was attached to a sword's crossguard at the base of the hilt to protect the mouth of the scabbard and prevent water from entering. Sword scabbards and suspension Common accessories to the sword include the scabbard, as well as the 'sword belt'. The scabbard, also known as the sheath, is a protective cover often provided for the sword blade. Over the millennia, scabbards have been made of many materials, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel. The metal fitting where the blade enters the leather or metal scabbard is called the throat, which is often part of a larger scabbard mount, or locket, that bears a carrying ring or stud to facilitate wearing the sword. The blade's point in leather scabbards is usually protected by a metal tip, or chape, which on both leather and metal scabbards is often given further protection from wear by an extension called a drag, or shoe. A sword belt is a belt with an attachment for the sword's scabbard, used to carry it when not in use. It is usually fixed to the scabbard of the sword, providing a fast means of drawing the sword in battle. Examples of sword belts include the Balteus used by the Roman legionary. Typology Sword typology is based on morphological criteria on one hand (blade shape (cross-section, taper, and length), shape and size of the hilt and pommel) and age and place of origin on the other (Bronze Age, Iron Age, European (medieval, early modern, modern), Asian). The relatively comprehensive Oakeshott typology was created by historian and illustrator Ewart Oakeshott as a way to define and catalogue European swords of the medieval period based on physical form, including blade shape and hilt configuration. The typology also focuses on the smaller, and in some cases contemporary, single-handed swords such as the arming sword. Single and double-edged As noted above, the terms longsword, broad sword, great sword, and Gaelic claymore are used relative to the era under consideration, and each term designates a particular type of sword. Jian In most Asian countries, a sword (jian 劍, geom (검), ken/tsurugi (剣) is a double-edged straight-bladed weapon, while a knife or sabre (dāo 刀, do (도), to/katana (刀) refers to a single-edged object. Kirpan Among the Sikhs, the sword is held in very high esteem. A single-edged sword is called a kirpan, and its double-edged counterpart a khanda or