Backsword
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Backsword is a denomination of any type of sword with a blade with only one edge, with the back of the sword often being the thickest part of the blade. 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.
Backswords have evolved out of knives and machete like farmers' tools in many cultures.
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.
The curvature of a sword exists to aid in cutting. The design is simple; as the sword makes contact, a very small cut is made (as the contact area is very small on a curved sword). As the blade is driven into the wound, the curvature slowly widens the cut.
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. 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.
List of backsword types
- makhaira
- scramasax
- Chinese dāo 刀
- The Japanese Katana and Tachi (太刀; たち), see also Wakizashi and tanto.
- The Filipino Kampilan and Barong
- mortuary sword
- sabre
- szabla
- falchions
- scimitar
- dussack
- Grosses Messer
- cutlass
- Machete, panga
- Bolo - The most basic and widely-used sword in the Philippines, based on an agricultural machete. Typically, the bolo features rough and unfinished blades due to agricultural use. Variations include Tabak (more for cutting), and Tusok (more pointed, for thrusting)
- Pinute - a Filipino sword: long, straight, and well-balanced. It represents a variation on the agricultural bolo machete. The Visayan warriors of Cebu favour it.
- Kris - Kris swords apparently originated in the 13th century on the island of Java in the Indonesian archipelago, and migrated to the Philippines, Malaysia, and various Southeast Asian countries.
- Korambit - The Korambit developed in the Indonesian archipelago around the 13th century from roots in the Philippines and Malaysia.
- Talibon - A short sword of the Christian community in the Philippines. Its wooden grip has cane binding.