British or Indo Persian Blade?

[Ian]

Hi Bryce:

This one may get more informed responses about British swords in the European Armory, so I'm transferring it over there. The Gill family, including Thomas Gill (II), were prominent British sword makers, and I don't see anything here that would persuade me that this is not a British made sword from that maker. The broad V-grind to the edge is similar to the grind on many tulwar of the 18th and 19th C., and it is possible that the sword was sharpened locally during the owner's time in India. As far as it being a wootz blade, I don't see any evidence of that, but a little cleaning and etching under the langet might be informative (without affecting the patina on the main part of the blade).

Ian.

[ariel]

I fully agree: 100% British.

[thinreadline]

Looks like a British 1788 Light Dragoon sabre

[Bryce]

Thanks guys,

I think I may try etching a small patch of blade.

Thinredline, the hilt is certainly in the style of the 1788 light cavalry officers' sabre, but the blade is very different.

Cheers,
Bryce

[Roland_M]

Originally Posted by Bryce

How can I test if it is wootz, without ruining the patina of the blade?

Hello Bryce,

first you should check every inch of the untouched blade with a magnifying glass and a small LED-flashlight for laminations or traces of wootz.

If you find nothing I would suggest to use a mild etchant like 4% Nital or 5% Seno 3207 without previous polishing. You can remove this staining without destroying the Patina (which is in my opinion just corrosion).

Another simple way is to hold the blade under running hot water (>50°C) and wait for a while. This would normally bring out laminations, if there are some, without touching the patina.

I think like the others, this is a high quality European copy of a Persian Shamshir or Kilij with a European hilt. These blades were extremely popular among cavalry officers during the Napoleonic campaigns.


Roland

[Hotspur]

All that is cast/crucible, is not necessarily classified as wootz. I wouldn't bother with etching it. It does look like crucible steel, as you can see the dentritic structure if enlarging the images.

There is a polished look of cast/crucible 18th and 19th century British blades that has kind of a fine sparkly look. My Wooley Deakin&Co blade has such a look and likewise a less polished yataghan I own. The yataghan blade regarded by some as "low resolution wootz" is simply a less figured and homogeneous crucible steel. The dentritic structure evident without the whoorls and patterning of fine wootz. A lot of fine wootz work a matter of how the cakes are processed/smithed.

Anyway, here is a segment of imaging from my yataghan blade, the Woolley blade hard to capture but sparkles in refracted light.

Cheers
GC

[Hotspur]

A simplified article on British cast steel re Huntsman et al
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/sho...abbard-is-This