French mameluke? first batch of images

[celtan]

Yep, it's the rifling that makes this an interesting beastie...

Remember in WWII, the allies found a few MP-40s and STMG-44s wit their barrels bent? They thought it was queer how the explosions that caused their barrels to be bent left them so precisely curved...

Then they discovered they were used to fire around corners.
Or the obsolete vacuum tubes on the computer boards of the russian Mig-23s, or the Horton flying wing. Or the baby Luger...

I don't know, but the fact is that we have an old hilt, coupled to a new bizarrely shaped blade. This happens in 1845. Seems there was a hurry to supply someone with this type of blade, thus the old hilt. The blade seems either turkish or russian, and no one has seen similar in Europe. Could this be a limited order to supply in a hurry some Force outside the bounds of traditional Europe? Perhaps South-America, or the mis-Orient?

Jean, you're the expert on both French blades and History. Who might France be willing to equip in a hurry, back in 1844-1845?

I know, I know, all conjectures. Per'aps we'll never know, me' mateys.

Best regards to y'all

: )

Manuel

Originally Posted by Jean B.

Yes, I agree it is amazing, but the marking and military inspector's mark give the assurance that the sword, once in its lifetime, matches the military standard and patterns of this government controlled factory and is the property of the government (the French ministry of war paid for it).

For me it is similar as if I find a military M16 rifle, with all the proof markings and a serial number corresponding to a batch sold to the US government years ago. And marking show also it was issue, and reissued, to the service. But...it has a knot made with the barrel.

Now, what hypothesis will I choose?
1) The US army ordered to the factory a batch of M16 with a knot in the barrel and issued it to troops. However there are no traces of such order or trials in archives and no other examples of a similar rifle in museums or military patterns room.

2) An armourer took a standard M16 rifle from military stock and managed to make a knot with the barrel.

I think I can only choose number 2 even if I 'll keep asking myself how this bloody armourer managed to make the knot in the barrel and...without altering the rifling!

I know the example is extravagant but it is only to show my reasoning process.

Cheers,
Jean