Ricasso

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Claymore with a shiny ricasso below the quillons

Ricasso (also Ricasso ) refers to a non-ground area of the blade .

description

In bladed weapons, the ricasso describes the mostly rectangular, unsharpened area of ​​the blade. Sometimes the ricasso is narrower than the sharp part of the blade. The ricasso of the so-called parrying lobe is wider than the rest of the blade. The transition from ricasso to sharp blade is called an insert . Often there is a ricasso directly below the quillons , above the sharpened part of the blade, i.e. the sharpness , which is also known as the true edge or "le vrai tranchant". There are false sharpening in swords and rapiers and mostly also in bihandles .

With fencing weapons, the weapon is gripped with the whole hand, the index finger is placed over the quillons around the ricasso - comparable to the trigger on a revolver. The index finger is protected by the basket . The sharpened part of the blade starts just above the basket. With two-handed swords, the ricasso is used to make the weapon shorter if the situation requires it , in order to be able to act better and faster in cramped combat situations.

In the case of knives and daggers , too , the term ricasso refers to the area between the handle or parrying element and the start of the blade edge. Incorrectly, a beveled (but not sharpened) area on the back of the blade (top of the blade) is sometimes referred to as a ricasso. The correct name for such an area is, however, "wrong edge" .

literature

  • Gerhard Seifert : sword, epee, saber. The manifestations of Europe's long handle arms are shown as a floor plan for collectors and enthusiasts. HG Schulz, Hamburg 1962. ( partial online preview )
  • Michael Störmer: Armory. A compendium of medieval melee weapons (= DragonSys. Lebendiges Mittelalter, Volume 4). Revised new edition. G&S Verlag, Zirndorf 2004, ISBN 3-925698-46-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerhard Seifert: Technical Terms of Edged Weapons ( Memento of January 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), 2007 edition (online PDF 2.0 MB).
  2. ^ Rene-Julien Chatelain: Theory of the fencing art. Anton Strauss, 1819, page 34.
  3. ↑ Michael Störmer: armory. A compendium of medieval melee weapons. Page 14.
  4. ↑ Klaus-Michael Fuchs: Brief Stahlkunde / Glossary ( Memento from October 26, 2019 in the Internet Archive ), knife catalog, messerkoenig.at, edition 2008 (online PDF 123 kB).