Sword Identification?

[Radboud]

Gentlemen, let’s remain objective with eyes wide open before we jump into seeing pirate treasure around every corner.

What do we know?
The hilt is most certainly a late version from one of the blucher m1811 family. Late because, as Jim notes it has the narrow langets. This style of sabre was in service with the German Army from about 1848 to the beginning of WWII. It has also been used by other nations (it might still be in service as a dress sword).

Of note is that there are no markings on the hilt. If it saw German service we would expect to see unit markings on the guard along the bottom of the langet. The number we see on the bottom of the knuckle bow is very close to the peen and on the original sword would have been hidden by the pommel cap. This points to it being a manufacturers number, later German swords like the IOD89 had individual parts numbered to keep them together during assembly or repair.

Blucher sabres 1809 - 1945:


Reichswehr ArtillerieSabel n/A 1914-1945:


According to the article these photos are from, the main difference between the new artillerie sabre and the earlier ones is the removal of the hole for the sword knot sometime during WWI. As Jim has noted, the sword hole for the sword knot in this guard is smaller than the standard ones; this could indicate later production or service with another nation.

The blade.
This is an interesting one. I agree that my first instinct was also late 18th Cent based on the fullers running to the tip. But the full length narrow fuller also reminded me of the m1845. However now that we know that it is very short, 24 inch, (about 60cm?) I suspect it could have come from a hunting hanger, or a blade that has been cut down. I’d want better photos of the tip before making a call on that.

Unfortunately, hunting hangers were civilian so came with a vast array of different blade types so this one could be anywhere from 18th Cent to late 19th Cent, we just can’t be certain without markings and better photos.

The grip.
This one is the deal breaker for me and marks this as a newer assembly, it’s too fresh for 19th Cent. There is considerable ‘patina’ on the blade and guard. With such neglect I would expect to see much darker wood with chips and cracks in it. None of that is present here. However it has been assembled with care and they have clearly been together for a long time, but we are now in the 2020’s even something assembled in the 1940s or 60s was 60-80 years ago, plenty of time for something to show signs of age.

All that to remind us to remember to apply Occam's Razor to these situations, when presented with multiple assumptions, the simplest is most often the correct one.

But while we are running thought experiments, I think this is a WWI era trench raiders knife / sword made from a broken French officers sword and a German hilt.