The true rapier is a long, narrow, rigid, nearly edgeless single-hand thrusting blade with a thick, tapering cross-section and very narrow and sharp point. There is no question rapiers vary in their shape, length, and width and especially in their hilt configuration. But rapiers are generally thin, light, fast, and well-balanced thrusting swords intended for unarmored single-combat.

The definition of the rapier as a form of Renaissance sword differs among various authorities on historical arms. The various historical terms for rapier referred to a slender cut-and-thrust sword capable of limited slashing and slicing blows and equally suited to military or civilian use. Eventually however, it came to mean exclusively a long and slender thrusting sword with virtually no edge.

Rapiers come in all shapes and sizes, and classifying them all as “rapiers” is not always easy.  But what they all have in common is that they are decidedly slender and rigid blades designed for a thrusting (as opposed to a “cutting and thrusting”) style of swordplay.