Mini review of 1822 French light cavalry saber, lots of pics -- myArmoury.com

Luka Borscak · Last edited by Luka Borscak on Tue 24 Mar, 2015 10:39 am; edited 1 time in total

At the beginning, for anyone interested in the history of this model of saber, I recommend reading this article from oldswords.com, it describes development, design, changes of design throughout the period of its use and history of its use: http://www.oldswords.com/articles/FRENCH%20LI...0Taste.pdf

Mine was made in Chatellerault in 1875. If the blade was rehilted with a hilt of some other date, I wouldn't know. If it was, it was done well and during its service life. All markings visible below int he pictures.

The dimensions of mine are:
Weight without scabbard: 955gr
Weight of scabbard: 750gr
This should be 1705gr sword + scabbard, but when I weigh them together, the scale says 1820gr. Weird.
Length overall: 105cm
Blade length: 91cm
Scabbard length: 95cm
Blade width: 31mm
Thickness oft he blade: 11m at the base, 6.5mm at the middle of the blade, 3mm at the end oft he fuller, 2mm 5cm from the tip. Very dramatic distal taper as you can see.

The hilt and grip are slightly loose, probably due to both shrinkage and lack of buffalo leather between the hilt and the blade. The leather oft he grip is obviously old but not damaged and the twisted wire is only slightly loose in a few places. The blade looks like it has been sharpened for service, seen some use and dulled a bit. There are few nicks and chips on the edge in the upper half of the blade and at the back of the blade nearer to the hilt. The blade has a very nice grey patina and no active rust or deeper pitting. Scabbard is in the same condition but slightly darker. Brass of the hilt is also very nicely preserved, but has some dents and a little crack at the edge of the butt cap.

Handling of this saber is very nice. PoB is at about 16cm from the hilt, so a bit more than 6“. This PoB with low overall weight of the saber, dramatic distal taper and long blade gives this saber a nice combination of agility and cutting and striking power. The whole blade is very stiff except the tip part from the end of the fuller to the tip because the blade gets very thin there.
I must confess that I don't find the twisted brass wire on the grip very comfortable and if I would change anything on this saber, I would add a backstrap to the grip and put a non twisted wire on the grip. I find that combination much more comfortable.
The hilt is beautiful and elegant, and not too massive while still offering quite a bit of protection to the outer, exposed part of the hand. The peen is round and well done.

Overall, I love this saber and I think it's a very good, effective and universal design. No wonder it was in use for over 100 years. Heavy cavalry might want a more durable and reinforced tip, but for light cavalry, this design was obviously effective and durable enough.
Enjoy the pictures. 

Luka Borscak · Posted: Tue 24 Mar, 2015 10:31 am Post subject:

Luka Borscak · Posted: Tue 24 Mar, 2015 10:32 am Post subject:

William Swiger · Posted: Tue 24 Mar, 2015 11:18 am Post subject:

Great saber model - congratulations! Cool

Glen A Cleeton · Posted: Wed 25 Mar, 2015 5:48 am Post subject:

Nice sword. The French 1822 swords do not mount the blade washer between the hilt and blade shoulders. The stamped numbers on the blade might suggest the sword was reused by another country. As these were used wearing guantlets, the wire is kind of a non-issue but there were sabres and other swords that never had wire, even though grooved for that. My Chatelleraut 1854 dragon is wire on buffalo horn, so would have been for an officer. The blade washer covers the poincons at the base of the blade but can be gently levered up to show them. You might want to try Pecards antique leather treatment. It is mostly beeswax. It did wonders on a Prussian made 1822 and I have had great luck with several swords and scabbards.

The French 1822s most often have a more radical distal taper hearkening back to the bulk of 18th century swords. My Prussian 1822 has a more linear distal taper and leaves more meat at the point. The three bar "heavy" 1822 even more weight in the hand but both French swords, along with the officer patterns late in the 19th century are livelier than the Prussian counterpart adopted by the Americans.

My 1854 pallasch is a large brute compared to my Prussian 1822 but I can see why the French made swords get the nod in comparison, sabre to sabre.

Cheers

GC

Luka Borscak · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2015 5:17 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info. I am very curious about the 178 stamp with that bell/stirrup above it. Do you maybe know where could I maybe find some info about it to see which country or unit might have used this saber?

Jordan E. Williams · Posted: Fri 14 Oct, 2016 10:20 pm Post subject:

Luka Borscak · Posted: Sat 15 Oct, 2016 12:54 pm Post subject:

Jordan E. Williams · Posted: Sat 15 Oct, 2016 2:13 pm Post subject:

Luka Borscak · Posted: Sun 16 Oct, 2016 2:28 am Post subject:

Well, I'm taking it this week to a smith to see if the upper part with two nicks could be restored to be usable for cutting. If not, I will be selling it because I want a 1822 I can cut with. I'll let you know.

Jordan E. Williams · Posted: Sun 16 Oct, 2016 5:51 am Post subject: