A rapier is a sword which has two edges on its narrow blade. In the time of Shakespeare, a rapier was a common weapon — it's even used by some of his characters. A rapier is a particular kind of sword, used mostly for thrusting. Rapiers were especially popular in 16th and 17th century Europe.

Do rapiers have a sharp edge?

But rapiers are generally thin, light, fast, and well-balanced thrusting swords intended for unarmored single-combat. ... Eventually however, it came to mean exclusively a long and slender thrusting sword with virtually no edge.

Are rapiers double edged?

Designed for cut-and-thrust fencing of progressively complex techniques, the rapier is characterized by a double-edged blade with an acute point and an elaborate guard for the hand.