[Jeremiah Swanger]

I was just re-reading a few of this site's articles on the Oakeshott types, especially ones I'm not that familiar with (which is to say, anything past XVIII...). According to the article, swords of Type XXI and XXII were developed primarilly to showcase gaudy little gildings and other artwork as a fashion statement. But one particular sword stands out from the rest-- that being XXI.3, which is rather tasteful in its appearance (it stands alone in that regard), and it's blade profile is different from the others. Whereas the other XXI's have more defined fullers, the taper is less acute, ending in a spade-shaped tip.

XXI.3, by contrast, ends in a very sharp tip, sporting a profile not unlike some of the broader examples of Type XV, which consists of at least two somewhat-different cross-sectional geometries, the later of which was nearly flat, with a strong mid-rib and beveled edges. Is it possible that swords like XXI.1 and XXI.3 are a further evolution of these later XV's?

Does anybody know how these non-Cinqueda XXI's stack up in terms of rigidity, cutting ability, and durability?

I'm just wondering, because not very many people bring it up...