The hilt (rarely called the haft) of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel.

The pommel (Anglo-Norman pomel "little apple") is an enlarged fitting at the top of the handle. They were originally developed to prevent the sword slipping from the hand. From around the 11th century in Europe they became a counterweight to the blade. This gave the sword a point of balance closer to the hilt allowing a more fluid fighting style. Depending on sword design and swordsmanship style, the pommel may also be used to strike the opponent (e.g. using the Mordhau technique).

Pommels have appeared in a wide variety of shapes, including oblate spheroids, crescents, disks, wheels and animal or bird heads. They are often engraved or inlayed with various designs and occasionally gilt and mounted with jewels.

Ewart Oakeshott introduced a system of classification of medieval pommel forms in his The Sword in the Age of Chivalry (1964) to stand alongside his blade typology. Oakeshott pommel types are enumerated with capital letters A-Z, with subtypes indicated by numerals.