Stiletto for ranging distance. The stiletto was later adopted throughout Italy as the favored offensive thrusting knife ("arma manesca") of the medieval assassin,<ref name="ATK"/ so much so that it was invariably prohibited as a treacherous weapon ("arma insidiosa") by the authorities of the day. The stiletto was preferred by assassins as it was silent, easily concealed inside a sleeve or jacket, and featured a blade capable of easily penetrating the heavy leather and fabric clothing of the day, while inflicting mortal wounds that tended to bleed less than those made by other types of knives. In Italy, the stiletto began to
Stiletto heel heavy-feeling legs, and have been found to provoke venous hypertension in the lower limbs. Despite their impracticality and fluctuating demand, they persist as a fashion option. Stiletto heels concentrate a large amount of force into a small area. The great pressure under such a heel, which is greater than that under the feet of an elephant, can cause damage to carpets and floors. The stiletto heel, unless equipped with a "heel stopper", can be impractical for outdoor wear on soft ground (such as grass, sand or mud), or in environments where floor damage is unacceptable (Lino/soft wood floors in a