Do we have any idea about how common sharp bladed rondels were compared to ones that were just spikes?

What would the blades have been used for? Was it to help in combat or for all sort of utility work?

I was always under the impression that the 'spike' daggers were used to penetrate mail and the gaps in between plate armor. They wouldn't need to be cutting sharp for that. I'm sure that the sharpened single-edge types were certainly used for day to day life. AND......I could be wrong about all of that. Wouldn't be the first time... :lol: .....McM

There are cuts recorded in the rondel dagger treatises so sharp edged rondel daggers were common enough to have a martial art built around them. The use of the point is emphasized, though.

Just IMHO - a true rondel (with typical big diameter rondels) would be plain inconvenient to use for any "sort of utility work", no matter what blade type...

Alex.

I doubt there being superstitions about the use of different knives. :wtf: It just sounds ridiculous.
People didn't have a superstition for everything. Plus some (if not most) didn't believe stupid superstitions. But there are some crazy superstitions out there. :lol:

I think the bottom line is that if you have tried to use a rondel for pretty much anything that is not martial it is almost useless, so yes you could use for other things, but the eating knife you also carry will likely be a better choice, or better still your friends bauernwehr or similar.

Tod

If I am not mistaken, in German there is a term used specifically for daggers that are meant to pierce armour, and the term seems to be typically reserved for the so-called "spike" rondel: panzerstecher. Assuming I've used the term correctly, it might be useful to for the sake of clarity to distinguish between the two types by terming one the rondel (blades that can slice and stab) and the other the panzerstecher.

Edit: From my image search, it looks as though panzerstecher is a generic term in German for any sword or blade specialized for piercing armour, whether a rondel, estoc, the peculiar dueling swords from the Solothurner fechtbuch, or some other weapon. So maybe not the best term then.