Slashing with Mainz vs. Pompeii

[C Crastinus]

It's not only about having a sword with the right 'look' but also the construction should be right. IMHO doing such experiments with 'randomly chosen' blades doesn't make sence.

Agreed. I was just thinking that curved blades are generally better for slashing than straight blades, and although the curvature of the Mainz blade is very slight, it would, if anything, be slightly better for slashing than the Pompeii.

Also, if the Mainz blade was not designed that way, but became waisted from repeated sharpening, which the authors mention as a possibility, wouldn't that imply that it was used for slashing more than thrusting? I would think that if it was only used for thrusting that the tip would be in need of sharpening more often than the sides.

If the difference in the performance of the designs was negligible, did the Pompeii design perhaps become the standard later simply because it was easier to mass produce?