Backsword

Backsword is a denomination of any type of sword with only one edge, with the back of the sword often being the thickest part of the blade.

Related Topics:
Sword - Edge

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Since "sword" is sometimes defined as double-edged, a definition of a backsword without taking recourse to defining it as a "sword" would be that it is designed as a weapon, unlike a generic knife which may have uses as a tool, long enough to be optimized for slashing.

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Backswords have evolved out of knives and machete like farmers' tools in many cultures.

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Some backswords are curved in order to make slicing/chopping action easier, at some expense of thrusting power, but this should not be seen as an overwhelming trend in the type, but rather limited to specialised forms.

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A machete as a tool resembles such a single-edged sword and serves to cut through thick vegetation, and indeed many of the terms listed above describe weapons that originated as farmers' tools used on the battlefield.

Related Topics:
Machete - Tool

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The scramasax, for example, usually lacks a cross-piece or any kind of guard, and functions more properly as a war knife. Such weapons lacked much of the prestige and mystique associated with a 'proper' sword (usually reserved to the nobility, and designed exclusively as a weapon). This lack of prestige may have kept these weapons from use even in contexts where they would serve well. Already Xenophon recommended using the curved makhaira for cavalry (On Horsemanship 12:11), because of the nature of mounted combat. The Crusaders confronted the Islamic scimitar, but largely failed to adopt the weapon, also because of the symbolism contrasting the cruciform Christian sword with the "crooked" "heathen" weapon.

Related Topics:
Scramasax - Knife - Xenophon - Makhaira - Crusader - Cruciform

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