Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

drac2k · 29th October 2016, 01:37 PM

As always I found the above comments informative and interesting;the possible Russian association and in particular the possibility of it being a trophy piece and the recent handle replacements.
First, let me say that I think that this is a real fighting weapon.It has already been mentioned that the blade length is a bit too long for a hunting cutlass.It has been sharpened (it looks to be arsenal done), as I have seen on many bayonets; the upper two- thirds and the back spine(1/3), has also been sharpened.
Another clue was given to me with the Russian association and the possibility of it being a captured piece. While it may not be Russian, it certainly could be Balkan.
The statement that got me thinking the most was Jim's assertion that the handle was a recent replacement; this I must admit, I did not realize, however, what had struck me were the screws/rivets that held the handles on.I had seen these before, on a modern(pre -1919), Turkish sword.
So now for my flawed, highly improbable conclusion/ theory ; I believe that the sword could be Ottoman Turk, circa 1880 to 1919. To summarize, we have a trophy, captured repurposed blade, too long to be a cutlass, sharpened for fighting, with what I believe not to be replacement handles(I think the handles are as old as the reconfigured piece, late 19th to early 20th century;they are just too well fitted to the piece), with what I believe to be pre-WW1 rivets/screws that I have seen on other modern Turkish swords.

29th October 2016, 01:37 PM	#6
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,255	As always I found the above comments informative and interesting;the possible Russian association and in particular the possibility of it being a trophy piece and the recent handle replacements. First, let me say that I think that this is a real fighting weapon.It has already been mentioned that the blade length is a bit too long for a hunting cutlass.It has been sharpened (it looks to be arsenal done), as I have seen on many bayonets; the upper two- thirds and the back spine(1/3), has also been sharpened. Another clue was given to me with the Russian association and the possibility of it being a captured piece. While it may not be Russian, it certainly could be Balkan. The statement that got me thinking the most was Jim's assertion that the handle was a recent replacement; this I must admit, I did not realize, however, what had struck me were the screws/rivets that held the handles on.I had seen these before, on a modern(pre -1919), Turkish sword. So now for my flawed, highly improbable conclusion/ theory ; I believe that the sword could be Ottoman Turk, circa 1880 to 1919. To summarize, we have a trophy, captured repurposed blade, too long to be a cutlass, sharpened for fighting, with what I believe not to be replacement handles(I think the handles are as old as the reconfigured piece, late 19th to early 20th century;they are just too well fitted to the piece), with what I believe to be pre-WW1 rivets/screws that I have seen on other modern Turkish swords.