 Training was also a factor—it took a very long time to train new recruits in the use of longbows and swords—whereas the basic operation of an arquebus could be taught in a comparatively short time.As a result, swords were retained only by officers (who were less likely to be at the front of the pike-and-musket hedge) and by cavalry, for whom early single-shot handguns were of limited use.The invention of the revolver in 1836 finally made a "service pistol" practical, as prior to this pistols had largely been single-shot weapons usually of no particular standardized pattern.