Ricasso
Sign in to savethumb|A modern hand-and-a-half sword with a short ricasso A ricasso is an unsharpened length of blade just above the guard or handle on a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet. Blades designed this way appear at many periods in history in many parts of the world and date back to at least the Bronze Age—essentially, as long as humans have shaped cutting tools from metals.
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thumb|A modern hand-and-a-half sword with a short ricasso A ricasso is an unsharpened length of blade just above the guard or handle on a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet. Blades designed this way appear at many periods in history in many parts of the world and date back to at least the Bronze Age—essentially, as long as humans have shaped cutting tools from metals.
There were many reasons to make a blade with a ricasso, and in Europe, later longswords, claymores, rapiers, and other lengthy swords often had this feature. One very simple influence presently and historically is fashion, which may answer this question for blades whose presence or absence of a ricasso has no effect on how it is used. Leaving a ricasso can also save the blade maker's time—a section of blade that would not be used given the purpose of the piece does not have to be shaped and sharpened. In many cases, however, they are quite functional.