used in sabre. Pommel – From the old French word for 'apple'. This fastener affixes the grip and guard to the tang of the blade. It has female threading, but the threaded hole does not go all the way through as is the case with a nut. It is screwed onto the distal end of the tang, locking guard, grip and electric connector is position by compression and friction. The pommel traditionally acts as a counterweight on non-orthopedic grips of foils and épées, and on all sabres. In electric sabre, it is covered with plastic as to not interfere with the detection of valid hits by allowing stray currents. Orthopedic (pistol-grip) weapons use only a pommel nut, usually fitting inside a cylindrical hole in the grip. Sabre – A fencing weapon with a flat blade and knuckle guard, used with cutting or thrusting actions; a military sword popular in the 18th to 20th centuries; any cutting sword used by cavalry. The modern fencing sabre is descended from the dueling sabre of Italy and Germany, which was straight and thin with sharp edges, but had a blunt end. Non-Olympic weapons and styles Backsword – A type of heavy sabre, generally single-edged with a 'false edge' down the top third of the back of the blade. Typified by a basket hilt. In use from the 16th to 20th centuries. Broadsword – A military sword and fencing weapon popular in the 18th-19th centuries, similar to a heavy sabre. Beginning only in the late 20th century, this term came to be inappropriately applied to almost any straight-bladed, double-edged, single-handed cutting sword, especially of the Medieval and Renaissance eras. Longsword – also Hand-and-a-half Sword. A larger cutting sword that could be use with one or two hands. Manuals detailing the use of such swords are among the earliest extant, dating back to the 14th Century. Great Sword – also Two-handed Sword. A very large cutting sword, generally double-edged, intended for use with both hands. Great Swords could be as tall as the swordsman, and were often used as front-line offensive weapons in late 17th Century warfare. Italian Grip – A traditional hilt with finger rings and crossbar. Used only in foil and épée. The Italian grip provides more 'grip' than the French grip, but less than a 'pistol-grip'. The finger rings and crossbar are descendants of the swords that used quillions. This type of grip