Identify Saber Maker

L

lgallegos226

Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Messages
5
I recently acquired a saber of european make (I think). The quality of
work is not the best on the grip, guard and pommel the finish being kind of rough, but the blade is very decent. On the ricasso are the letters WIVRSHFKG in a semi circle, in the center are R(in a circle) followed by 4w-8. On the reverse of the ricasso are H-G-7 over B9538, both the sword and scabbard are serial numbered.
I only found one reference to this "maker?" on the internet on a foreign
for sale ebay type site.
Anyone know anything about this saber, what country, who made it, when? It looks to be a more modern manufacture, ww1, ww2 maybe.
Will post photo soon.
 
With that little description and no photograph (yet) it's impossible to determine. Guess we'll find out later! :)
 
Sorry havent been able to get back on to the forum in a while. I cannot put photos here. but i'll link to a photo bucket with the saber photos in it.

http://s1089.photobucket.com/albums/i346/lgallegos226/Saber - unidentified/

Any help is greatly appreciated. note on the blade. it seems that the edge was filed flat on the belly of the blade not overly so just enough to remove the edge. the blade tip of about 6 inches and the area in front of the ricasso are still sharp.
the blade that was listed on the internet with similar blade markings was not a european site, it was brazilian.
thanks
 
The hilt is very similar to those found on civil war American pieces, but the overall look of the piece is a bit...odd. How did you come to acquire it? I'm just getting a bit of a fishy vibe from the look of it.
 
I found it in a pawn shop for $30. The scabbard appears to be painted. I have not removed any of the paint to see what it looks like underneath. The leather spacer between the guard and scabbard seems to be in ok condition but it is hard to tell how old it is. The Guard is rough, it kind of seems to me almost to be a sand cast, i have not cleaned it up, there seems to be some type of gunk in the detail of the guard. the leather on the grip seems pretty nice only the wire wrap is copper wire, I've never seen copper wire wrapped on a saber grip before. the pommel seems also to be a cast and the design runs out on one side, pretty rough. It kind of reminds me of some of the Indian reproductions I've seen before. Only I haven't seen a reproduction with the blade that looked halfway decent.
 
I've seen original blades mounted in god-awful cast aluminum hardware before, so it's not altogether impossible that that's the case with yours--a rehilting of a period blade with low-grade contemporary fittings. What to the markings on the blade say? The pictures intended to show it are all out of focus. :o
 
WIVRSHFKG are the letters in the semicircle above the centerline below the centerline is the letters 4w-8. on the opposite side of the blade on the ricasso are two series of numbers H-G-7 over B9538. other than that there are no other marks on the blade except the serial number on the guard and at the tip of the scabbard. sorry about the pics i took them with my cell phone. i do not have a camera but if i can get one i will add the pics and let you know. the following link will take you to the site where a saber with the same mark was sold, it is like brazilian ebay or something;

http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/...ionante-e-raro-sabre-da-2a-guerra-mundial-_JM
 
Actually, now that I think about it it's entirely possible it's a Central or South American piece. Many such military patterns were based off of American or European designs.
 
I have a saber I bought at a flea market that has the same maker marks as your. Mine are on just one side of the blade and not on the hilt. The odd thing about mine is that the hilt is brass and itb had what I thought was a sloppy attempt at a Shwastika. I did a little more research and found that this was a common symbol in Austria (and in many other countrys). The fins on mine are reversed. I read that when Hitler adopted this Shwastika he revered the fins (the original symbol fins pointing counter clockwise. The hilt has the lions head with the ruby eyes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top