The m1804 British naval cutlass

[toaster5sqn]

Jim, I've tried to make sense out of the I Gill, J Gill, T Gill situation with regard to dating an 1851 pattern hanger and I came away more confused than when I started, The original Gill was a file cutler and I can't even find agreement on when the family added swords to their product list.
If anyone knows a good source I'm all ears.

Robert

[Radboud]

Originally Posted by toaster5sqn

Jim, I've tried to make sense out of the I Gill, J Gill, T Gill situation with regard to dating an 1851 pattern hanger and I came away more confused than when I started, The original Gill was a file cutler and I can't even find agreement on when the family added swords to their product list.
If anyone knows a good source I'm all ears.

Robert

Morning Robert, Steve Langham has done a lot of research on British cutlers and maintains an excellent online database:

'Gill Cutlers'

If you click on the I in the corner Steve lists his sources

So from Steve's research, the earliest evidence we have is that Thomas Gill Snr advertised himself as a maker of swords (plus more) in 1788