[Gabriele Becattini]

i'm currently in the waiting list of armour class of scotland for a custom basket hilt,

my original plan was to have an english basket hilt ot the early XVIIth century style,

but now i have discovered that some mid-late XVIIIth century military british basket hilt are very interesting,

i have searched trough the forum and i have found some interersting pics, if you have some photos to share

it would be great.

thanks for help

[Luka Borscak]

Have you seen this album? It really has many great pictures....
http://www.myArmoury.com/albums/thumbnails.php?album=19

[Gabriele Becattini]

i agree, many interesting hilt inside.

[Jonathan Hopkins]

Here is a small album of British basket hilts of Mazansky type G16:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/11662059

[Gabriele Becattini]

i like very much this two kind of basket hilt,

there are some antique examples featuring a complete basket instead of an half one?

the E.B.E hanger is in the collection of Mr.Chris Goerner, and i'm quite sure that another forum menber has, or at least

have had, in is collection the other sword pictured, i would be very gratefull to them if they could provide some pics of the

two swords.

[Thom R.]

English 3/4 Baskethilt circa 1725-1750
Basket type: Mazansky IVBC3
Blade length: 86.4 cm
Overall length: 101.6 cm
Blade width: 3.8 cm at the hilt
Blade thickness at hilt: 8mm
Point of balance: 105 mm
Weight: 1352 grams
Note how the 3 basket panels are not equal sizes - each of the "S" bars are slightly different in size

[Gabriele Becattini]

Mr.Thom,

thank you very much for posting the photos and stats of your sword, i suppose that the sword i have mentioned in my previous post was in your collection,
could you tell me your opinion about the hand protection properties of that king of hilt respect to a standard scottish basket hilt?

[Gabriele Becattini]

here's another interesting british military basket hilt, if i remember well it is a 1788 heavy cavalry pattern,

[Thom R.]

Gabriele, the baskethilt I posted above is 3/4 rather than a full wrap-around basket like in a Scots hilt or the 1788 pattern. It is also based on a open heart-shaped stool and not a cross like a full baskethilt. So I think the hand is still vulnerable to a thrust through the bars but overall, the basket provides great protection for the hand for a right-handed person on horseback. sure looks stylish!

here is a photo of my 1788 heavy cavalry pattern trooper's sword (a recent acquisition for me) it has a very substantial steel basket which is completely symmetrical. the basket is based on the conventional late 18th c. "slot hilt" base and knuckleguard:

[Gabriele Becattini]

Mr. Thom, great collection!

in fact t you have practically all the kind of basket hilt i'm interested in, so i have to ask you to post

some additional photos of the hilt as well the complete stats of this beauty!

hope that you can kindly add also some comment about the handling .

in my opinion this kind of basket should be even more protective than a normal scottish hilt, but considerabily lighter,

thank you again for your help

gabriele

[Chris Goerner]

[Chris Goerner]

Here are a few more shots I forgot I had.

[E.B. Erickson]

Hello Gabrielle,
In your post of the 16th you included a photo of an S-hilted hanger, and it's a photo of a sword in my collection. Here's some details: Blade about 26" long, single back fuller, marked with the running fox and SH. There is a leather pad at the base of the grip. Grip is sharkskin bound with brass wire and brass ferrules. The hilt is a half basket, and I've never seen any of these S-hilt hangers with a full basket.

--ElJay

[Gabriele Becattini]

Many thanks to everyone,the many detailed photos as well the stats that you are giving me, are an invaluable source
for my little research about the british military style hilt,
Mr.Erickson i'm wondering if you could add some comments about the handling of the s-hilt hanger,
Mr.Goerner i have the same request for you, i'm especially interested to know how such kind of basket hilt compare
respect to a "standard" scottish broadsword/backsword

[Chris Goerner]

[Gabriele Becattini]

I agree with you, i believe that in an age where the use of sword for the ordinary soldiers was almost over the scottish broadsword remain a "relic" of the past, retained much more for cultural reason than practical, i'm speaking about the british army of post culloden period. the trend was moving toward lighter weapons, especially for fighting on foot, also the sword with complete basket protection almost disappear at the beginning of the napoleonic period, except for some heavy cavalry pattern, the only exception to this was the highland broadsword. speaking from a fencing point of view,
a complete protetection for the hand is not vital, the hand is a difficult target to hit, even with a very simple guard.

[E.B. Erickson]

Hi Gabriele,
The S-hilt hanger isn't too heavy, probably a little over 2 lbs, so not even a kg. With the short blade it's light and maneuverable.

Comparing it to Scottish baskets, I'd have to say it depends on the baskethilted sword. I have one in my collection that only weighs a bit under two pounds, so that one is as fast as the hanger. Others are heavier and slower, but usually a Scot basket has the POB only an inch or two ahead of the hilt, so even the heavy ones can still be maneuvered easily. Now there are antique baskets (both English and Scottish) that weigh 3 lbs+, and those are slow. But as long as the POB is close to the hilt, even those aren't as bad as one would expect them to be.

--ElJay