West India Company Cutlass: What is this Marking?

Norman McCormick · 27th July 2010, 04:21 PM

Hi,
I do like a good cutlass!! Many years ago I wrote to the Royal Armouries enclosing a photograph, some of you might remember the inky stick thing and the funny paper with an image on it from those days

, requesting some information on this cutlass blade. Here is part of the reply, " From other parts of this article you will appreciate that precise identification of this type of blade is quite difficult. I enclose a photocopied page from P G W Annis', Naval Swords 1970 (p.61). This shows a similar blade but with a 'brass stirrup hilt' (it shows a corrugated iron hilt also). In fact we have a large number of these swords with 'various' types of blades. We believe they were originally issued to the 'Coastguard' but by 1865 had been fitted with more nearly straight cut-down cavalry sword blades and issued to the Army Hospital Corps." The tip of the cutlass that Jim posted I think points to a date somewhere in the second or third quarter of the 19thC. From the rest of this correspondence from the Royal Armouries it would appear that many blades of this type were 'outsourced' to innumerable small artisans for anything from complete blade manufacture to grinding, shaping, finishing etc making it well nigh impossible to pinpoint some makers. Even with the relatively clear initials on my blade tang an ID was not possible. My apologies if I've only served to put more wet leaves on the fire.
Regards,
Norman.

27th July 2010, 04:21 PM	#5
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,613	Hi, I do like a good cutlass!! Many years ago I wrote to the Royal Armouries enclosing a photograph, some of you might remember the inky stick thing and the funny paper with an image on it from those days , requesting some information on this cutlass blade. Here is part of the reply, " From other parts of this article you will appreciate that precise identification of this type of blade is quite difficult. I enclose a photocopied page from P G W Annis', Naval Swords 1970 (p.61). This shows a similar blade but with a 'brass stirrup hilt' (it shows a corrugated iron hilt also). In fact we have a large number of these swords with 'various' types of blades. We believe they were originally issued to the 'Coastguard' but by 1865 had been fitted with more nearly straight cut-down cavalry sword blades and issued to the Army Hospital Corps." The tip of the cutlass that Jim posted I think points to a date somewhere in the second or third quarter of the 19thC. From the rest of this correspondence from the Royal Armouries it would appear that many blades of this type were 'outsourced' to innumerable small artisans for anything from complete blade manufacture to grinding, shaping, finishing etc making it well nigh impossible to pinpoint some makers. Even with the relatively clear initials on my blade tang an ID was not possible. My apologies if I've only served to put more wet leaves on the fire. Regards, Norman. Attached Images