You are absolutely correct on both counts. Olympic fencing blades are wider at the base and taper down. They’re designed to flex mostly in farther half of the b

You are absolutely correct on both counts. Olympic fencing blades are wider at the base and taper down. They’re designed to flex mostly in farther half of the blade, the base needs to remain fairly stiff or the sword would be weak in parries (and would flop around excessively). Many historical swords taper in width, thickess, or both in order to improve handling. Distribution of mass matters quite a lot in how nimble a sword is, especially for historical swords which were heavier than modern fencing weapons.