Point of Balance
From SwordWiki
The "Point of Balance" is synonymous with the "Center of Gravity", and is measured as the distance that this point sits from the guard of the sword. The standard way to measure this is from the base of the blade, where it meets the guard, though some manufacturers measure it from the quillions if they're forward-swept, to achieve a smaller number. For purposes of this site, we prefer to standardize on the former, though some cases of the latter probably may be found in our pages.
A center of gravity that is close to the hilt will generally result in a light feel, and relatively agile blade. A further balance point will result in the blade feeling heavier, since the leverage will work against your hands more significantly.
However there is much more to the overall feel and "liveliness" of the sword than just the overall weight and the position of the balance point, including distribution of mass. A sword with most of the weight at the ends will feel very different than one with most of the mass at the center, even with nearly identical lengths and points of balance, due to variations in the leverage.
