Fish Skin Grips on British Swords?

Jim McDougall · 19th July 2020, 05:36 PM

It seems to me that the term 'shagreen' was most likely a more fashionable term for the grip material than the description 'fish or ray skin', which likely sounded rather grim to status conscious officers and gentry. I have seen the term used in various descriptions pertaining to British swords, particularly of 18th century. It seems this term was used in other material culture or furnishing items as well in British context.

If I recall correctly the Tatar sabers known typically as 'ordynka' (=the horde) were often also termed czeczuga, a term for ray skin grips typically found on these 17th-18th c. sabers. This was described in Ostrowski, ("Origins of the Polish Saber", 1979) but I do not have the article at hand.

In collecting there is a myriad of these kinds of terms used in descriptions often found redundantly referring to essentially the same thing, and terms used which though misnomers and popular vernacular of the time, have become standard in modern use so hard to disassociate.

Either way, it was an attractive and functional material used, as noted, into early oriental times and diffused from Asia into Eastern Europe, where these influences attracted the attention of British sword makers.

19th July 2020, 05:36 PM	#10
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,284	It seems to me that the term 'shagreen' was most likely a more fashionable term for the grip material than the description 'fish or ray skin', which likely sounded rather grim to status conscious officers and gentry. I have seen the term used in various descriptions pertaining to British swords, particularly of 18th century. It seems this term was used in other material culture or furnishing items as well in British context. If I recall correctly the Tatar sabers known typically as 'ordynka' (=the horde) were often also termed czeczuga, a term for ray skin grips typically found on these 17th-18th c. sabers. This was described in Ostrowski, ("Origins of the Polish Saber", 1979) but I do not have the article at hand. In collecting there is a myriad of these kinds of terms used in descriptions often found redundantly referring to essentially the same thing, and terms used which though misnomers and popular vernacular of the time, have become standard in modern use so hard to disassociate. Either way, it was an attractive and functional material used, as noted, into early oriental times and diffused from Asia into Eastern Europe, where these influences attracted the attention of British sword makers.