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Post by richardl on Oct 4, 2023 0:04:59 GMT
Hi, I'm new to collecting and am hoping for some help in identifying this sword. It was purchased from an estate in Antigua.
The overall length of the sword is 17 1/2 inches. The blade is 10 1/2 inches long.
I was told it was a cutlass from the late 1700's. However the small size, guard, and quillon shape had me thinking Chinese sword. However I have no creal clue.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
Richard
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Post by richardl on Oct 4, 2023 0:25:02 GMT
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Post by pellius on Oct 4, 2023 1:09:33 GMT
Welcome to the forum and the hobby!
Your sword looks artificially aged to me. The peen and the cut / grind marks are still crisp, despite the grip having apparently rotted away. The active red rust is everywhere, yet there is a lack of pitting or flaking, and there is seemingly no loss of material even along the cutting edge.
The side profile looks like a Chinese butterfly sword, but the guard and pommel are too round and symmetrical in cross section to accommodate the second sword.
My guess is that it’s a modern fantasy or replica sword.
I’m no expert, though, and may well be wrong; wouldn’t be the first time…
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Oct 4, 2023 3:06:51 GMT
I’m afraid that I have more questions than answers. Antigua? Guatemala, Island (Caribbean), other? You state the blade at 10½”, from the photo it looks like in the neighbourhood of 13”. All English speaking isles in the Caribbean call machetes cutlasses. I have reservations about saying it’s a 1700ish cutlass, but at this point I am not prepared to say one way or the other.
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pgandy
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Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on Oct 4, 2023 13:30:50 GMT
I read your post past my bedtime and was feeling the effects. While lying in bed it dawned on me what was bothering me about the sword. I will point out that I do not consider myself an authority and could well be wrong. The finish doesn’t seem right for a knife that has been in the tropics for 250-300 years. Latinos are not noted for maintaining their machetes. Most I’ve seen appear never to have received a drop of oil. That knife appears to have been a working tool/weapon and not a work of art or jeweled and set aside and never used but guarded. I wish that I could examine the blade or had some measurements of the thickness. What bothers me is the rust is uniform and no use or abuse to any of the edges. Even storage rust would not be so uniform. Guatemala is to our north and the climate similar to ours. I live N10° and used to cross the line daily. Overall, the climate is hot and humid. Although I live high in the mountains where it’s cooler, about 27°C±10 daily. Rust is a daily enemy and cannot be counted on to be uniform. For example, the area a knife is resting upon is subject to condensation. That design is for a working knife and I see not the slightest ding nor the results of many sharpening, much less repeated. If the knife is from the island add the effects of salt air to that. And after all those years the edges appear to be undamaged, about like new with an uniform layer of rust, making me suspicious. I agree with Pellius in thinking that someone artificially aged it, possibly waiting for a tourist to come along.
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