The cup hilt a later example of complex hilts with the earliest examples from the last part of the16th century. It is categorized as a hilt with a saucer shaped guard through the center of which a blade can pass through. This can be a flat plate or a deep cup which protects the hand by completely encompassing it inside the ricasso. The hilt is made of a pair of quillons and forward arms. The hilt can have a knuckle guard or not as both were common. The cup hilt often had an upturned rim to catch the point of the opponent’s blade and was often connected to the forward arms by screws or brazed to the arms. Quillons can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes from very short and curved to long and straight.