Why were Sabres rarely sharpened?

I've never understood the benefit of using a blunt sword in combat. I'm sure a blunt sabre could cause a serious wound, but it wouldn't be as serious as it could have been if it were sharpened.

So why were blunt sabres so widely used?

Proper sharpening of a weapon is a gift not everybody has. It's easy enough to semprini the job if you don't know what you're doing.

The finer the edge the greater the suseptibility to chipping in sword to sword contact. A duller blade has more surface to absorb a strike. We're not talking about "blunt" on military swords so much as a degree of sharpness.

So there is logic to a "military edge", but I'm for a well sharpened blade.

British officers would have their swords sharpened when they expected to see active service (i.e., embark on a campaign). Generally, officers who never saw combat did not have their swords sharpened. This is evident in my collection. Of my Victorian swords, all but two are sharp or were sharpened for active service--one belonged to an officer who did not see any action, and the second was probably never carried into battle (men with swords made good targets for the Boers). I am not sure what the practice would have been amongst other ranks who carried swords (e.g. cavalry troopers), but I imagine it would have followed similar lines.

Given the nature of the warfare in which Britain was engaged in the 19th century, swords were still used and were relevant weapons for the hand-to-hand combat that occurred. I am not sure the same held true for other Western powers, including the United States. I think that before saying that sabers were rarely sharpened one must look at where, when, and who was using the saber. Sharp sabers were certainly not rare in the British Army.

Thank you!

Jonathan, what is the degree of sharpness, are the scary scary sharp or serviceably sharp.

I'd also think that a lot were sharp, got used (for some task or another), and were never resharpened again. I've seen an antique sabre from the civil war that was dull, but had the tell-tale marks of having been in someone at some point in time.

M.

Oops, Patton's straight sword was the U.S. model of NINETEEN thirteen, NOT "1013."

Forgive my fat, blundering fingers!

My point (punintended) was that by the time of the first whirled war, the edge was neither needed nor used in mounted combat.

While some did not bother, a lot of Combat troops did I am sure. I could not imagine knowing I was going into combat and not have my sword sharpened. For the possible encounter with an enemy I would want to infllict as much damage as possible to him in order to incapacitate him as quiclkly as possible. When Confederate Gen. Wade Hampton formed his "Hampton Legion", S.C. Vols, he ordered the cavalry contingent of his legion to sharpen their swords. I know someone who has the original 1860 lt cav sabre toted by their ancestor in the Prattville Dragoons, Co. "H". 3rd Alabama Cav, CSA (made by H. Boker, Solingen, Germany) and it is still very sharp. Only the forward half of the blade was sharpened. The rear half's edge (the forte) was left dull and still has a lot of dents and all from combat or sparring, etc..
Freebooter

A favorite shot from horseback is down at the collar bone of a foot soldier which will break easily and put men out of action. You will find alot of old Islamic sabers also dulled like this with actually flatened edges for this reason. Getting a sword stuck in someone while on horseback can be a hazard. Skewering while riding by can get your sword twisted from your grip or a damaged swordarm.

The chances of catching your blade in the body on the charge are extremely high because of the angle. The best target for a sharp blade on a charge is the neck, specifically the back of the neck. Best weapon for horseback combat in terms of the charge is an axe, the sheer cleaving power combined with a horse's momentum would mean a very slim chance, also a warhammer because there is absolutely no chance of complications, especially if you hit the head and explode it like a melon. A blunt sabre is not that silly of an idea, you can do more damage to the body with blunt force than cutting or thrusting, unless you strike arteries or muscle clusters or run through the right area of the body.