The era of the long sword spanned almost three centuries (approximately 1350 to 1650). This, undoubtedly, was because it really worked! It featured a distinctive cruciform hilt and a long, double edged blade and was equally adept at opposing both light and heavily armored foes. You see, its extra long blade offered the reach and leverage for powerful stabbing, cutting and chopping strokes while its long cross guard and heavy pommel were useful for hooking, striking and smashing. When heavy plate armor was encountered, blows with the edge were marginally effective and were often abandoned in favor of a "Half-Swording" technique; where one hand grips the hilt and the other the blade to better direct the point in powerful jabs, and to more accurately thrust at the small gaps and joints present in a suit of armor.

Since our Italian Long Sword is light and well balanced enough to use in one hand, we thought we'd offer a companion dagger to take the place of a shield, targe, or buckler. Scaled down in size but almost identical in appearance, its sharply tapered, double edged blade slightly favors attacks with the point over the edge and is stiff and strong enough to parry any sword.