Double Brass Lace Rapier

The European sprat is a weapon that originates from France and is considered an evolution of the rapier. Despite what is often believed, the sprat was not one of the three weapons of classical fencing. This happens because it is often confused with the foil, which was popular during the 19th century. Instead, the sprat had its heyday 200 years earlier, in the 17th century.

The sprats served both for military use and for honor duels. Although the rapier had a more defensive function and could be used as a street weapon, this is not the case with the sprat. In this context we have to talk about the ‘Destreza’ -dexterity in spanish-, a whole technique developed around the moral principle of "you will not kill."

Developed by Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, Spanish ‘Destreza’ reached its peak in the 17th century. This technique was based on the study and knowledge of the two elements involved in the duel: the body - one's own and that of the other - and the sword.

- The body: it is the means that we use in dexterity, so we must know it in depth to know which side is stronger or the power to use in each stroke.

- The sprat: it was the basic weapon and defended that the right-hander had to master a wide variety of actions to be carried out with it: blows, objections, detours, movements, injuries and positions.

The main differences between the ‘Destreza’ skill and the common -or vulgar- one, were collected in principles

- Do not move towards the opponent, but develop lateral footwork to improve the angle of attack

- The sword cut is just as useful as the lunge - it all depends on the situation-.

- Establish the profile position to offer the opponent less target.

In short, it is a light sword that stands out for its usefulness when it comes to dodging attacks and delivering thrusts. To give us an idea, they are the ones we usually see in musketeers movies. Like the rapier swords, they were used as a complement to clothing, a particularity that can mislead us, since they were also deadly when applied in duels. It used to measure between 43 and 45 inches and weighed around 1.65 Ibs.