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					Originally Posted by ariel
					
				 
				 IMHO in the majority of cases  it was  an unintended loss due to forging defect/poor craftsmanship. 
			
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 Yes I agree... they were badly smelted.
Disks are important to keep the sword well in hand.
 or disks were removed as demilitarized equipment - in short to not beeing used...against British or others...
"A grip of the size of 7 cm does not surprise m"
As Jens wrote it's common and it's very handy as your hand is really stuck between the guard and the disk...might have been useful in a battle...