A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. It is a flexible weapon of total length 110 cm or under, rectangular in cross section, weighing under 500 g, with a blunt tip. As with
Arianna Errigo (L) competes against Carolin Golubytskyi (R) in the final of the women's foil event, 2013 World Fencing Championships
Italo Santelli (left) and Jean-Baptiste Mimiague exhibiting techniques of foil fencing at the 1900 Olympics
A foil fitted with an Italian grip. While still in use with a small number of classical fencers, all competitive sport fencers have abandoned the Italian grip in favor of variations of the pistol grip, with the French grip used rarely. The last Olympic medal won using an Italian grip was Carlo Montano's silver in 1976. The French grip is easier to learn, but the pistol grip gives a wider range of handling. As of March 2019, the Italian grip remains legal for use in modern competition.
Parts of a foil. Exploded view of a modern fencing foil, with a Visconti grip and a bayonet-style body cord plug[citation needed]
The small sword or smallsword is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. The height of the small sword's popularity
Foil (fencing)
…fencing federation) states that the tip requires a minimum of 500 grams to complete the circuit. The modern foil is the training weapon for the small-sword, the common sidearm of 18th century gentleman. Rapier and even longsword foils are also known to have been used, but their weight and use were very…
Sword of Napoléon, carried at the Battle of Austerlitz and which he kept all his life.
Hilt of the sword worn by students of the École Polytechnique in dress uniform
A smallsword of c. 1760, showing the light construction and narrow thrusting blade of this type of sword