Again, an examination of the axe shows that the cutting edge lies considerably in advance of the wrist and hand, with the effect of carrying the edge well forward on the ‘line of direction,’ which, in the Sword, passes directly from pommel to point. If the edge were at the back the tendency of the weapon would be to fall away from the line of cut, and this could be overcome only by a certain amount of wasted force. In nearly all curved Swords, except the Japanese, some contrivance is made to give the feeling which we express by ‘the edge leading well forward’; and this point has been carefully studied by nations whose attack is the cut. Usually the line of hilt is thrown forward so as to form an angle with the axis of the blade, and the former is made obtuser or acuter in proportion as the latter is more or less curved. By balancing the weapon upon the pommel the effect becomes evident; the edge falls forward like that of the axe. [Illustration: FIG. 114.—SCYMITAR.] [Illustration: FIG. 115.—CLAYMORE.] The superiority of the curved blade for cutting purposes is easily proved. In every cut the edge meets its object at some angle, and the penetrating portion becomes a wedge. But this wedge is not disposed at right angles with the Sword: the angle is more or less oblique according to the curvature, and consequently it cuts with an acuter edge. The accompanying figures of a ‘scymitar’ and a claymore, both trenchant blades, prove that, were the edge to describe a right line (A B) directed at any object (C), it would act as a wedge (D), measuring exactly the breadth of the blade. But the curve throws the edge more forward, and thus the ‘half-weak’ acts like a wedge (E), which is longer and consequently more acute, the extreme thickness (that of the back or base) being a fixed measure. Similarly, by cutting still nearer the ‘weak’ or point, the increased curvature gives a more prolonged and acuter cuneiform (F). Comparing the three sections of the same blade (D E F), which differ only in the angle at which the edge is supposed to meet the obstacle, we see the enormous gain of cutting power.