Cleaning out my girlsfriends mom's house after she passed away and found an old sword. Looked online for information. best I could guess was a late 1700s calvary sword. just a guess. nothing engraved that we can see. please help with the identification of this sword.

I have attatched a few pictures.

also, would it be ok to use electrolysis to clean the sword?

any help would be appreciated.

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Hello Robert, I cannot help with identification as this is out of my era of interest. I would suggest waiting on doing any type of cleaning to the sword until it is identified as either an antique or a reproduction. If it is a reproduction it could be worth more to a collector in its present state then in any kind of reconditioned state. Sorry that I could not be of more assistance.

Yep, don't do anything to it until you get some authenticity verification. The grip looks...strange. But, as Scott said...this is not my area of expertise. That's a nice find though! :D .....McM

I will echo the remarks of others. Do not do anything to it at this point.

Are there any markings on the blade, guard, pommel or any other area of the sword?

Looks like one of these items from the era of the Napoleonic wars. No idea based on the photo whether it might be authentic or an inexpensive replica but the style is rather distinctive.

https://www.outfit4events.com/czk/product/6645-1796-light-cavalry-saber-with-steel-scabbard/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_1796_light_cavalry_sabre

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Could be a Federal period militia sword (imported).

The 1796 pattern cavalry saber was copied by a number of countries, including the US. So unless the sword has identifying markings it may be difficult if not impossible to determine a country of origin.

Needs better straight on well lit pictures of the sword.

It is a fallacy to lump all p guard swords into the 1796 category.

Without better pictures showing the true condition is a bit like playing blind man's bluff. There are lots of methods but I would avoid electrolysis.

Let's start with good clear pictures and some dimensions (straight line butt to blade tip for a start)

I have a silver station wagon. Can you tell me when it last got an oil change? That's kind of how the original inquiry reads to me. The picture is kind of useless aside saying, yes you have a sword that could be from the late 18th century.

Cheers

GC

FWIW, I place it a little later than the Napoleonic era, German made/influences and probably meant for one of the various states. Not meant for the American market without some other provenance. Thousands of swords were brought back after both big wars.

The exaggerated P guard is fairly early in the grand scheme of things but the blade and guard fitment could mean an earlier pre 1816 sword. Need clear pictures of those facets. The grip shows some material loss and we need to see all of that. I'd bet more like the 1820s.

Cheers

GC

The trumpet-shaped rear quillon and extending crossguard past the "vertical" branch of the stirrup hilt looks relatively specific and distinctive. I believe none of these feature is ever seen on English sabers, while the protruding quillon is relatively common on "germanic" sabers (Germany and Austria). But that trumpet quillon is an oddity to me. The whole thing is obviously designed as a light cavalry saber. As for the dating, I would tend to agree with Glenn Cleeton and say it's post-napoleonic, due to these hilt features. Usually it ends with a volute. The trumpet quillon is more of a French thing. It might not be a trumpet really, but it's nothing like this quillon use to look like, it seems.

The closest match I could find were these:

https://www.dorotheum.com/auktionen/aktuelle-auktionen/kataloge/list-lots-detail/auktion/12454-historische-waffen-uniformen-militaria/lotID/32/lot/2208477-sabel-fur-osterreichische-burgerwehren.html?currentPage=2
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https://www.dorotheum.com/auktionen/aktuelle-auktionen/kataloge/list-lots-detail/auktion/12489-historische-waffen-uniformen-militaria/lotID/13/lot/2229381-osterreichischer-burgerwehrsabel.html
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But none is an exact match, especially since they seem to have a cast brass hilt instead of a forged iron one. It's a mystery to me.