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Post by cathammer on Sept 18, 2020 0:38:57 GMT
Posted this in newbie section, but looks like maybe it's more suited for this section. Hope I'm not violating a rule by asking here, too. What can be said about this sword?: photos.app.goo.gl/jjvqjosgFtDkEJdK6
Small sword (about 3ft or so) at an antique shop. Has some age on it,but solid. Leather scabbard is worn a bit but intact. Blade is a flat triangle cross section w/ concave sides, in good condition. No markings that I noticed. Decorative guard is in line with blade rather than perpendicular. Price is pretty cheap...maybe $80 - $90 or so.
I don't know anything about this sort of thing, but the hilt looks like it should have at least a leather and wire wrap (and pommel?), if not also some sort of additional guard. Is it worth getting & playing with? I'm fairly "crafty". Suggestions on how to proceed if I get it would be appreciated.
Thanks for any thoughts or info!
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Post by Jayhawk on Sept 18, 2020 1:12:43 GMT
That hilt looks truly suspect to me. Any more pics, especially of the blade? I fear a reproduction, even if an older one...maybe more designed for appearance than use.
Eric
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Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on Sept 18, 2020 14:05:45 GMT
First impression: The guard plate you show may be from a 19th century Restauration period French (Superior )Officers small sword. As the entire grip assembly and the knuckle bow are missing, the grip you show is a later addon, the blade may be spurrious too. Please post a picture of the blade and the scabbard so we can see whether the blade belongs to the guard plate and whether all the fittings are accounted for and indeed fitting this type. Google Images can show the sword as it should be. Just search for ,,French Restauration period Officers small sword''. The symbolism on this guard plate may indicate the Officer was part of the French Colonial Army. I think I see some Asiatic influences here. The flower for instance could point to Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand. I cannot find this symbol in l'Hoste's ,, Les Epees'' though. At least the guard plate looks genuine. The rest I cannot say at this point. Spare parts of just the right type are hard to come by, so you probably never will get the thing whole again, or only at considerable cost. Take that into account if you still want to buy the sword.
Cheers.
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Post by cathammer on Sept 18, 2020 17:29:42 GMT
Thanks guys. The sword is at a place we stopped at for a few minutes on our way out of town. Will be passing by again tomorrow or day after. Only took a few pics to remind myself what it looked like, with no thought of a detailed inquiry at the time. No pic of the blade...3-sided w/ back side widest, slightly hollow ground "flats", no cutting edge to speak of, if I recall correctly. Only fits into scabbard one way,as set to be hung on left & drawn w/ right hand. Blade not very wide... maybe 5/8" or so at hilt (per memory) Working from my phone, which is kind of klutzy for adding links. Hopefully, this will show the other 3 pics I do have: photos.app.goo.gl/8qxHrWJEYde6b1qT6. If not, I'll try again later.
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Post by cathammer on Sept 18, 2020 18:05:34 GMT
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Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on Sept 19, 2020 12:05:51 GMT
Three sided hollow ground blade is correct. This is how it may have looked like. Just to give you the idea of what is missing. Cheers.
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Post by cathammer on Sept 19, 2020 23:30:23 GMT
Three sided hollow ground blade is correct. This is how it may have looked like. Just to give you the idea of what is missing. Cheers. So, quite a bit missing. Don't know if it would be practical or even very possible to try to restore it to that condition. Might be easy enough to re-do the grip alone into a matching style and just keep it around in case I come across some other parts that would be suitable for the guard. I'll have to take a look at it tomorrow, & see if I feel like bothering with it. How is the sword in the picture you provided identified? Is it a very specific model that would need that exact guard, or just a representative of a certain type, that could stand some variation? Thanks again for your help!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2020 23:54:07 GMT
Honestly, castings of the type persist even to the 20th century but hoping to find enough correct bits would turn into a pit. Unless somehow strangely attached to the blade and counterguard, regard it as a curio and just move on. Save the money to pair with and wait for something else.
Cheers GC
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Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on Sept 20, 2020 8:46:46 GMT
The Officer small swords and the French examples in particular change over time. Every period, like pre Napoleonic, restauration period, etc, etc, had its own designs and also many variations thereoff within a particular period. No wonder that Mr. l'Hoste, in his effort to describe all French Officers small swords, had to publish a book of about twice the thickness of his book about the French military swords and sabres! The, later, basic design had a pommel, a grip covered with mother of pearl grip plates, a knuckle bow, a ferule under the grip and a guard plate. Sometimes two of those, back and front, with variations in size. This enormous variation makes it virtually impossible to find just the right spare parts for your sword. Grip plates of the one will not fit on the other and so on and not forgetting that two swords exactly the same at first look may have parts that cannot be interchanged because the one was made at a differend atelier than the other. And if you were to be so lucky to find parts that fit together, they may be from different periods. I am not saying it is impossble to restore the sword, but the investment in time, energy and money, in the end may not pay off. Better to let this one go and, if you really want a nice small sword, have a look here: bertrand-malvaux.com/fr/c/1001/armes-blanches-dragonnes.html. Look for instance at this one: www.bertrand-malvaux.com/fr/p/33502/epee-d-officier-de-marine-modele-1819-restauration.html . Here you'll also find many examples of Officers small swords from the time the swords were actually still used. Not the fancy mother of pearl and gild covered badges of status they became later on: www.jjb-collection.com/en/weapons-brand-armor-sabres-epees-xsl-379_382.htmlFor the price of about two Windlasses you can still lay your hands on a pretty good one. A sword with a lot of history, that will keep its value, instead as with all replicas, decrease in value at resale about 50% the moment you drive it from the dealer lot. It's not that replicas are bad or someting, it's just not a good investment for the most part. By the way, JJB Collection has a section somewhere were spare parts are sold. Blades, grips, whatever he found in the auction bin. Maybe you are lucky! Cheers.
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Post by cathammer on Sept 22, 2020 18:20:10 GMT
Thanks for all the info and suggestions. I decided to pass on this one. Probably could have put together some sort of reasonable-looking "Frankensword", but don't think I'd be happy with that in the end.
Thanks for the extra links, Uhlan.
Cheers! C
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Post by christopher jonasson on Oct 2, 2020 15:29:49 GMT
Agree with "frankensword" Hilt looks like some cooking utensil, maybe something for the grill ?
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