![]() ![]() While still used as a weapon of surprise and assassination, the use of stiletto in preference to the dagger in close combat confrontations between adversaries became widespread throughout Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica. The stiletto remained a popular weapon of criminals or political assassins from the 16th through the end of the 19th century, particularly in France, Corsica, and Italy. ![]() To lighten the weapon, many stilettos were equipped with blades carrying fullers over a portion of their length. By the time of the Renaissance, the term stiletto had come to describe a range of slender thrusting knives closely resembling the French poignard, many with conventional dagger-profile blades and sharpened edges, but always retaining the slim profile and needle-like point. In Italy, the stiletto began to be employed along with the dagger as a fighting weapon a 1536 dueling treatise authored by Achille Marozzo, Opera Nova, contains sections on dagger and stiletto fighting. The stiletto was preferred by assassins as it was silent, easily concealed inside a sleeve or jacket, and featured a blade capable of easily penetrating the heavy leather and fabric clothing of the day, while inflicting mortal wounds that tended to bleed less than those made by other types of knives. The stiletto was later adopted throughout Italy as the favored offensive thrusting knife ( arma manesca) of the medieval assassin, so much so that it was invariably prohibited as a treacherous weapon ( arma insidiosa) by the authorities of the day. Later, the Gunner's Stiletto became a tool for clearing cannon-fuse touch holes used in the manner of an automotive oil dipstick, they were often inscribed with marks indicating levels of powder charges for ranging distance. A severely wounded opponent who was not expected to survive would be given a "mercy strike" (French coup de grâce), hence the name miséricorde. The needle-like blade could, if used with sufficient force, penetrate most mail or find its way through gaps in a knight's plate armor, and was narrow enough to pass through the eye slits of the helmeted knight. Originally designed as a purely offensive weapon, the stiletto was used to finish off a fallen or severely wounded heavily armored opponent. ![]() The stiletto began to gain fame during the late Middle Ages, when it was the secondary weapon of knights. The Italian word "stiletto" comes from the Latin stilus, the thin pointed Roman writing instrument used to engrave wax or clay tablets in ancient times. However, other examples of the period have emerged bearing round, square, or diamond cross-sections. The stiletto blade was usually hammer-forged into a dense rod with a narrow, triangular cross-section, without any sharpened edges. Early stilettos normally used a one-piece cast-metal handle which was shaped and turned on a lathe. The term may also describe any exaggeratedly thin and pointed feature, such as a stiletto heel.įirst developed in Italy, the stiletto dates from the late 15th century, and is thought to be a development of the rondel dagger or misericordia, a needle-pointed weapon with a narrow blade designed primarily for thrusting, though possessing cutting edges. In American English usage, the name stiletto can also refer to a switchblade knife with a stiletto- or bayonet-type blade design. Over time, the term stiletto has been used as a general descriptive term for a variety of knife blades exhibiting a narrow blade with minimal cutting surfaces and a needle-like point, such as the U.S. Some consider the stiletto a form of dagger, but most stilettos are specialized thrusting weapons not designed for cutting or slashing, even with edged examples. The stiletto blade's narrow cross-section and acuminated tip (that is, a tip which tapers to a sharp point) reduce friction upon entry, allowing the blade to penetrate deeply. A stiletto (plural stilettos ) is a specialized knife or dagger with a long slender blade and needle-like point, primarily intended as a thrusting and stabbing weapon. ![]()
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