Received my first CS sword (1917 Naval Cutlass)...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
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Yup, today was my day to receive the 1917 Cutlass.
I can say that I am happy overall with this purchase. I truly appreciate the careful packaging and the heavy grease applied to the entire sword (and just as grateful that the scabbard did not receive that grease treatment). Everything arrived undamaged and without a single spot of tarnish. Rust could have easily found it's way onto the carbon steel wiithout that grease protection (these are truly SHIPPED from India, and that trip is likely not done in a luxury climate controlled environment). I am the very picky sorts, and can honestly say that I believe this CS sword is one heck of a great value. I can find minor defects in everthing that I buy, but when one considers the cost of these Cutlass', and the fact that they are nowhere near the mass production items we see being pumped out today in highly refined state of the art factories, it really is quite amazing the authentic feel and appearance these things carry for their price. Simply put, how can anyone see this handmade item as anything less than a cool product at an almost unbelievable price. This will make a nice addition to my collection of "manly gadgets", and compares well with my Cold Steel 1917 Frontier Bowie. Kudos to Cold Steel on making these available to us, for keeping them affordable, and for having them be made to a level of quality that far surpasses their price tag ☺

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I have seen pictures online where the scabbard for this model varies quite a bit in color. I have seen them almost a tan color, to almost dark brown. Mine has a darkish brown color that, while not as dark as the wood handle, (which I believe is a darkly stained Rosewood), it does match it fairly well. I was hoping the scabbard didn't come in that tan color, and even though it wouldn't have been the end of the world... I'm still happy my hopes came through ☺
 
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jbmonkey said:
That is bad arse. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy 'er.
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Thank you! ☺ I only bought her for displaying purposes. She's the latest addition in my self described "Man Gadget Collection". I split from my ex wife about ten years ago, and that split had me sell off my original "Man Gadget Collection". That collection had some swords, most of which were Hanwai (Paul Chen) and Del Tin. In these past ten years, I slowly, but surely, have built up a nice replacement Man Gadget Collection. It gives me just as much pleasure in collecting and decorating as with my first... but, it included zero swords. Well, I had to atleast incorporate one... and the Cold Steel 1917 Naval Cutlass will make a nice representation of both a sword, and a representation of a product having been made using some old school hands on labor ☺

Looking at the sword this evening and comparing it to my CS 1917 Bowie, I am still thinking that maybe the bowie is forged, but the cutlass looks more likely a stock removal method product.... And again, it's just me guessing. The Cutlass just somehow looks more like a long rectangular piece of metal with it"s final shape ground away. I owned a Viking pattern axe made by Windlass Steelcrafts years ago, Windlass being the firm who makes this model Cutlass for Cold Steel, I tried looking for the tell tale signs of forging on the Cutlass that I knew my Viking axe had. With the Windlass axe, one could actually see the slight indentations put into the steel from the pounding of hammer(s). The CS Cutlass does not seem to have any definitive hammer caused appearance. The 1917 Bowie seems like maybe some of these marks may be there... But also hard to really say definitely. The Viking axe had obvious remaining marks on it's surface showing it had been forged. With the CS Cutlass and Bowie, they are either forged and better final finished for Cold Steel under contract to not show those marks (which Windlass may gladly do for a contract with such a well known firm like Cold Steel), or they are simply not forged and done the stock removal method only. Either way, the hands on look is still present, but I totally find that to be in a positive way. Too much CNC work on a product does almost guarantee a more consistant product from one to the next, but just like my modern made Swiss Army knives, they just don't speak to me when missing that hands on look and feel.
As for the final polish/finish... the 1917 Bowie has a slightly higher grade of final blade polishing, causing it to have a nicer bluing. Still, the bluing on both are very nice. The fuller is also more elegant and more nicely done on the Bowie.

I can now totally see how Cold Steel was inspired by this Cutlass to come out with a Bowie... I mean, just look at the front end on the Cutlass... It does kind'a scream out BOWIE! ☺
 
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I wonder if cold steel would tell you on the stock removal vs. Forging? Has anyone tried to get a response from them?

It sure does look good. Next wife you find. ..make sure she realizes you ain't selling off your toys for her.;)
 
I had tried finding out about my 1917 Frontier Bowie... No luck, they won't tell me. Oh well, I will hope that somehow somebody with an inside scoop will see one of my posts and tell me ☺ As for another wife... Nah, I won't let that happen again. I had promised myself that I would marry only once, and if it didn't work out, would stay single afterwards. I have surely dated, and my turning 50 years old next month doesn't mean I should not continue being open to dating... But marriage is not part of the plan at all. I mostly got rid of my last Collection because I felt they somehow carried memories with them. I mean, looking at them and knowing that I had acquired them during my time with my ex. The good thing now is that this replacement Collection has no ties to any woman. So, this "Man Gadget Collection" will likely be with me until my death. I would say my collection is definitely random in nature (eclectic)... But the one thing I did realize early on, is that they all have one thing in common... they are things that us men are more drawn to. Things that even facinated us as kids, and us men are only grown up boys. So, I self coined the title 'Man Gadget Collection'... And that is what it is to me ☺ Ontario Knife Company made products number a total of 13 within my collection... Cold Steel number 7 total. But, I am sure a few more will creep into that collection before the Grim Reaper comes to pay me that one time visit (hopefully I won't be home at the time, and he reschedules for another visit at a later date... Like maybe 20 years later) 😉

My collection includes items from the following firms:

Cold Steel
Case
Ontario
Craftsman knives
Victorinox
Buck
Forge de Laguiole
Utica
Camillus
Gerber
Glock knives
Wenger
Estwing
Schrade
Queen
Schatt & Morgan
Colonial
Remington knives
Rough Rider
Mercator
Linder
Opinel
Colt knives
Canal Street
SOG
S&W Tomahawk
Browning knives
United
Crkt
Windlass
Falcon
GEC
Uberti
Pietta
CVA
Marlin
Remington Firearms
Condor
CZ
Winchester
Zastava
Glock Firearms
Ruger firearms
Kabar

And some others... What is it?... My "Man Gadget Collection"

Some have noticed my knack for incorporating them within my home decor. I do it in a way that does not cause the items to overpower the space as in making it menacing to the timid. Here in this picture, you can see an example of this. The display in the background has a S&W Extraction and Evasion tomahawk. On the table is a small Rosewood box containing a small assortment of US made Buck knives. And, there is a .50 BMG cartridge between the vase and lamp. This blending of man gadgets with my home's decor, seems to earn praise from even my female visitors. I somehow blend my things in, while taking the edge off a little (pun not intented). I have a display case coming in for my Cold Steel 1917 Cutlass, it will hopefully help in keeping my home museum theme ☺

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I was wondering how I would display this newest addition to my collection. It's a wee bit longer than any knife I own, and a standard shadow box was just not going to do it. Well, I did some online searching and found a manufacturer of displays for collectibles of all sorts, including for swords. I was hoping for a real glass display, since I am not a big fan of plexiglass, but for about $114 total (including s&h), I decided to give it a go. The felt interior was already in place (red)... But an extra board having a blue felt came along as an option. Neither the red nor blue were going to work for my decor... And neither would have allowed the blued steel blade to be seen very well with darkish backgrounds. So, I took the extra blue board that was sent, and re-covered it with a linen like material (I simply purchased a table cloth and cut it to size for this project). The plexiglass is of nicer quality than I had expected, and is rated for UV protection. The wood color I chose was black, which fits my decor nicely. Overall the buy was decent, and the product came fast and with careful packaging. It also came with two little keys for the two lock latches on the display. For anyone interested in such an item for their sword(s), the company is SF Display. Just make sure you measure the widest point of your swords hilt to make sure you order the correct depth display. The Cold Steel 1917 Cutlass handguard is pretty wide, but this deeper version display worked fine ☺

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Very nice. I would have just hung it on the wall, cause i have no class....but nice to see someone put in the effort on doing it right. Thanks for sharing.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I am sure a few more will creep into that collection before the Grim Reaper comes to pay me that one time visit (hopefully I won't be home at the time, and he reschedules for another visit at a later date... Like maybe 20 years later) 😉
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I'll try to put off that visit for another 50 years.:)
 
Very nice looking saber and display case.

I was thinking about this saber, mainly as a display, like yours. As far as quality, have you noticed any issues with the pommel or hand guard?
 
The blade is a true full tang. The side slabs of rosewood for handle scales are attached via solid brass screws, and the handguard is simply held in place by a screw somehow attached to the end of the tang. Not much that can go wrong with this entire method, and I imagine it's a much tougher method than the common rat tang method where the tang is thinner and hidden under the handle material. The 1917 Cutlass has the full tang that you see totally all the way around the handle scales... Solid stuff. Even if it were to get a little loose as time goes on, it won't be the tang that you'd have to worry about, and tightening the brass screws or the pommel screw would likely take care of the situation. If it does not, with a little extra tolerance developing with the hand basket area, it could be shimmed or simply lived with, since it would not hurt in the swords durability... Hope that answers your question ☺
 
Very nice display. Many of us have tons of knives but few go all the way to display them as nicely as you have.
 
KenHash said:
Very nice display. Many of us have tons of knives but few go all the way to display them as nicely as you have.
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Thank you! Although I love collecting these types of items, I think I more enjoy the way they add to my decor ☺
 
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