Fish Skin Grips on British Swords?

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Bryce

G'day Guys,

Does any one know when the term "shagreen" started being used in association with ray and shark skin grips? In the Carlton House Catalogue which describes many swords in the possession of King George IV in the period of 1790's thru to the 1820's, these types of grips are described as "fish skin".
Cheers,
Bryce

G'day Bryce, according to the Webster-Merriam Dictionary, the earliest known use of shagreen is 1677 in relation to rough, grainy, untanned horse hide. Subsequently applied to similar leather from other animals (onager, donkey, mule) and later to stingray, shark, etc. Probably from French, chagrin, leather from a horse's croup; from Turkish cagri, rump; and perhaps akin to Mongolian sa'ggru, to sit. Ian


https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shagreen