Estoc

The French estoc or English "tuck" was a type of European sword in use from the 14th to 17th centuries. Characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for two handed use and a straight, edgeless but sharply pointed blade of around 0.91 metres (36 in) to 1.32 metres (52 in) long.

Description

The estoc was a variation of the longsword designed for fighting against mail or plate armour. It was long, straight and stiff with no cutting edge, just a point. Examples from Poland are more than 1.57 metres (62 in) long, with a blade of 1.32 metres (52 in); however, others showed a more manageable 1.17 metres (46 in), with a 0.91 metres (36 in) blade. Such swords averaged about 4 pounds (2 kg) with no specimen weighing more than 6 pounds. The size seems to have been made-to-order.

Blade cross-sections can be triangular, square, rhomboid or flat hexagonal. This geometry left hardly any cutting capability as a sharpened edge could simply not be ground, but allowed the weapon to become lengthy, stiff, and very acutely pointed.