Bone grip sword

tom hyle · 5th January 2005, 01:13 AM

Nice! That texture is because the blade is made of folded steel, and many years of light corrosion and/or cleaning with an acid, such as naval jelly, have "brought out" the layers. Lots of European swords of more or less this style; some-one else may pinpoint it for you. This is not likely a military sword, nor a ceremonial sword of any kind, but a personal self-defence/duelling weapon. This type of sword is often broadly referred to as a "side sword", and is known for use afoot or ahorse. My guess, and it is a guess, is that this is an 18th century sword. Nice.
BTW, I'm not advocating any actions, but just FYI it's highly likely (though by no means certain) to be a spring-tempered blade, with soft tang, and possibly soft forte.

tom hyle · 5th January 2005, 01:18 AM

I also think I see the end of a scarf weld on the first couple inches of the blade, though I am not certain. Does it appear that the tang was hammered onto the blade along a slanty line at the blade base? This is often considered an interesting and desireable feature/practice with an ancient history. Sometimes the blade isn't hardened until beyond a weld of this sort, as the crystaline change of hardening can be held to stress the weld.
Oh! By not ceremonial I didn't mean to argue against the bull-fighting, though it doesn't look like a bullfighting sword to me.....

tom hyle · 5th January 2005, 04:26 AM

And, by the way, I also think that's the original hilt; too bad it didn't have a ferule.....

fernando · 5th January 2005, 11:00 PM

Too bad it didn't have a ferule !
Thank you all for the help. Most impressed by Tom's technical aproach'es. Things now make more sense, and i re tuned my eyes accordingly. Indeed the blade's texture alters its aspect in the first couple (or two) inches. Also looking at the tang, through the grip broken part, one can see it looks iron flat, no texture. Further we can notice, looking at the spine, a certain hump in its profile in that area. It's nice to ear this piece is in principle a whole original mount and actually an ancient one ... and which was bought for a humble price, in a humble place.

5th January 2005, 01:13 AM	#1
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Nice! That texture is because the blade is made of folded steel, and many years of light corrosion and/or cleaning with an acid, such as naval jelly, have "brought out" the layers. Lots of European swords of more or less this style; some-one else may pinpoint it for you. This is not likely a military sword, nor a ceremonial sword of any kind, but a personal self-defence/duelling weapon. This type of sword is often broadly referred to as a "side sword", and is known for use afoot or ahorse. My guess, and it is a guess, is that this is an 18th century sword. Nice. BTW, I'm not advocating any actions, but just FYI it's highly likely (though by no means certain) to be a spring-tempered blade, with soft tang, and possibly soft forte. Last edited by tom hyle; 5th January 2005 at 03:31 AM.

5th January 2005, 01:18 AM	#2
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	I also think I see the end of a scarf weld on the first couple inches of the blade, though I am not certain. Does it appear that the tang was hammered onto the blade along a slanty line at the blade base? This is often considered an interesting and desireable feature/practice with an ancient history. Sometimes the blade isn't hardened until beyond a weld of this sort, as the crystaline change of hardening can be held to stress the weld. Oh! By not ceremonial I didn't mean to argue against the bull-fighting, though it doesn't look like a bullfighting sword to me..... Last edited by tom hyle; 5th January 2005 at 01:28 AM.

5th January 2005, 04:26 AM	#3
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	And, by the way, I also think that's the original hilt; too bad it didn't have a ferule.....

5th January 2005, 11:00 PM	#4
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Too bad it didn't have a ferule ! Thank you all for the help. Most impressed by Tom's technical aproach'es. Things now make more sense, and i re tuned my eyes accordingly. Indeed the blade's texture alters its aspect in the first couple (or two) inches. Also looking at the tang, through the grip broken part, one can see it looks iron flat, no texture. Further we can notice, looking at the spine, a certain hump in its profile in that area. It's nice to ear this piece is in principle a whole original mount and actually an ancient one ... and which was bought for a humble price, in a humble place.