Hunting sword

What's there to say? Game in those days belonged to the wealthy and a hunting knife was used to dispatch an animal . Hirsh for those who don't know is the red deer ,related to the american elk. Since these swords were owned by the wealthy they usually were made nicely , engraved, etched carved handles sometimes of ivory.
 
It is hard to put a date on these, especially when they are unmarked, but 1600-1700 seems too early for this one. Most likely your sword dates from the 19th century. It appearance is very modern; very much like the hunting swords made during during the last couple of centuries. It appears to be modestly decorated and a working knife rather then a presentation or display piece. In the days before the modern military standardized on certain patterns of weapons these may have easily been carried by infantry and navy officers; so this one may have had an exciting career at some point.

You may want to read Howard Blackmore's Hunting Weapons (ISBN 0-486-40961-9) which looks at all types of sporting weapons from the Middle Ages through the 20th Century.

n2s
 
In the days of a single-shot rifle, a back-up weapon of some sort was not just a wealthy man's item. Any working game keeper would have carried such an item, as well. This does appear to be more of a working sword than a dress item and I should expect that it saw some real use.

N2S is quite correct about hunting swords being the sidearm of choice for many military officers. They were especially popular among the officers of the American Revolutionary forces as most of these men were not professional military men but civilians doing their duty as they saw it. Most had hunting swords of one type or another available in their families and took these with them when they went into service. A friend has a simply beautiful one witha curved cut-and-thrust blade of about 28"-30" and a silver hilt in the shape of an eagle's neck and its head as the pommel. There are "S" shaped quillons on it with the bottom quillon turning up toward the knuckles of the hand. There is a silver chain running from the beak to the bottom quillon. Very handsome and the silversmith's proof on the hilt is that of Paul Revere. The authenticity of this sword has been verified by the Smithsonian.
 
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