Pirate Swords

[Hawkyns]

Speakin' o' bookmarks and wishlists, check out this cutler.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kwillyard/

Gonna have to clean my keyboard now.

Hawkyns

[capnwilliam]

Aye, Hawkyns, what BEAUTIFUL wares he has fer sale! But then, if'n ye could afford sech stuff, there'd be no need fer ye to be out pyratin', would there?

Capt. William

[Hawkyns]

Well, ye gets what ye pay for, I reckon. I've bought cheap and I've bought dear. The best allus costs more.

Yule is a comin', and I got to say I'd love that shell guard cutlass hilt. Last year twas me blunderbuss and that cost more. Gots to talk to me wife.......

Hawkyns

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Saber just picked up the following sword in an Ebay auction. From what I have been able to determine from the maker's mark on the blade, this would be a Spanish officer's dress sword (maybe cavalry?) and would date to approximately the 1890's.

I found two similar swords on-line which had the same inscription, FAB G.A. DE TOLEDO. Both of the other swords with this inscription were followed by a date- one was 1896 the other 1898, so I'm guessing that this one probably falls into that approximate ball park as the type face looks identical.

This sword's hilt grip is a solid piece of either bone or ivory and is wound with the decorative bronze or brass inlay. One of the similar swords was ornate, but with flourishes rather than the figural people and animals that you see on this one, so I'm guessing it to be a dress sword rather than a functional one. This came from a retired doctor's estate.

Whatcha think pirates? Anyone have further info or comments?

[the Royaliste]

Low browser power kept me from answering him last nite...Spanish made, at the time of the Mexican Civil war, although it probably only saw duty in Europe......Me p.s. Mark Cloke runs an excellent Sword forum called 'Old Swords', and with enough navigating the site, you'll find it there...Gary

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

OK Mexican Civil War would put it from 1858 to 1861. I was kinda thinking that since the other swords had dates on the makers mark and this one didn't, that it might be an earlier sword as a date might have been a later addition to the maker's mark, not something that would be deleted.

Thanks for the reference to Mark Cloke's site, I'm on my way to check it out.

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Thanks for the resource to Mark Cloke's site. There were three lion-headed Spanish swords in the database. None of them were as old as this one appears to be, no bone or ivory hilt grips and not nearly as ornate. But it looks like we did well on the price as we paid $200 for a considerably older and more ornate piece and these more modern pieces with less detail and no bone or ivory were valued at $300. I'll be interested to see if there are additional markings when we get it. It appears to be Spanish Navy, if the later issue swords are replicating our old one.

[the Royaliste]

Toledo did major contracts for many countries, also Portugal, Italy, etc...'Tis listed out there, somewhere..I'll be able to I.D. it better once I've seen it....As we speak, one of my U.S.N. models is moving up on the E-bay choppin' block...

[Deacon Frye]

Claire, you might try posting it on the antique and military forum at Sword Forum International. They know their swords:

http://forums.swordforum.com/forumdisplay....p?s=&forumid=11

[capnwilliam]

A beautiful sword, Claire.

Has anyone ever encountered a USN cutlass? I understand cutlasses were standard issue aboard US Naval vessels until about 1940!

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Royaliste, I'll bring it by as soon as we have it in hand so you can give it a once over. Damn... sorry to hear that one of yours is up at Ebay.

Deacon, I'll post the sword info on the site you suggested, but I'm going to wait until I have it in hand and can hopefully identify if the handle is bone or ivory and check to see if there are any other identifying marks on it.

Thanks Captain William!

[Deacon Frye]

Here's an an item on Spanish Naval Officers' Sabre, 1857 pattern, by one of the "regulars" on the A & M forum at SFI:

http://members.aol.com/machood/seaspan.html

[Lady Seahawke]

Ok, if'n yer near Buffalo, New York or Bakersfield, CA...yar might want to listen up....just came back from the Swordsonline store in Bakersfield....I wanted to see before I bought...they have table full of slightly damaged...swords in all varieties....for less then 50% off. This evening I got a 1850 Naval Cutlass....reenactment quality...very high quality sword for $59.00 ....it had one dent on the hand guard.....They have a brand new one slightly less quality for $59.95...or brand new one of the same quality as I got (without the dent) for $180.00....both come with scabbard and $180.00 one comes with a leather belt loop frog...You can check everything out ...and they have a lot of stuff and it look all very good...am going to order a couple more items from them....Thought you all would like to know ....

[Desert Pirate]

Do any of ya Sea-faring scalawags know if the cutlass fron the "renstore" be holding up or is it just be for show?

[Lady Seahawke]

You can check out the swordsonline web site...at

swordsonline.com

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Thanks Deacon, the lion's head is the same on ours. Royaliste commented that a lot of the swords were manufactured in Spain, but were used in service in other countries. So even though the sword is definitely of Spanish manufacture, it may have been designed for another country's militry. He commented that mine particularly looks like a European design with the style of the hilt and the very European or Nordic-looking face on the hilt.

I'm curious, since Spanish swords were used by the military in other countries, does anyone know if they were considered to be of good quality and if so, what was good or bad about them? Balance, strength etc?

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

The sword arrived yesterday. It's pretty neat. It is very intricate and it is a very attractive piece. I was very surprised by how light weight it is. It is almost the weight of a modern fencing foil. I'm guessing it's a dress sword? Not actually used in action, but I really don't know. There are no marks on the blade that would indicate it was ever used for anything but appearances. Royaliste, I'm hoping you can tell me more about it when you see it. I'll bring it with us next time.

The hilt needs to be tightened up as the parts are a bit loose and wiggly. The bone grip is lovely. No cracks or dryness and it has darkened with age. There are twisted spirals of what appears to be bronze inlaid into the grip.

The details are the best part about it. The more you look at it, the more you see. Someone put a lot of creativity and care into the hilt design and it is quite lovely. On one side, there is a shield, that has two very tiny holes in it, as if an emblem or an initial was attached there. No idea what it might have been.

[Dorian Lasseter]

Aye Lass,

Fer those o' us not there on th' left coast, how 'bout some pictures o' th' new-ta-ye weaponry?

[El Pirata]

I agree. I forgot which one you were thinkin bout buyin.

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

[RyannMacGregor]

OOOOooooooooooohhhh!

*sorry...just watched Toy Story again.*

Very nice!

[El Pirata]

Claire that's an excellent find.

[Dorian Lasseter]

Aye 'Quill,

Tis a lovely find indeed!

Ye says its light, looks sturdy enough ta use ta me..... a light sabre it appears...

As fer tightenin' it up.... Hmmmm..... have a swordsmith have a peek at it.... or, worst case a blacksmith....

Did ye get an age ta th' piece?

Makes me wanna display all me weapons on th' wall again....

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Thanks gang- Saber deserves the credit for finding this one. Me honey did good, eh?

Dorian, from looking at similar swords on-line, this one appears [/i] to date to the mid to late 1800's, but we don't know for sure.

I'm taking it up to Royaliste to let him have a look at it and he may be able to tell me more when he sees it. If it appears that the loosness

could potentially cause damage to the bone grip or another part of the sword, I'll definitely have it done by a swordsmith. Otherwise, if nothing is

likely to be harmed, I'll leave it as is. As you said, it is quite sturdy, which is why the weight is so surprising. It looks

like a heavy piece, but when you pick it up, it weighs next to nothing. It's actually kind of surprising, the first time you

lift it. It's light as a feather. There are no nicks on the blade at all, that would indicate combative use, but then again who knows?

I'll post anything Royaliste has to say after he sees it.

[Zorg]

I come across this inexpensive monster in the Yahoo online shopping sites from A-squared armoury. Heavy beast, almost more a falshion than cutlass, but not unlike the early cuttoes. Surprisingly well made to boot.

Check out:

http://store4.yimg.com/I/a2armory_1764_125142