A hunting sword with Damascus blade of Yataghan type

[Tatyana Dianova]

Very interesting Jim, thank you a lot!

[Jim McDougall]

Absolutely Tatyana! very nice example with some intriguing history, thank you for sharing it with us

[kronckew]

..at the other end of the spectrum, here's one i just acquired, appears to be a yat bladed hunting sword/hanger. blade looks like the latter half of the 19c yataghan bayonet type popular thru europe. appears to have a side shell or rain guard on the right side. should arrive in a few days. no dimensions or markings were mentioned by the vendor.

organised mounted hunting was indeed the province of the rich, especially the nobility, but they also supplied their staff with these weapons, plain to start, and increasingly ornate as they wanted to show off their ability to equip their helpers.

hunting swords, hangers, daggers, trousse, were carried by the lower classes, usually more functional than their bosses more ornate models that may not even be sharpened or ever tasted blood.

as noted, the naval officers liked the handy hunting hangers too. spain issued some nice yat blades artillery swords for the last couple of decades in the 19c, some of which wound up in the states after our little war with them in cuba. i have one model 1881 marked 1895 and Toledo i posted earlier here somewhere...i like yataghan-like sharp pointies.

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by kronckew

..at the other end of the spectrum, here's one i just acquired, appears to be a yat bladed hunting sword/hanger. blade looks like the latter half of the 19c yataghan bayonet type popular thru europe. appears to have a side shell or rain guard on the right side. should arrive in a few days. no dimensions or markings were mentioned by the vendor.

organised mounted hunting was indeed the province of the rich, especially the nobility, but they also supplied their staff with these weapons, plain to start, and increasingly ornate as they wanted to show off their ability to equip their helpers.

hunting swords, hangers, daggers, trousse, were carried by the lower classes, usually more functional than their bosses more ornate models that may not even be sharpened or ever tasted blood.

as noted, the naval officers liked the handy hunting hangers too. spain issued some nice yat blades artillery swords for the last couple of decades in the 19c, some of which wound up in the states after our little war with them in cuba. i have one model 1881 marked 1895 and Toledo i posted earlier here somewhere...i like yataghan-like sharp pointies.

I always wondered why hunting swords come with those curious sea shell ornaments on the side. So you reckon they are rain guards to keep the rain out of the scabbard and avoid corrosion of the blade?

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Victrix

I always wondered why hunting swords come with those curious sea shell ornaments on the side. So you reckon they are rain guards to keep the rain out of the scabbard and avoid corrosion of the blade?

Basically, yes. they were of course a decorative addition as well.

earlier ones i am told had the 'shell' or nagel perpendicular to the blade where it could protect the hand if used in combat, like the re-purposed french hunting/GB naval hanger one of mine below from around 1705, they transitioned to having them tilted further and further forward (see the other later ones also below in sequence, of other members from an earlier post) till they were parallel to the blade, covering the scabbard mouth. many even earlier swords had a leather version, at the blade/grip junction that were 'rain guards' that similarly covered the scabbard mouth, which got lost over time.