Dagger

A Dagger is a small bladed weapon less than 30 centimeters long. For sake of simplicity, this will also cover various knives which serve the same role.

Daggers in Warfare

Most daggers are effectively scaled down swords, sacrificing reach for light weight and ease of carry and storage. As such, while they can slash, they are mostly used for stabbing. Like swords, both straight and curved as well as double edged and single edged daggers existed.

For the most part, the main use of daggers was as a fallback weapon for soldiers in case they lost their heavier sword, maces, spears or whatever and as a concealed weapon for defensive (if you are fearing a mugging or an assassin) or offensive (you are a mugger or an assassin) purposes. As a nice bonus, they were also small enough to be used as a regular knives.

Types of Daggers

• Stone Daggers: Unlike swords, you could make a serviceable dagger out of stones which could take an edge like flint, which could be chipped away into that shape. These are commonly found in neolithic burial sites.
  • Obsidian Dagger: Made of volcanic glass, these daggers were extra sharp but extra brittle as well
• Pugio: A leaf shaped dagger used by Roman Legionaries.
• Stiletto: Much like the shoe that got it's name from it, the stiletto has a needle-esque blade designed for stabbing with as little resistance as possible. The blade is typically thin yet hard, which allows it to puncture flesh with ease. It's small size and killing power made it a popular choice for assassins back then and today. It's drawback, however, is that it is not designed for combat. The blade's design did not allow it to effectively cut opponents with slashes, restricting the user to stabs, and the blade's thin and hard characteristic made it very likely to shatter when struck with a hard object
• Bayonet: A bayonet is a type of knife meant to be mounted onto the muzzle of a firearm, typically a rifle or carbine, so that a soldier can use their firearm as a makeshift spear in close combat.
• Machete: A large, cleaver-like knife around 30-40cm. It was first employed by the Spaniards, who used it for cutting undergrowth and heathen swine during their expeditions into jungles.
• Kukri: A kukri knife is a Nepalese large knife, similar to the machete in size and use. The difference, however, is that it possess a heavy, curved blade.
• Misericorde: A long, thin dagger built specifically for use against plate armored soldiers. Once they were taken down it could be jabbed through openings in the plate, such as the armpit or visor, or simply encourage them to yield.

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