I inherited this sword from my grandmother about 15 years ago. I am interested in the who, what , where, and when of it. If anyone has information or seen another like it I would appreciate any help. The story that I do know from my father, is that my grandfather apparently sent it home from Germany at the end of WWII. It was in a pile of confiscated weapons that were taken out of a museum and were going to be destroyed. Thank you very much for your assistance.

---

 Attachment: 32.31 KB

Nice piece.
Is that a dog head pommel? Can we get a closeup of the hilt?

It could also be a short sword used by the boatmen in the Austrian Danube military fleet in XVIII century, the so called "tschaikisten". I saw a similar one at an weapons display in Timisoara, Romania.

saw-back blade and the slightly S-formed crossguards do indeed look like an austrian infantry pioneers`s sword of about 1780. but i`ve never seen a dog head pommel on one of these.
maybe the dog head was added later/privately ?

Here is a close up, sorry about, that I had trouble figuring how to put 2 pictures in the post. Thanks for all the replies.

---

 Attachment: 39.58 KB

And one more for your viewing pleasure. Thanks. It may be a couple of days before I can respond to any more questions as I will be away from a computer. Thanks for your help and patience.

---

 Attachment: 72.26 KB

It's more likely to be German. The handle looks like the M.1805 Faschinenmesser. Certainly it's a some variation or closely related. Here's a similar piece without sawback:
http://www.blankwaffen-forum.com/thread.php?t...er+S%E4bel

It seems that this is a blade of an austrian short sword fitted with the M.1805 Faschinenmesser handle. The original handle of the faschinenmesser is not riveted and the blade is different. If you look at the fitting of the blade and the handle you can see that the blade is offseted...
Here is a picture of a M.1805 Faschinenmesser
http://media.photobucket.com/image/M.1805+Fas...807026.jpg

There were a few variations similar to the M 1805, but in this case you must be right Romulus. The rivetting seems rather suspicious and the blade looks like an austrian 1769.
http://www.kuk-wehrmacht.de/regiment/pioniere/genie01.html
Since it's a millitary sword it must have some markings on the blade, crossguard or on the handle. Some dimensions will also be useful.