Hessen Säbel M1854.
Aug 21, 2014 10:40:36 GMT
Post by Uhlan on Aug 21, 2014 10:40:36 GMT
Hessen Säbel für Offiziere der berittenen Infanterie Einheiten M1854.
When I bought this sabre, it was in a poor state.
The gilt metal basket was bashed in by what looked like a heavy fall (from a horse?),
the back strap was bend upwards in the process, so the grip was cracked too and
the wire had come loose.
The scabbard had lost most of the blue, there was an impact hole in the back strap,
where some of the metal had come bubbling out, like in a shrapnel hit where high
energy made the metal turn into a liquid state for a very short period of time and
some V shaped burrs in the cutting edge of the blade from what might be sword to
sword impact.
In short, it looked like it had seen action of some kind or other, somewhere in its
life. Whether this was during the German-Austrian war, the German-French war
or WW1 is anybodies guess.
So I took the basket off and brought it with the back strap to the blacksmith who was
so kind as to straighten them out again. While he was doing that I repaired the
cracked grip and the wire.
Also found an old bronze screw with the right antique threads and made a leather
finger loop.
Originally this would have stitching in the colours of the ( Hessian ) State.
The blade was blued somewhere in its life and a very nice deep blue it is. On the
short ricasso the blue was scraped off, so I blued that part and the scabbard too.
Because the bubbled out metal on the back strap was very annoying I filed that off, but
left the jagged hole. Peened the sabre again and this is the result.
This model was in use up to and during WW1, though it went from its original function
to doing service as a Gendarme sabre.
The blade is marked on the spine: Ludwig Habich Darmstadt.
On the ricasso: Ducal crown over shield marked L.
Cheers.