Cutlass

This article is about the sword. For other uses see Cutlass (disambiguation)

A cutlass is a short thick sword with a curved blade sharpened on the convex side. Best known as the sailor's weapon of choice, likely because it was also robust enough to hack through heavy ropes, canvas and wood. The cutlass is the sword most usually portrayed in films about pirates.

It was also used on land, particularly by cavalrymen such as the Mamelukes, since its curved blade made it useful for slashing and slicing combat. The typical European cavalry sword resembles a longer and thinner cutlass.

A cutlass is as often an agricultural implement and tool, as a weapon (cf. machete, to which the same comment applies), being used commonly in rain forest and sugar cane areas, such as the Caribbean and Central America.