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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sekhmet" data-source="post: 5815975" data-attributes="member: 97602">Oh, my. A thread I could have been helpful in that I missed entirely.It is a common assumption that long swords and short swords (and daggers) are just different sized variations on the same weapon. Simply not true. Daggers are between 9 and 15 inches, short swords are between 15 and 27, and long swords are between 27 and 40. Long swords are weighted toward the tip of the blade, so they build acceleration and carry momentum better than shorter swords, however; they still pierce fantastically well, and can be used as either slashing or piercing.A short sword (like a dagger) is not weighted toward the tip, as their over all length is inappropriate for the kind of sweeping strikes that a longer weapon allows. To use a slashing blow with a short sword, the distance between yourself and your enemy needs to be very small (about the length of the sword).   Short swords often have thinner blades than long swords, to allow for piercing between chain links or creases in sturdier armors.As for the bludgeoning strikes with the pommel of a weapon, you have to literally be right on top of a person to make that attack with any effect (it is quite dazing). If you imagine holding a person by their collar in your left hand and pulling them in so you can bop them on the top of the head, that is how close they need to be.The vast majority of English and German swords were mostly dull along the blade, leaving only the last six or eight inches sharpened. This would allow for "choking up" in tight quarters, or reversing of the weapon as was shown earlier in the thread.Also, since daggers came up in there somewhere as well; a dagger is a piercing weapon. To effectively slash with a dagger, you have to be right in a person's face. Imagine trying to slash at a person with a steak knife. Very ineffective. Stabbing is the only method of attack that makes sense with a dagger if you aren't a very well trained attacker.  The long knife (5 to 9 inches), typically stilettos and other thin daggers (as well as defensive daggers) are used for specialty purposes rather than general use. The knife (under 5 inches) is, however, the most versatile blade smaller than a long sword. They're most often single edged and very sharp, with centered weight and very easy to conceal. This makes for a very deadly weapon that doesn't need to be in play until you can actually use it, unlike the short swords and daggers that you can see coming.</blockquote>

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