Carrack ''Black'' Sword

By Crusader1307

A standard 15th Century Straight Sword, designed in Portugal, it had the typical "Spanish" design of a curved upright gross guard/hilt (popular in the Region). Often the crossbars were highly embellished. This curving was a clever attempt at counter-balancing the blade and gave it better control when used. Often times referred to as a "Ball Sword". The blades (both single and double-edged), ranged from 40 to 47 inches long. The most telling development of The Carrack Sword, was that it was painted black. These Black Blades were used by The Portuguese Navy as a form of anti-rusting method as well as minimizing light glinting off the blade (effective during night time operations).