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Ronald what you are saying makes perfect sense. I'm a sport fencer from back in the 80's. I quickly left the French grip for the Belgian because it gave so much more control of the blade. It just makes complete martial sense. Thanks as always for your interesting videos, I'm one of your first subscribers. Oh by the way, that muscle under the thumb is called the thenar eminence.

Magnificent swords, and how lucky you are to be able to wield them like this! A very special video full of interesting details. Thanks Roland!

Find stats and photos of details of the very long-bladed single sword featured in the video in this public post:

Thanks for posting this video and providing the sword community with such a treasure trove of knowledge!

I appreciate your videos. Most of us never get to see these swords up close unless it's from a book with pictures. Getting the angles and details up close is really cool to see. I won't be so picky now 😆

its remarkable how much such details influences the handling of the sword, even when the wielder isnt aware of.

Very interesting observations and topic, hope to see other researchers and smiths chime in.

Once this Covid-19 situation is out of the way I'd like to survey swords in UK museums to see how they compare.

I learned something new today! I’ve never thought about this but it makes a lot of sense! I guess I’ve never had the opportunity to see any ancient swords up close so I find all these videos fascinating!

Maybe the pommel was smaller on one side to make flicking of the wrist better when the smaller side is used against the palm

I've been watching videos and reading about loosely said "swordfighting" and this is one of the most educational videos I have seen

Brilliant! So much knowledge in such short video 😍 Thank you Roland!

Thank you so much

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing.

It's worth mentioning that back in the days most swords were used from horseback and therefore needed to be longer.

Thanks for the great video.

Amazing as usual Roland, I would love to be with you to see those originals ;) I hope to eventually be able to do that on l'atelier de la sentinelle with leather items...

This customization aspect would provide functional reason to sell swords as blades only. I believe that was a common practise. That way you would gain benefits of centralized blade making and you are still able to customize the sword locally.

As usual, some unique insights from you! Really fascinating.