Stiletto
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A stiletto is a short knife or dagger with a long slender blade of various designs. This dagger is primarily a stabbing weapon: its narrow shape, ending in a rigid pointed end, allows it to penetrate deeply. It is not suited for cutting, even with edged examples. A typical early stiletto was a one-piece cast-metal handle and blade, which was then hammer-forged in a V-groove anvil, producing a triangular blade cross section without any sharpened edges. Other examples have round, square, and diamond cross sections. The word stiletto may sometimes be used in American English to refer to a switchblade. Stiletto may also be used specifically for a knife exhibiting the same triangular cross-section and hollow grind as a small sword, rapier, or épée.
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[edit] History
The word stiletto comes from the Latin word stilus meaning: "a stake; a pointed instrument".[1] The stiletto, also called misericordia (literally "mercy") began to gain fame during the High Middle Ages, when it was the secondary weapon of knights. It was used to discomfit a fallen or severely wounded heavily armoured opponent. The thin blade could easily pass through most mail or find its way through tiny gaps in a knight's plate armour. A severely wounded opponent, who was not expected to survive, would be given a "mercy strike" (French coup de grace), hence the name "misericordia". Later the Gunner's Stiletto became a tool for clearing cannon-fuse touch holes. Used like an automotive oil dip stick, they were often scribed with marks indicating levels of powder charges for ranging distance.
The stiletto was also favored amongst assassins, because it was an easily concealed weapon. This tactic occurred repeatedly, from the Zealots of 1st-century Judaea, to the Venetians and the Assassins of Alamut.[citation needed]
[edit] World War I
World War I created the need for stilettos: several versions were made by various countries, often grouped together in one class, nicknamed the trench knife.
[edit] World War II
World War II saw a resurgence of the stiletto style in the form of several variants including the, U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto, Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife and V-42 combat knife. However, since these weapons can hold a cutting edge, they are not stilettos in the original sense. They are true daggers.
[edit] 1950s folding knives
Collectors often refer to the handle and cross guard style found on Italian 1950's folding picklock switchblades as a stiletto. The blade options included dagger blades, clip points, bayonet points and wavy Indonesian style kriss blades. Early 1950s stilettos had thick blades in proportion to the height and length, resembling the renaissance knife, making them desirable. Modern production Italian knives of this style tend to have conventional thin flat blades, and are rarely hollow ground.
[edit] Colloquial and literary uses
The common usage of the term stiletto is referring to a switchblade which has a telescoping blade. One of the popular switchblades of this type was stamped "Rizzuto Estiletto Milano". This is believed to be the origin of the term stiletto. The word stiletto was also trademarked in the early 20th century for a brand of woodworking tools. A stiletto is also a type of woman's shoe with a particularly thin high heel.
A stiletto is the weapon of choice used by 'The Needle' in Ken Follett's best seller Eye of the Needle, which tells the story of a German spy in World War II.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ University of Notre Dame online Latin dictionary (http://archives.nd.edu/latgramm.htm)
