ricasso, n. an unsharpened portion of a
blade, above the
hilt.
Typically only found on large blades, where it is intended to be a "safe" place grab the blade with a second hand to apply more force. This sometimes also refers to the flat of the blade as well as the edge, and is the typical place for trademarks, military admit marks, and factory control marks. Among large swords, bastard swords are the most common to have pronounced ricassos, and among small blades, bayonets and bowie knives are the most common.
note: In the case of smaller blades, it is theorized that a ricasso must be intended to be grabbed by a child, midget,fairy,keebler,smurf, knife-fight-monkey, or (preferably) yoda as appropriate.