Don’t think I know any actual Knights of Columbus and know even less about their “charge” and mission. But over the decades I’ve had several KofC swords in the shop. Ceremonial, obviously, would be no good in a fight. It seems sometimes the old guys die and the family doesn’t know what to do with their hardware so it winds up in my shop. The blades would be good, maybe , for cutting a wedding cake, but they’re pretty “dressy.” Do they still have them?
They are still a "thing." I think old ones can still be worn, but they have changed a bit over the years, and you may have noticed that some are "dressier' than others. There are different swords for different degrees.
And you hit the nail on the head about an old guy dying and nobody knows what to do with the sword. It is a frequent "attic and closet find" when an older house is vacated. That being said, a lot of families know what the sword is and treasure it as proof that "dad" was a sincere and devout man, and charitable to boot.
In my experience, many of the K of C guys where I lived overlapped a good deal with the membership of the local VFW, and all were members in good standing of the local Catholic church.
Yes. It’s part of their regalia. They don’t wear the hats with feathers anymore. It’s more of a beret, which no one likes. But they still use the swords when doing honor guards.