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Post by MBernard on Mar 22, 2013 3:11:26 GMT
What would you say was the best sword issued to officers fighting on foot? It seem that the sword as a actual weapon was quite marginalized by the mid 19th century yet they were still issued and carried in battle so there must have been a few models that stood out?
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Post by william m on Mar 22, 2013 9:30:01 GMT
For me it is the French 1855 Infantry sword. I have three of them!  The sword has excellent handling and just looks amazing.  Beautiful hilts that are sturdy too.  Just look at those sword points!!  More info on this sword. www.swordforum.com/forums/showth ... rench+1855 |
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Mar 22, 2013 13:30:10 GMT
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 23, 2013 11:29:45 GMT
For me, all 'round preference also goes to the French 45/55. Love the mass and handling of the blade. As was also noted this model has a very long pedigree including adopted countires.
The absence of appropriate hand guards on inf officer swords is a mystery to me. Seems like only the British adopted half baskets for their inf officer swords.
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Post by william m on Mar 23, 2013 13:47:03 GMT
Good man Dave! Do you have any examples of your own to show us?
My three 1855 sabres are all slightly different. The high officer one is light as a feather, the troopers one is business like with its heft and the straight one is quite unusual, as it has a shorter grip than the others and quite a choppy action when you swing the sword.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 23, 2013 17:33:39 GMT
Besides the problems with this site my 6 1/2 year old desk top is imploding. Trying to figure out the best way to proceed on that before it craps out completely... hard processing pics at the moment.
I only have a single example of the 45/55, manfd 1876, officer superior. Have four cav officer sabres (post Napoleon).
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Post by MBernard on Mar 23, 2013 20:09:09 GMT
Tose french swords are very cool. How much could one expect to pay for a good example? dave would the extra bar on the US 1850 staff and field (obviouslt based on this french pattern) make it something closer to a half basket or does it still not cover enough of that hand?
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 23, 2013 21:26:27 GMT
Yup, I think the extra +.5 inch provided by that second ring of ornaments pretty much provides back hand protection enough to qualify for a half basket.
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Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 24, 2013 22:04:46 GMT
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