Brothers from a different bladesmith - Two quite similar small swords

[Rapier's Delight]

Hello everyone,

after years of lurking and passively learning from you all, I figured it would not be a bad idea to become a more productive member of this society (or that's the hope, at least).

So for my first post I just wanted to share two small swords I own, which share a lot of characteristics, in terms of measurements and feel, though not necessarily in style. The handling similarity is so striking, I now tend to think about them as a pair, though they most definitely are not, and were not even bought together.

Anyway this is my introduction post. Happy to be here, and happy to hear your thoughts on these two pieces.

Here they are in full.
The bivalve guard one is 107 cm long and weighs 505 grams
The one with the disc guard is 106,5 cm long and weighs 496 grams



The hilts are very similar in size, thought there are obvious differences, with the bivalve one being more stocky and with shorter quillons, while the other one has more thin quillins that protrude further.

Both have usable finger rings, althou there are slight differences here too. The ones on the bivalve hook onto the top of the guard, helping secure it in place, while the rings on the disc guard sword do not make contact with the guard.



Another difference is in the shape of the quillon blocks. One is more blocky and angular, the other more rounded.




As mentioned the guards are different in both shape and decoration (or lack thereof)

Pommels are both round-ish, with one being pierced to match the decorations on the guard shells, and the other being solid, but decorated









But the owner of the disc hilted one was not a total minimalist, and did seem to enjoy some basic decoration on the other side of the guard.



As for the blades they are both decently flexible and nimble, and have a median ridge that runs along the length of the blade almost to the tip. However, while the blade of the bivalve sword seems to have more of a flat diamond section, the faces on the disc hilt one are hollow-ground, so the similarities are more superficial than the photos may show.




So, hopefully my test at formatting posts is successful, and you enjoy these two swords!

[werecow]

Nice to spot a new but familiar "face" on these boards!

Interesting that these don't have the typical hollow ground triangular cross section.

I'm curious as to how that translates into handling characteristics. My guess is the triangular hollow ground blades will be stiffer and maybe lighter.

The one I have (which you've handled; see attached) is 326 grams and balances at 7.5 cm from the guard, 9.5 cm from the cross. But then again it is also considerably shorter at 96.5 cm.

[TVV]

I know nothing about smallswords, but glad to see you here as well!

Teodor

[werecow]

I also have only very limited knowledge of these but let me add my guesswork. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

The relatively wide globular pommel style and wide pas d'ânes on both of these look to me like a 17th century style, and that matches the blade cross section and relatively long blade length, and while I'm not sure, most of the smallswords I've seen without a knuckle guard are also 17th c... But the disk guard looks more like 18th century (specifically it reminds me of some cut steel ones, see attached: not mine, ca 1780 - though that may just be a superficial resemblance), and of course clearly the wire has been replaced and the pas d'âne rings don't quite reach the guard. Could that disc be an old replacement?

[Triarii]

I'd agree on the features, especially the bivalve one, being C17th. The work on the quillon block on the bivalve one is quite crude though, in form and finish. Replacement?