If the portion of the handle furthest from the blade has a cap or other addition significantly different to the rest of the handle, it is referred to as the pommel. Originally the pommel was a weight to help balance the long blade of a sword, but in the realm of knives is a rarer sight, due to the handle-heavy nature of short blades. It is, however, one of the typical features found on bowie knives. The most common pommels are made of brass and are tapped to screw onto the end of a hidden tang.