The Stiletto

    

The "Stiletto" was first developed in Italy and dates back as early as the 1400s. The Stiletto is said to be a variation on the "Rondel Dagger," which is a needle-pointed, narrow blade who's primary use was theorized to be thrusting. The blade was formed with a hammer into a "dense rod with a narrow, triangular cross section, without any sharpened edges." Although the triangular shape was the most popular, but there were also some instances with square, round, or diamond cross sections. The Stiletto get's its name from the Latin word "stilus" which was a thin pointed Roman tool used to engrave onto wax or clay tablets. It started to gain it's popularity during the Middle Ages when it became regularly used as a secondary weapon by the knights of the time. Since the blade was so thin, it easily made its way through the small openings in the armor of the wielder's opponents. The stiletto was originally meant to be used purely for offensive purposes, but it proved most useful to finish off enemies after being previously wounded.