Help with old Spanish? rapier

Chris Evans · 23rd May 2005, 11:35 AM

Justin,

I am inclined to cautiously opine that it is a late 19th century replica, maybe even later, probably made for theatrical usage. That would account for the nicks on the blade and the square tip.

The blade is inconsistently short (at 33") for the general style of the hilt, which affects the style of the late 1500s when blades went well above 40" and the oval cross section of the blade where it joins the hilt is very suspicious. Also, the quillon, if it can be called that, wasn't designed for "fingering", an almost universal feature of genuine rapiers dating from the 1500s.

Further clues could be obtained from the blade itself; Look for such features as evidence of rolling, absence of forging defects, regularity of grind etc. Also look for evidence of machining on the hilt, especially the pommel nut.

Cheers
Chris

23rd May 2005, 11:35 AM	#6
Chris Evans Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 685	Justin, I am inclined to cautiously opine that it is a late 19th century replica, maybe even later, probably made for theatrical usage. That would account for the nicks on the blade and the square tip. The blade is inconsistently short (at 33") for the general style of the hilt, which affects the style of the late 1500s when blades went well above 40" and the oval cross section of the blade where it joins the hilt is very suspicious. Also, the quillon, if it can be called that, wasn't designed for "fingering", an almost universal feature of genuine rapiers dating from the 1500s. Further clues could be obtained from the blade itself; Look for such features as evidence of rolling, absence of forging defects, regularity of grind etc. Also look for evidence of machining on the hilt, especially the pommel nut. Cheers Chris