18th Century Machete ?

thinreadline · 26th November 2013, 06:11 PM

I was looking at my collection of machetes today and thought I would include one in a post for your opinions. It is a wooden handled typical machete but the blade is stamped with a Crown over GR , so do I have a Georgian Army issue machete ? . It is 65 cm long . I have a similar one with is stamped Crown over VR and is presumably Victorian.

Vendric · 26th November 2013, 07:24 PM

I think the monogram is George V (1911-1935).

thinreadline · 26th November 2013, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vendric

I think the monogram is George V (1911-1935).

No its not , the blade style etc is completely wrong for a WW1 period machete and the crown is completely different to the Kings Crown of the 290th century.

Marcus den toom · 26th November 2013, 10:13 PM

The GR sign does seems to be more likely.
I do have a absurd theorie about these machetes, they might be sword bayonets converted to a machete?
I don't have enough knowledge about either machetes or bayonets to prove this, but it just came to mind.

thinreadline · 26th November 2013, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus den toom

The GR sign does seems to be more likely.
I do have a absurd theorie about these machetes, they might be sword bayonets converted to a machete?
I don't have enough knowledge about either machetes or bayonets to prove this, but it just came to mind.

No they were definitely never converted from bayonets . Sword bayonets of the 19th century were always either straight or yataghan shaped . This blade in addition is more like that of a hanger.

Norman McCormick · 26th November 2013, 10:14 PM

Hi,
This may be of some interest. I believe that crowned G.R. stamped machets/machetes/cutlass blades were exported to the 'colonies' even after the Georgian period had ended the stamp being looked at as a sign of quality rather than a period designation thus the blade you have could be earlier or later difficult to say.
Regards,
Norman.

thinreadline · 26th November 2013, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Hi,
This may be of some interest. I believe that crowned G.R. stamped machets/machetes/cutlass blades were exported to the 'colonies' even after the Georgian period had ended the stamp being looked at as a sign of quality rather than a period designation thus the blade you have could be earlier or later difficult to say.
Regards,
Norman.

Yes , mine is most like 357 in your illustration. I take your point about the export to the Colonies , but that tended ( at least with firearms and bayonets ) to be of earlier patterned stuff now obsolete & superceded at 'home' , rather than earlier marks being stamped in order to enhance the perception of quality. I am not saying that the practice didnt go on , but the forging of Government Inspection marks ( which is what the Royal Cipher + number is ) was and is a serious criminal offence.

M ELEY · 27th November 2013, 04:05 AM

I am aware of the machete pattern existing in the period of which we speak (first half 19th century, GR III/IV and VR period) as seen in Brinckherhoff's book, but none with British markings. Could these be from cut-down sword blades? The profile and beefy tip on them reminds me of exported GR examples that we've come across on the forum over the years, noteworthy being a British blade mounted on a Brazilian cutlass in the past. England (and Germany, of course) were exporting blades to the Americas, and in particular, the Spanish colonies. Thus, a Georgian blade on a traditional Spanish-style machete sword seems reasonable-

26th November 2013, 06:11 PM	#1
thinreadline Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wirral Posts: 1,204	18th Century Machete ? I was looking at my collection of machetes today and thought I would include one in a post for your opinions. It is a wooden handled typical machete but the blade is stamped with a Crown over GR , so do I have a Georgian Army issue machete ? . It is 65 cm long . I have a similar one with is stamped Crown over VR and is presumably Victorian. Attached Images

26th November 2013, 10:14 PM	#6
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,597	Hi, This may be of some interest. I believe that crowned G.R. stamped machets/machetes/cutlass blades were exported to the 'colonies' even after the Georgian period had ended the stamp being looked at as a sign of quality rather than a period designation thus the blade you have could be earlier or later difficult to say. Regards, Norman. Attached Images

26th November 2013, 07:24 PM	#2
Vendric Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Lincolnshire, UK Posts: 4	I think the monogram is George V (1911-1935).

26th November 2013, 10:13 PM	#4
Marcus den toom Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Netherlands Posts: 525	The GR sign does seems to be more likely. I do have a absurd theorie about these machetes, they might be sword bayonets converted to a machete? I don't have enough knowledge about either machetes or bayonets to prove this, but it just came to mind.

27th November 2013, 04:05 AM	#8
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,097	I am aware of the machete pattern existing in the period of which we speak (first half 19th century, GR III/IV and VR period) as seen in Brinckherhoff's book, but none with British markings. Could these be from cut-down sword blades? The profile and beefy tip on them reminds me of exported GR examples that we've come across on the forum over the years, noteworthy being a British blade mounted on a Brazilian cutlass in the past. England (and Germany, of course) were exporting blades to the Americas, and in particular, the Spanish colonies. Thus, a Georgian blade on a traditional Spanish-style machete sword seems reasonable-