Short blade

Short blades were short bladed weapons that traded power and reach for a faster swing rate.

12th century
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's short blade was returned to him after he had reached the third rank in the Assassin Order, following his demotion. Like the sword, his skill with the short blade increased as he progressed higher through the Order's ranks.

The first short blade he obtained had a wooden handle, though he received an all metal variation at a later rank. In both instances, he carried the short blade in a sheath strapped across his back, with the handle facing down.

In battle, Altaïr wielded a short blade with an, and often used it in conjunction with throwing knives.

Renaissance
In a similar fashion to Altaïr, Ezio Auditore da Firenze was equipped with both a medium weapon and a short blade, though they were sheathed together at his side. He could purchase various types of short blades from blacksmiths, each with unique speed, damage and deflection properties.

In battle, he would wield the short blade much as Altaïr did, utilizing the same icepick grip, though he did not learn to use it alongside throwing knives until he became a Master Assassin.

Several of his allies, such as thieves and courtesans, also used short blades in battle. Certain guards and assassination targets, such as agiles and Rodrigo Borgia, made use of short blades as well. However, none of these held their weapons in an icepick grip.

Combat
Short blades strike more quickly than medium weapons, which made them ideal for dispatching large numbers of low-ranked enemies. However, as an enemy's rank increases, the short blade's effectiveness diminished, due to the higher quality armor they wore.

For Altaïr, the special, close-ranged attack of most short blades could only be performed from behind – slitting an enemy's throat, or stabbing them in the shoulder or back – which would always result in an instant kill.

When used with the short blade, Altaïr could throw a single throwing knife mid-combat. Similarly, Ezio could dual-wield the short blade with throwing knives, and could throw multiple throwing knives at once.

Victorian London
The Kukri is a short, bladed weapon of Nepalese origin, similar to a machete. These weapons are available to Jacob and Evie Frye in London. They are also used by the leader of the Assassins in London, Henry Green.

They are the most lethal melee weapon availabile in Victorian London but have lower impact for stunning than the cane-swords also available.

There are 16 available Kukris.

Trivia

 * In Assassin's Creed, Altaïr was the only person to use a short blade, other than Malik Al-Sayf and his brother Kadar, until Malik lost his arm and Kadar, his life.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, once all throwing knives had been used up, Ezio would throw sand to momentarily blind and incapacitate his target, although Ezio could also do this when in unarmed combat.
 * In the blacksmith shops in Brotherhood, the Notched Cinquedea had the store image of the Channeled Cinquedea, and vice versa.
 * Unlike in Assassin's Creed II, in Brotherhood, the Channeled Cinquedea was a weapon that could not be purchased, and was only available through disarming guards that wielded it.
 * Only very few individuals held the short blade with an icepick grip. These included Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Tamir, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Francesco de' Pazzi, Bernardo Baroncelli, Claudia Auditore da Firenze, Ratonhnhaké:ton, Kanen'tó:kon and Desmond Miles. However, Ratonhnhaké:ton held only his Pivot Blade in an icepick grip, while Desmond also held only a bowie knife in an icepick grip with his left hand.
 * An unusable Notched Cinquedea could be seen stuck in the table in Ezio's room at the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni.