Blades are perhaps the most widespread of all weapons.
Knives and daggers may be the most ubiquitous weapons off all. All people, young and old, male and female, will carry a knife, unless they are truly destitute. Also, the most heavily armoured and armed knight would be foolish not to carry a poniard or rondel for the close (and potentially very lethal) work.
Stilettos:
Poniards: A poniard is triangular or square in cross-section, like an estoc sword (below).
While the sword is emblematic of the warrior estate, it has rarely been the primary weapon of war, as such. However, it may be said to be the best weapon for personal defence.
No weapon can match a sword for speed, versatility and lethality against unarmoured or lightly armoured opponents. However, sword slashes perform poorly against maille, and abysmally against plate. Thrusts may pierce chain, but can only be used against gaps in plate - they will not pierce the plates themselves.
Knights, who consider themselves the very quintessence of bellatores, almost always carry swords. However, they very rarely use them as primary weapons. Most common, they see use as a tertiary choice, if both primary weapon (usually lance or pollarm), and secondary weapon (axe, mace or warpick) are lost, the knight will draw his sword. Also, they are good when routing enemy archers and peasant levies.
Most modern swords are diamond-shaped in cross-section, to make them sufficiently rigid and robust to be used for thrusts against maille (and, to a lesser extent, plate). Older blades usually have blood-grooves.
The quintessential sword. Shortswords were the first proper swords, forged from bronze. The oldest swords, found in ancient tombs and on ancient battlefields, are shortswords. Even in the 66th century, shortswords remain in widespread use, though most often they are made of steel.
Shortswords make excellent sidearms, being short enough to be convenient to carry, and long enough to be versatile and lethal weapons.
Falchions differ from most swords in that the blad reaches is greatest width towards the end of the sword, and the centre of weight is also ahead of the crossguard. Falchions are tools as well as weapons.
Falchions are favoured by rangers and woodsmen, as well as by sailors.
Dress swords are favoured by civilians around the Mare Interior. Superficially, they look much like bastard swords, but with shorter grips, suitable for one-handed use only. The blade tends to be from three to four feet long - the primary point of a dress sword is to be able to ram it into your opponent innards before your opponent can reach yours. Mainly a thrusting sword, it usually has a single or double sharpened edge.
Grosses messers are broadsword-sized falchions.
Also known as hand-and-a-half or longsword, the bastard sword is favoured mainly by knights and nobles.
Bladesmithing sorcerers, working with orichalcum, have also mainly made bastard swords for the last two thousand years.
Estocs are swords made to pierce metal armour. For this purpose, the estoc is made with a robust lozenge-shaped (or triangular) blade, with little or no cutting edge, and a solid and very acute point. An estoc is usually wielded two handed, and it is common to grasp the glade and use it with half-sword technique, for added leverage and accuracy.
Flamberge
Flamberges have wavy blades. They add +1 to cutting damage after armour (and after damage increase), and give those wielding them a +1 on disarming attacks contestss. However, they have a 1/6 greater chance of breaking.
Glavelot: A two-handed version of the falchion