There are few things as exciting as the clash of blades. The sound of steel on steel, the feel of stopping the momentum of your opponent’s blade, the thrill of turning that momentum back on him or her, and the joy of connecting blade to foe. Because these are just practice weapons, there is also the joy of getting together and cooking afterwards.

Modern competition fencing has evolved over several centuries from the traditions of Western Europe. Its current iteration emphasizes the intent and equipment of the 19th century. By the 19th century, bladed weapons were on their way out as practical armament and had taken a more athletic aesthetic. By the end of the 20th century, the sport of fencing consisted of just three different blades: the foil, the epée, and the saber.  The epée is modeled after rapiers and short swords, while a foil was just a practice epée that took on a life of its own. Both the foil and epée are thrusting weapons (i.e. the pointy end goes into the other person) and work much like an ice pick.

The saber is modeled after cavalry sabers, which were in use up through the First World War. The saber is a curved, single-edge sword made to cut and thrust. While the tip can be used to thrust, the edge of the weapon can cut across. When used in a charge, the blade goes where the tip side is pointing. If the blade is held with the tip side pointed toward the sky, the blade goes up, and the cavalry officer will have a broken wrist. If the tip is pointed to the ground, the force of the charge will carry the blade through the target and toward the side of the rider’s horse. Throughout history, there has been a debate over whether a straight-edged sword or a curved sword is better for use by cavalry. Because I like to have my wrist after a charge, I always choose the one with the curves.

Some ancient animals made use of saber-like teeth much the way fencers do. The most well known is the saber-toothed cat. What we call “saber-toothed cats” actually comprise a number of different feline and marsupial species. They all had overly large canine teeth, most of which could still gleam menacingly while their mouths were closed. One of the most iconic “cats” is Smilodon. Erroneously known as the saber-toothed tiger — despite its lack of relation to tigers — Smilodon was a 1,000-pound ambush predator. While Smilodon did not have as strong as bite as a modern day lion, its long teeth more than made up for its bite. It used its power to wrestle prey to the ground and then followed up with its saber to deliver the coup de grace (not to be confused with the Kansas City shuffle) — a very efficient way to take out prey.

There were even some herbivores that picked up the saber teeth. Uintatherium was a rhino-like (although not related) planteater that possessed a pair of saber teeth. While they were the cool “cats” on the herbivore block, they used their formidable teeth as weapons of defense against predators and against other males to win a female’s favor.

The new Morian Hall of Paleontology hall contains fabulous fangs. Check them out!