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Post by wearle on Mar 8, 2023 2:55:06 GMT
This cutlass resembles a British Navy P1804 but has more blade curvature than generally found in the P1804. Also, the grip has no longitudinal grooves, whereas the P1804 does. Could it be an American adaptation of the P1804? See the two photos and please provide an opinion.
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Post by treeslicer on Mar 8, 2023 3:32:22 GMT
This cutlass resembles a British Navy P1804 but has more blade curvature than generally found in the P1804. Also, the grip has no longitudinal grooves, whereas the P1804 does. Could it be an American adaptation of the P1804? See the two photos and please provide an opinion. Welcome to the forum. Please give us more information to work with. Is it yours, or just something you found on a sales site? If so, where? What do you know of its origin? Why do you think it could be American? Are there any markings? Stuff like that.
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Post by wearle on Mar 8, 2023 16:28:41 GMT
I own the cutlass in question and would like to positively identify it. It was given to me by and individual who had inherited it from earlier generations of his family which lived in Prince Edward Island, Canada. There are no markings that one can readily decipher or even make out. That said, it appears to me that there may be some faint markings on the blade close to the hilt.
It seems not to be a P1804 because the blade has a slight curvature and, more importantly, the grip lacks the longitudinal grooves of a P1804. The grip is the same as that of a Royal Navy P1814, but the blade of a P1814 has a substantial amount of curvature -- quite a bit more than is exhibited by my cutlass. It seems not to be a Royal Navy P1845 on account of the shape of the grip at the end of the grip that is farthest from the blade. I've read that one or more American cutlass makers did make fairly close copies of the P-1804, so that is the reason that I'm speculating that perhaps the cutlass is of American manufacture.
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pgandy
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Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Mar 8, 2023 19:00:03 GMT
It seems that you are trying to make a military (issued) arm out of your cutlass. Maybe so, maybe not, only the markings would tell for sure. Remember there were privately made and purchased arms, many approximating a military piece.
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Post by wearle on Mar 9, 2023 2:18:16 GMT
What methods are available to enhance the readability of very faint markings on the blade, if indeed there are any?
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Post by pellius on Mar 9, 2023 13:42:19 GMT
Neat cutlass. You may be able to use a rust removing (not acid etching!) dip to get a more uniform finish against which any markings would better show. You can also use a higher grit sandpaper on a small, hard, flat sanding block to clean the blade while hopefully leaving the recessed mark as is. If you try this, I would suggest a light touch. Since it will leave a clean(er) spot, you will need to do the whole cutlass - a substantial undertaking. While I think it’s a great way to restore dignity to an old veteran, not everyone approves of “scraping” an antique. Uhlan made a tutorial article on his method of cleaning a blade by hand sanding and polishing. I made a thread documenting my attempt to apply his method to one of my sabers. Uhlan kindly appended my thread to his article here: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/52806/antique-blades-pelliuss-cleaning-threadsIt isn’t for everyone, but I found the whole process quite rewarding. fwiw
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