[Katie McCarthy]

Hi all,

I recently picked up what I believe might be a small sword (with what might be its original scabbard), possibly dating from the mid to late 1800s to maybe early 1900s. Would anyone like to confirm/correct, or offer better ideas about how old this sword might be? Certainly also open to ideas as to where this sword may have been made as well.

Rough measurements:

Overall length: 33 inches

Blade: 27 inches

Hilt: 6 inches

More description:

The blade itself is fairly light (maybe roughly 20 ounces?) and the point of balance is right where the blade meets the guard. I'm guessing the hilt was made with a fair amount of brass and seems to be very sturdily made, no rattling when handled; because of this I'm fairly confident it's full tang. The two rings sitting right behind the guard can comfortably fit my fore and middle fingers (pictured below).

The pommel is entirely smooth on top and I don't see any evidence of it being peened, so possibly threaded on? It does not look like it would come apart very easily at all without the help of some heavy-duty tools.

The leather scabbard has a brass locket (I've heard this called a throat too?) and matching chape; the locket has a raised "button" that I'm guessing could've been used as an attachment point from scabbard to belt + harness.
Some pictures:

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Lastly, I should mention that I have done some light cleaning with soap+sponge and fine-grain sandpaper to remove surface rust. I have not done any metal polishing, so there is still some pitting on the blade itself.

Thanks in advance.

[Shahril Dzulkifli]

I've never seen this type of smallsword. But the round guard looks great.

[Mikko Kuusirati]

Wow, that's an interesting piece. I actually have seen disk guards like that on late period smallswords, but never that kind of grip!

On first glance I'd say it's a composite, comprising pieces scavenged from a couple of different swords and maybe a grip made of whole cloth, so to speak, probably built for decorative or theatrical use. Late 19th to early 20th Century seems like a plausible build date, but I couldn't say anything about the age of the individual components - except that I'd be very surprised if the grip and pommel were not significantly newer than the rest of it.

That said, I could just as well be entirely wrong about this.

[Katie McCarthy]

[Casey S.]

Looks composite to me. Grip and Pommel look 20th century, whats left of the knuckle guard 19th century, and the blade probably 19th or possibly even much older. Can you post some close ups of the blade?