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Post by karus on Dec 6, 2018 14:42:44 GMT
Hi All..well this finally arrived a few days ago and I have to say it`s a beauty!. The fit and finish are really good and from the few resources I`ve been able to find it`s pretty good historically as well. The balance seems fine and the weight not at all bad for a replica. I would love to do a lot more research on this weapon...(Primary & secondary resources, photos of original blades etc) ...can anyone point me in the right direction?? In the meantime here`s a couple of photos
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Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on Dec 7, 2018 7:53:02 GMT
l'Hoste in ,, Les Sabres Portes Par l'Armee Francaise '' says on page 425 that the sabre ( they call everything a sabre that is not an Epee ) has a weight of 1250 grams. The Guinhut weighs 1140 grams. The blade length was 98 cm. It had about 12 turns of wire on the grip. There were two blades. The flat one and the double fullered one we know from the Dragoon and Cuirassier pallasch. It also had a cover for the mouth piece soldered under the hilt. The same as can be seen here: en.empirecostume.com/napoleonic-officer-saber-for-cavalry-curved-blade-next-c76-t1-a826.htm though in the case of the Carabinier it was just a box with flat sides. Not ,, en accolade '' like on the Cavalry pallasch. All the above though is info for the regulation Troopers pallasch. Mr. Guinhut sells a version that, so he says, was made at Klingenthal, a private ( Officers?) version. Hence the K on the guillon. So, it is easy for him to hide smaller inaccuracies behind ,, well it's a privately made version''. He also states that the Carabinier has his new and improved grip. It would be fun to compare his version with all the others on the market, but I bet there is no difference between the Guinhut and Universal versions. I was inundated with ads for reproductions on Google Images when I tried to find something substantial about the Carabinier. There was nothing on the original. Also nothing on swordscollection.blogspot.com/ . Even Bertrand Malvaux: www.bertrand-malvaux.com/en/accueil.html does not have one in his ,, sold'' category. I advise you to bookmark his site. He has wonderful pictures of his excellent wares and he is one of the few dealers who know what they are talking about. Also, dig into his collection of Michael Petards drawings. Maybe you'll find it there. If I remember correctly Dave Kelly owned or owns an Empire Carabinier reproduction. I think he did a review once. He also has all or at least a few of the Petard volumes. He might have some more info. You may have to PM him. When looking at the subject from here, I'd say there isn't much to be found. Why that seems to be so, I do not know. Cheers.
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Post by Afoo on Dec 10, 2018 3:34:30 GMT
I looked at this model closely - and it does differ quite significantly from the Universal based on the provided KoA measurements. The hilt and grip on the EC also look nicer.
I found a few sources which indicate that it was indeed slab sided as Uhlan says, and not hollow ground like I would expect - at least for the troopers version. Its not a great handling repro, but I suspect that's in part due to the design. Compared with an original, full sized 1854 carbiners sabre with the double fullered blade it comes up short (not suprising for a repro), but not as far off as you might expect.
I really do like the length of the blade though. Aesthetically they have done something to make the blade look smaller than it actually is. Its easy to forget that you have a full meter of steel in your hands. Neat design
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Post by karus on Dec 12, 2018 17:05:43 GMT
Honestly it`s a nice piece and the more I look at it the more I`m impressed. The blade has a reasonable distal taper and `sings` as you make a cut...the balance is not too front heavy and I honestly think that if you were to put an edge on it you`d have a viable weapon. I understand that these were acquired at a regimental level rather than by government contract which explains the frustrating lack of info but would really love to know more...I can highly recommend this item!!
rds
K
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