Broadsword - "I heard the broadsword's deadly clang" - Sir W. Scott. A type of sword with a blade length of 27"-36" that is wielded with one hand. It has a straight single-edged blade and is sure as hell NOT a claymore, which is a type of two-handed sword. One made of decent quality high carbon steel will weigh in around 2-3.5 pounds. The main difference between a broadsword and a longsword is that a longsword has a double-edged blade. One of the well-known types of broadswords is the Scottish basket-hilted broadsword, sometimes mistakenly called a basket-hilted claymore. Claymore A type of two-handed sword which originated in Scotland. It has a slightly shorter blade length than your average European two-handed sword. They started out having a straight crossguard, like William Wallace's sword in Braveheart, but later developed a down-sloped crossguard with spatulate swellings (which look kind of like a certain kind of pasta). The so-called basket hilt claymores aren't actually claymores: they're broadswords, which have a straight blade and single edge. However, I think it is okay to call these broadswords basket-hilt claymores, as they are specific to one people (the Scots) and have a very distinct design. http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=broadsword