What is the basic advantage of a stiletto knife?
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Written by: Eloise
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What is the basic advantage of a stiletto knife?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “stileto knife“
About Eloise
Alex Bryant-Roggero’s answer is right on.
They are a terrorist weapon mainly. They make too small of a wound to be spraying blood and be instantly fatal unless the blade hits just the right spot (unlikely).
I have a sample of the ultimate dagger on my wall which was used by resistance fighters of Muhammad Ahmad, famous for his victorious battle with the British at Khartoum.
About 30 cm long, it looks like an ice pick with a handle made out of a child’s pencil. the “blade” is notched and the story is that the notches were for filling them with feces. The reason was to create a deep puncture wound laced with a massive dose of bacteria, resulting in a slow agonizing death.
The assassin would conceal the dagger up his sleeve, fall in line with the rear of a British patrol in a market, make a thrust into the back of a soldier and then melt into the crowd. My bet is that being chosen for the “last in line” position was not popular.
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The biggest advantage that I can think of for the stiletto is that the aggressive tapering makes it more conducive for stabbing techniques. And due to the slimmer profile of the blade, it is lighter for faster stabs.
The biggest issue I have with any stiletto is that the slim blade profile tends to be very fragile, which is why I prefer spear-point daggers over the stiletto’s needle point.
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It’s easy to conceal, up one’s sleeve is best; the shape of the blade will help to a) make it go deeper, b) slice though small bones, like ribs.
As the entry wound is very small there is not going to be a lot of visible bleeding, giving the assailant a good chance of removing him/herself from the murder scene quite easily.
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A stylet dagger or stiletto, at least in the medieval sense, is rather unique not just in terms of it’s thinness but it’s lack of an edge.
This stiletto is a reproduction by Darksword Armory of historical piece housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts.
This closeup makes it easy to see the lack of an edge. Make note of the shape of the blade. It’s a triangular cross-section. Some stilettos had pyramidal cross-sections. These are very resilient shapes for a blade, and also aid in armor penetration (this still won’t get through solid plates, but it might well force it’s way through mail, scale, lamellar, or textile armors).
This close up shows just how fine the point is, and allows one to see the triangular cross-section more easily.
Let’s talk about the edge on a dagger for a moment. What defines a dagger from other knives is the triangular shape. This makes it poor compared to something like a Bowie knife at slashing. Most daggers could inflict shallow opportunistic cuts on an opponents extremities, or injure on a draw cut. When it comes to inflicting serious wounds though, daggers are thrusting weapons.
Most medieval daggers were designed to be a bit utilitarian, because they were used for eating and other random tasks more than combat. A stiletto is not designed with this in mind.
The triangular or pyramidal cross-section allows the dagger to be very resilient, despite its thinness. It’s thinness aids it’s fine point in inflicting deep penetrating wounds.
So why no edge?
Because it doesn’t have an edge, you don’t necessarily need a sheath for it (though one still has to be wary of the point), making it easier to conceal and always ready to use. A stiletto is the perfect assassin’s weapon. It’s easily concealed, it’s instantly ready on the draw, it inflicts wounds that are quite likely to be fatal, and can sometimes even be disguised as something else (e.g. jewelry, a crucifix).
Apart from assassination, stilettos also saw some use as a concealed self-defense weapon. I don’t know how common it was, but I have heard of noble ladies or their handmaids carrying them (the popular image being in their bosom).
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My Father told me about his days in the British Army, they had two stabbing weapons, a bayonet which was required to have the tip blunted so that it would tear upon entry therefore incapacitating the target and the ‘fighting’ knife (stiletto) which was the opposite for ease of entry and the sharp double edges were for a quick wiggle back and forth once inserted to maximise internal damage and thus kill quicker.
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Well, it is a fucking knife. Stupid question, but it has few advantages.
Your reach just got longer
It’s probably sharper than your fist
It’s scary for some people if you just pull it out
Police have nightsticks that nowadays can be opened with a simple hand move, now that scares anyone
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They are useful for stabbing someone through the gaps in their armor.
If you are not a knight or man-at-arms fighting other knights or men-at-arms they will probably be of limited use to you.
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Stilettos are designed to be offensive weapons that are easily concealed. Their long slender style make them easy to hide – up a sleeve, in a boot, under a pant leg, in the folds of a skirt, etc. The thin, narrow, sharply pointed blade is intended for stabbing and is very good for that. The small entry wound is discrete without copious external bleeding, but with precise placement can be fatal.
Their “singleness of purpose” is what has landed them on prohibited for carry lists in many states.
Stiletto – Wikipedia
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