That's definitely worth a look! I would have never guessed such blades had been mounted on a European renaissance hilt.

Late XVII century apparently.

Good Lord, that is massive! Do you have any additional information on the dimensions & weight? It's bound to have been ceremonial or a presentation piece. Or, just maybe, an awesome proto-wallhanger. :)

Kind of reminds me when I was a kid, and thought it would be a great idea to put a hilt on the beak of the sailfish hanging in my grandma's dining room. No, I didn't; but I sure thought about it! ;)

It's ENORMOUS!

I actually love that piece. It does not seem to be one of a kind...I have this old picture of a very similar sword.I don't currently recall where I found it but I do remember it being listed as a "German Renaissance Parade Sword".

Here is a better pic and I remembered where I found it:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16408

And here is the actual Museum page.There are better pics,etc...even stats for said sword.

http://www.dhm.de/datenbank/dhm.php?seite=5&fld_0=AK204085

Production

1551/1600 (Gefäß)

Measurements

Width: 42 (Parierstange) cm
Length: 169,3 cm
Length: 114,5 (Klinge) cm

Only in Bayern! I love my ancestors! :)

when i posted this thread to facebook, i got a comment saying that these fish are native to australian waters, how are we finding these things in bavaria then, when are these swords dated to???

side note, even if it wouldnt be too good at parrying, i REALLY would not want to hae that thing swung at me, it's frankly more terrifying than a steel blade could ever be...

Hi Guys,

I think the caption on that image is wrong. I saw that sword in the Berlin stores about ten years ago and I'm pretty sure that the saw-fish saw comprises the scabbard of the weapon, not the blade. I also seem to recall that inside is a fairly typical steel blade. I don't think this thing is unique either...

T

The sword in the original post and the sword in the 5th post (and others) are NOT the same weapon. Right there, we have evidence for two swords like this, which matches up with what Tobias Capwell just said. I have no idea how you'd hollow out a swordfish nose (unless it is naturally hollow?) without making the teeth loose as well, but the idea of it as a scabbard seems pretty reasonable to me.

That sword is in the German Historical Museum in Berlin. There's a lot of good stuff there, it worth visiting. though I had only one day to see the city.

Wow! That's a huge sword! I've never seen sawfish bills that big.
Some trivia: In Germany there are no sawfishes and the animal's bill could have been imported elsewhere. Sawfishes, however, inhabit tropical waters.

I´m sorry for being a bit off-topic, but this is a very intriguing question:

William P wrote:

when i posted this thread to facebook, i got a comment saying that these fish are native to australian waters, how are we finding these things in bavaria then, when are these swords dated to???

by chance I was researching some stuff on trade in exotic naturalia in early modern Europe; if you are interested, see some interesting information in this study by Claudia Swan: http://www.arthistory.northwestern.edu/facult...hTrade.pdf
btw, European notables were not the only ones attracted by exotic plants and birds. Some interesting info on Mughal emperor Jahanghir: http://resobscura.blogspot.sk/2011/02/jahangi...odern.html

and sorry again if it´s too off-topic...

Thank you Julien for starting this thread and posting that first image. It is so unbelievably ingenious and insidious looking. I may have to find a Saw Fish bill for my German Two Hander now! You begin to realize how far behind modern fantasy movies and television are from historical creativity, design, ingenuity and beauty.

Here's another with no more information than 16th. century. The close-up of this one would suggest that the saw is in fact in place of the blade.

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