similar to the half-sword technique which involves gripping the sharpened midsection of the blade to turn the blade into a sort of lever weapon.
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Schematics of a Swordbreaker of the early 17th century The swordbreaker was a dagger that had large, deep serrations along one side of the blade, resembling the barbed teeth of a comb and designed to entrap an opponent's blade, allowing a variety of follow-up techniques. Like the triple dagger, the swordbreaker was a rare form of parrying dagger compared to the main-gauche, partly due to the difficulty of crafting such a specialised weapon. One Italian example dated around 1600 can be found in the Wallace Collection in London and has a hilt consisting of a pair of straight quillons and a ring guard. Despite the name swordbreaker, it is uncertain whether they could in fact break sword blades as suggested by some scholars, as swords of this era were intended to stand up to substantial forces, well in excess of what could be generated by a fighter's off-hand.
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