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ah! - mystery solved, user name is 'blue lander', not bluelander. darn the literal search engine.
 
kronckew said:
ah! - mystery solved, user name is 'blue lander', not bluelander. darn the literal search engine.
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It's why I often use the "site:" search function on Google. You just type that in front of the site URL and then add the search term. Unfortunately it doesn't work for things like trying to search just in this sub-forum.
 
I walked out of our local gunshow yesterday empty handed and into a swap meet held every weekend next door with a little time on my hands and a bit of jingle in me pocket.

Right off I stumbled onto two Cavalry ?? swords. I could tell they weren't genuine or the real deal but far better than like a tourist novelty. Quite solid with very nice metal scabbards.

In the poor lighting of the building that usually houses cows during the fair I couldn't see any markings but thought for 60 bucks, I was taking it home anyhow. Guy has a second one also for 60 bucks , I was durn tempted to get both, maybe next month?

For your viewing pleasure. There was a lot of beginning rust on the scabbard but the blade was very clean and nicely done.






??? where did that come from. Must be having a day dream about my girl.

Anyhow I thought it was kind of cool so it has a home with me for a while.
I neglected to measure the thing but it quite long, over 36" I'm sure.
 
quite a nicely done CSA replica. Much nicer hilt over all with the grips being done exceptionally well. Nice find for the price Bawanna. Once you got it home did you find any interesting markings?
 
Only a small India stamp near the hilt. No others, course that's enough to ensure No US generals carried it at Appomatax.
 
Bawanna said:
Only a small India stamp near the hilt. No others, course that's enough to ensure No US generals carried it at Appomatax.
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I think the $60 price tag was enough to ensure that.

I've had some good luck, at that auction site which will not be named here, finding sword-like French bayonets from the mid 1800s, when they still made them with stylish curves. They must have made thousands of them back in the day, since many are still around with mostly surface rust that can be removed without too much work. I'm pretty sure they are authentic/originals, based on close inspection and the details of their construction. They usually run around $150-$300 depending on the condition. The company/arsenal name and year of manufacture are engraved on the spine, and the blade and scabbard are numbered (often with matching numbers). I suppose it's possible that some of them were manufactured more recently than the engraved date, but they are not just replicas.

There seem to be two main types, as pictured below. One type has a fairly elegant curved blade (29" OAL) with a wide "blood groove" that looks more like a sword than a bayonet (but the handle fixture is definitely bayonet). The other type has a somewhat shorter straight blade (25.5" OAL) with a T-cross section spine for rigidity; the edge is not sharpened and the blade is clearly designed for thrusting, but you could also give someone a good rap on the head if you swung it sideways with a flick of the wrist. The balance and control are excellent.

These pictures were taken before I cleaned up the blades, so you can see that they came in pretty good shape. The metal scabbards, on the other hand, had a lot of surface roughness and didn't clean up as well as the blades.

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Here's a link to a Wikipedia article about the St. Etienne Arsenal:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacture_d'armes_de_Saint-Étienne

An excerpt:

"[A] French state-owned manufacturing company located in the town of Saint-Étienne....

"Saint-Étienne was already a well-known place for production of swords and knives since the Middle Ages. In 1665, a Royal Arms Depot was created in Paris to store military weapons made in Saint-Étienne....

"The Royal Arms Manufacture was created in 1764 under the supervision of the General Inspector of the Royal Arms Manufacture of Charleville....

"12,000 weapons were being produced each year when French Revolution happened. The city was renamed Armsville during the revolutionary period and production increased to meet demand of the revolutionary army fighting at the borders against the Royalists supported by European royal families.

The French Empire saw the production increase threefold to meet the needs of the Napoleonic Army in its conquest of Europe...."
 
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I've got a very similar India made saber, except yours has a much nicer hilt than mine. $65 is actually a pretty good price even for a repro.
 
There's a spittin image of this sword offered at IMA. Just got the email today. The real deal though, offered for 950 bucks.

While mine of course is just a replica, it's a near perfect match, the handle wrap, scabbard and mounting rings are all identical.

I'm feeling pretty fine with it. Might have to go get the second one although I don't know why, is 2 better than one?
 
When it comes to swords I'd say 2 is ALWAYS better than one
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You guys are a bad influence on thee in a good sort of way kind of sorta?

I better check the wallet. Maybe someone else around here might feel the need some day and I'll be able to ease the want pain.
 
i saw they had an american naval sword, 1851 model for sale, also quite cheap. that model has a much wider & functional blade than the current navy model. cold steel makes one in a good HC steel one with real rayskin grips that passes the UK proof tests, but it is still the narrower modern 'parade' blade.

i emailed to the vendor about the steel & if they could be sharpened. he said they were HC steel but he did not recommend they be sharpened & used for cutting. i gather the heat treatment may be less than we are used to & they may bend easily. i would not expect them to pass the british proof test.

there is a company called 'museum replicas' (indian of course), they make an excellent copy of a variety of weapons, but are a bit more expensive than those in the e-thingy auctions. i gather they are a better steel. i ahve one of their french marine sabres, an exact copy of the real one down to the klingenthal armoury signature on the spine. and no 'india' anywhere ;). it is however missing any of the french acceptance stamps or regimental / vessel stamps, rack stamps, etc. that the real one would have had. it does have the correct 'Guarde Imperiale' cartouche flanked with anchors as the originals & and anchor on the languette.

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i did happen to come across a correct replica napoleonic french marine bronze buckle & the sty;e belt that would have been appropriate.

it came dull as a butter knife, i will eventually sharpen it with my work sharp slack belt sharpener.
 
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Great find Mr. B! Cant go wrong for 60 clams:thumbup:

David: Cool sword man! I have of those. French 1866 Yataghan as I understand it. Would be cool to have the Chassepot:thumbup:

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Mine has no edge either. I used to have another just like it without edge as well. Definitely thrustworthy. I bet this would be a mean sword with an edge on it assuming its hardened enough? It feels really light and fast compared to many of my heavier Khuks. Id like to pick one up and modify it for a beater sword.

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The inscriptions on mine are the same as yours with the exception of some extra markings on the end and the date is 1873.
 
I got me a chassepot bayonet too, I tried putting an edge on it but the steel is too tough. I read that about bayonets, they're always very difficult to put an edge on. I bet it'd make a good pig sticker though. I read they used to mount surplus ones as polarms and use them for boar hunting.
 
The Minasbad Sword from TFW that I ordered about 2 weeks ago, arrived today. I'm very pleased with the buy.













 
i love tfw, have a kris #5, a visayan barong, chinese dandao, and a gijo club. i've corresponded with ron kosakowski for years. we had a nice set-to with UK customs who wanted to confiscate my TFW dandao for being a curved blade over 50cm. the kris was OK but would have been confiscated as it was part of the shipment. took about three months with input from both me and ron to convince UK customs that the sword met the criteria for an exemption as it was 'traditionally hand forged'. straight razor sharp swords are OK, but somehow curved ones are dangerous and scare the sheeple. i will eventually buy a tfw sansibar #2 and a ginunting if i don't get distracted by some other oooh-shiney.
 
That's sweet ballistol. I'm gonna have to check out TFW. Never heard of them before.
Good polish job and the wood on that handle is awesome. Looks like ebony.
 
The minasbad handle is made of Kamagong, an iron wood from the Philippines, the pommel figure is cast aluminum.
 
oh, forgot, just acquired this, a royal navy bosun's 'persuader', starter, or cosh. they were in use until the early 1800's. egg shaped lead head covered in knotwork. malacca cane haft, 22 inches overall. they frequently show up with an iron or lead shot, possibly grapeshot, knotted at one end of a braided rope haft. these were referred to as a rope's end, giving the men a flick of the rope's end was thus not quite as mild as it sounds.

bosun (boatswain) is one of the oldest ranks in the US and royal navies and was a warranted officer rank, bosun's mates were enlisted and subservient to the bosun. if you didn't move fast enough you might get a tap from one of these. they (the cosh) kinda died out about the time they stopped floggings, keel hauling, yardarm hanging and other useful methods of entertainment discipline. bosuns are still around putting the fear into the lower deckie ranks with slightly less dependence on such devices. can't have any fun anymore.

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bosun's persuader 03.jpgbosun's persuader 05.jpg
 
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Bawanna said:
That's sweet ballistol. I'm gonna have to check out TFW. Never heard of them before.
Good polish job and the wood on that handle is awesome. Looks like ebony.
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I just put on some Renaissance wax this time. No Autosol. I want this sword to remain as it is. TFW is short for Traditional Filipino Weapons.

And i like the wooden scabbard, It's very nice and have some kind of tribal feeling over it.
 
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