Swords

Simply put, swords are knives with longer handles and longer blades—much longer, in some cases. Unlike knives, however, which can be used as anything from a tool to a weapon, the original sole purpose of swords was as a weapon. Again, however, for the most part that was centuries ago. Today, swords run the gamut. Though they can still be used as weapons, swords see more use as collectibles and for non-lethal sparring in the martial arts and Western Martial Arts, the Japanese art of Iaido and tameshigiri, as re-enactment pieces, and others.