I'd be interested to check out Patton's sword and cavalry manual. He's a personal hero to me. In his book "War as I knew it" he describes a time during the Italian campaign where the terrain was too rough and mountainous for anything mechanized and infantry made slow going. He said that he and his staff bemoaned not have just a company of old-fashioned cavalry for mobile scouts and fast attack. Patton also said nothing interested him or stirred his passions more than breeding, taming, riding, and caring for horses. He was a much more gentle and intelligent person than his reputation says.
Thank you for the information. I have a similar three bar hilt, leather grip, no wire with a 33” pipe-back blade made by Bleckmann with a broad arrow I. Also, a leather scabbard. I think the blade is quite serviceable. Thank you for educating us on swords and their history.
Is there a sword type that combines the materials, looks, techniques, perks, flaws, methods of making, sharp edges, pointy tips and/or width and length of other sword types'?
I think I've got something similar. It's got the three bar handle, but it has a wickedly curved pipe back blade that doesn't look right. Also the blade is only 32inches and its only just over an inch wide. It never occurred to me it could be a mixture. Food for thought.
Wait a moment, wasn't the Tulwar hilt designed to facilitate a right angle between the blade and the arm? And wasn''t the checkered version of the saber hilt designed to help giving point with the blade? I'm confused, putting that hilt in that kind of blade seems counterproductive.
Maybe on the West but East is the different story. Did you heard about "Konarmia" (literaly it means: "army on horses" )? They have been a very dangerous formation: fast as the wind, brave, deceitful and very cruel. Cossacks fighting in "Konarmia" were able to move hundreds of kilometers in a few days to get around enemy positions and attack her from behind. And after the murder of all prisoners. They fought by sabers called "Sashka" (Cossack sabers model1881) or "dragonka" (saber model 1881). Of course by machine guns "maxim" as well. Thanks God Polish troops (1st Cavalry Division) destroyed tired by many struggles and marches, decimated troops Konarmia nearby Zamosc, the city in south-east Poland. They were very close to the heart Poland - Warsaw on August 1920. if he they won the battle of Warsaw, then went to through rebellious Germany and France without any problem. And stopped only in the vicinity of Gibraltar...
On the next video's comments someone says there is now a law in Britain about owning curved swords, because of the nasty repro katanas being used in assaults, but my sabre is, obviously, very curved, and the police sent it back no problem. It had even been involved in an 'incident' which took place partly out on the street. Maybe it's because it isn't a 'samurai sword' - I put them straight on that because they were calling it that to begin with. People always do when swords are mentioned. Then, for some reason, they started saying 'cutlass'.
Called a "drag" because you would sometimes literally drag that part of the scabbard on the ground when you walked, at least when wandering about a town, impressing the ladies... That was a bit of a fashion and status thing for a time, so much so that some had "treeks" added (little wheels) to make it easier. But basically the drag just protected the end of the scabbard.
I Think he's talking about the flange around the drag. It's usually made in a decorative shape, but it has a practical function in that it wears away instead of the body of the drag so you don't end up with a hole in the end of your scabbard. Here is an example of one that has been worn down. bit.ly/1znBOKv
Thanks Jane Murphy, Drunkduck, lancer D and scholagladiatoria. I guess I just assumed swords wouldn't drag on the ground! The engineer in me giggled with child-like glee when you mentioned the wheels, Duck
I like the shape and look of this sword, but it's a little floppy for my taste. I really don't like the idea of sacrificing all my thrust capability, and I find a rigid blade, while less forgiving during the cut itself, seems to move more predictably and smoothly in the air. Then again, I'm not an Afghan tribesman raised on the draw cut and taught to lop sheep in half at a single stroke, either. You mentioned the Scottish Broadsword in this video. Can you do a more detailed video on those at some point? I'm very curious about them in regards to several things. For instance, why all the confusion on what does and does not constitute a "claymore?" Also, what was their cut vs. thrust capacity, and how much did it vary sword to sword? How were they seen as "stacking up" next to the sabre? Which units commonly used them at what periods, and did the targe or buckler that's often associated with them ever show up in India, Afghanistan, etc?
Saw that guard and went AHA. Recently picked up a repop cheapy, the guard is the same only in sheet brass. The blade itself is not bad, needs some work. The scabbard is toast and burnt toast at that. The guard I can, probably, reinforce by brazing some brass rod to it. Once I get the proper curve in it.The grip will likely be replaced as well. The makers mark on the ricasso is Sardar Kirpan Factory. So a Sikh or Punjabi style, not an antique by any means.
Hello can you please tell the dimensions like length of blade, type of hilt and handguard of officers saber sword used in Royal British army and Indian army.
I have a question about the properties of the blade. The blade being more sturdy or being more flexible have some relevance in the cutting power or the stabbing power of the sword? For some reason I thought that a sturdy blade was better for cutting and a flexible blade was better for stabbing.
Other way around. If you thrust with a flexible blade, the blade will bend instead of penetrating, all the energy of your thrust is is transformed into spring potential energy as the blade bends
My guess: - If you look at some really stabbing weapons, like misericorde, koncerz, estoc, rapier ... at least some of them do not seem to be too flexible. As Kirby said - you want them to go through, not to bend everytime, they meet resistance. And also - duelling in shirts woud be different from fight on the battlefield, when enemy has his uniform and all gear on it - or even armour of some kind. So your duelling smallsword would probably have lighter blade that one you take to the battle. When cutting is in guestion, probably it depends what cutting you expect. If chopping, than maybe more thick blade would be ok - it could take more punishment from impact. But for draw-cuts and push-cuts, thin blade may be far better option. And these types of attack are said to be used by Indian and Arab swordsmen.
Matt, great info! Have you tried putting this hybrid sword in a standard p1796 LC saber scabbard? Do you think it would fit? A metal scabbard is certainly more durable than leather and wood.
Matt! Tell me about training (fake) swords (so no metal at all). I see they are commonly used, but it also looks like people just flail with them like they have no weight and parries aren't as "sure" as with metal beating other metal. Are they good for anything else than drilling? Why do people use them even in competitions?
That is quite a handsome sword. The P1796 blade has a certain je ne sais quoi about it. I've noticed that many of these Indian Army derivatives of British Army pattern swords are often in very good condition (being made and used well after the British equivalents were retired) and very reasonably priced. Does it handle like a P1796? If it does, you could, have a bit of P1796 'action' without having to drop the best part of £1000 to find the genuine article in decent condition.
Hello could I send a photo of my sabre as it's very fancy legitimate and a family heirloom . I'd love to know more about it, it's got a lot of gun blue and gold all over the sabre. Thank you very much.
It's difficult to tell how popular they actually were - I think they have enjoyed a high survival rate due to being expensive curiosities and therefore looked after and kept safe. Of course most of them are single-shot, so all you really have is a pistol and a sword joined together, which makes for a cumbersome pistol that's difficult to reload and a very unwieldy sword. I'd rather have a good sword and two or three pistols.
I have a 1796 pattern sword which seems to be of comparatively recent manufacture, and which, frankly, doesn't seem to me to be of very high quality. No marks. Who has made this pattern of sword - when and where?
Possibly German. The model was very, very popular with the German states (Blucher sabre), and not always great quality. The style was influential all the way to ww2, but the blades got thinner and the hilt a little more ornate.
Drunkduck Thanks Drunkduck. Mine looks exactly like a standard British trooper's 1796 light cavalry, with the stirrup hilt and steel scabbard etc., but the blade is, if anything, too substantial, even given that they are generally quite a heavy sword (I've handled a few good ones of Napoleonic vintage). It's not a Cold Steel repro or anything else that recent. Have any other countries made them?
scholagladiatoria A bad buy then. I actually used it in a self defense capacity when we had an aggravated burglary last year (I mentioned about that in a comment on another video) and it's just been returned to me from the police. Before that it was just in a cupboard, more or less forgotten, I guess because I knew it was unsaleable. I sold the good ones a while back. Anyhow, thanks Matt. Suspicions confirmed.
Slashes. When fighting against cavalry that primarily use slashing techniques you can charge on point with the blade and catch theirs while stabbing them
Great Video ! Here are my questions : 1) How did native Indian cavalrymen use this type of sword ? Were they trained to use it like a saber ? or they used it like a Tulwar " i mean their native fighting style " ? 2) Please take a look a this formidable sword .This the " Mamleuke sword " that i told you about .It was described as a "terrible cutter "and it saw active service .This sword is similair to the Persian Shamshir and Turkish Kilij and was used by Hussars . ichef.bbci.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/images/paintings/npg/large/npg_npg_6171_large.jpg
1. It seemed that Indian cavalrymen in British service primarily used their saber in their accustomed native style, one British officer remarked that the troopers of the regular cavalry regiments (those issued with British style sabers) have rubbish swordplay and relied entirely on their pistol, while the irregulars' talwars were exceedingly devastating. That sounds a lot like the native troopers not being used to the proper usage of British style sabers
I saw one of these at a damn car boot sale! I walked straight passed it because I didnt have money on me and I was a little narked off, DEALER, I WILL FIND YOU
Please see my videos on this topic. Roughly 80% of historical sources write 'tulwar' and 20% write 'talwar'. Remember that Indian pronunciation is not important here - the ability to use English written words to search in English language documents is important.
Well thrusting swords are useless battlefield weapons, they have no stopping power or any versatility in their use besidez turning the sword arround and using it as a club (which would make it actually usefull in any combat situation) their complete dogshit in general and find rapier and smallsword fencing easy to overcome and overly complicated as i have beaten a rapier fencing champ with only my trench knife
Very cool! Thanks for the information.
Also, the change of scenery is great. Definitely brings out that kind of professorial quality to the videos.
My eyes popped with delight when I saw you had uploaded a video on this sword just a few hours after I had commented on it!
Extremely beautiful sword!
Well most pirate movies seem to use cavalry saberz instead of an actual cuttlas
have to say right at the end putting the sword on your shoulder badass :D
Matt's all about that roguish sword-on-shoulder look.
I'd be interested to check out Patton's sword and cavalry manual. He's a personal hero to me. In his book "War as I knew it" he describes a time during the Italian campaign where the terrain was too rough and mountainous for anything mechanized and infantry made slow going. He said that he and his staff bemoaned not have just a company of old-fashioned cavalry for mobile scouts and fast attack. Patton also said nothing interested him or stirred his passions more than breeding, taming, riding, and caring for horses. He was a much more gentle and intelligent person than his reputation says.
That's a lovely sword Matt. Thanks for sharing.
What a unique and fantastic sword. I'd love to own a reproduction of that. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the information. I have a similar three bar hilt, leather grip, no wire with a 33” pipe-back blade made by Bleckmann with a broad arrow I. Also, a leather scabbard. I think the blade is quite serviceable. Thank you for educating us on swords and their history.
That is one gorgeus sword you got there Mat :-)
That hilt is a beauty.
Thanks for the information. Would be great to hear more about that interesting topic in future.
Is there a sword type that combines the materials, looks, techniques, perks, flaws, methods of making, sharp edges, pointy tips and/or width and length of other sword types'?
i wonder if it will cut well on winter cloth or thick uniform. it seems too thin and kinda like a Kung fu form performance swords.
I think I've got something similar. It's got the three bar handle, but it has a wickedly curved pipe back blade that doesn't look right. Also the blade is only 32inches and its only just over an inch wide. It never occurred to me it could be a mixture. Food for thought.
Wait a moment, wasn't the Tulwar hilt designed to facilitate a right angle between the blade and the arm? And wasn''t the checkered version of the saber hilt designed to help giving point with the blade?
I'm confused, putting that hilt in that kind of blade seems counterproductive.
Maybe on the West but East is the different story. Did you heard about "Konarmia" (literaly it means: "army on horses" )? They have been a very dangerous formation: fast as the wind, brave, deceitful and very cruel. Cossacks fighting in "Konarmia" were able to move hundreds of kilometers in a few days to get around enemy positions and attack her from behind. And after the murder of all prisoners. They fought by sabers called "Sashka" (Cossack sabers model1881) or "dragonka" (saber model 1881). Of course by machine guns "maxim" as well. Thanks God Polish troops (1st Cavalry Division) destroyed tired by many struggles and marches, decimated troops Konarmia nearby Zamosc, the city in south-east Poland. They were very close to the heart Poland - Warsaw on August 1920. if he they won the battle of Warsaw, then went to through rebellious Germany and France without any problem. And stopped only in the vicinity of Gibraltar...
On the next video's comments someone says there is now a law in Britain about owning curved swords, because of the nasty repro katanas being used in assaults, but my sabre is, obviously, very curved, and the police sent it back no problem. It had even been involved in an 'incident' which took place partly out on the street. Maybe it's because it isn't a 'samurai sword' - I put them straight on that because they were calling it that to begin with. People always do when swords are mentioned. Then, for some reason, they started saying 'cutlass'.
Speaking of hybrid designs, have you seen some of the kyu-gunto swords? Some of them have two handed grips with saber style guards.
Forgive my ignorance, but why are the endings of scabbards flared like they are? Couldn't help notice it on the majority of the scabbards on screen
It's a cap, it keeps the end well sealed, and adds some rigidity to the tip to keep you from bending it if you knock it around a bit.
Called a "drag" because you would sometimes literally drag that part of the scabbard on the ground when you walked, at least when wandering about a town, impressing the ladies... That was a bit of a fashion and status thing for a time, so much so that some had "treeks" added (little wheels) to make it easier.
But basically the drag just protected the end of the scabbard.
I Think he's talking about the flange around the drag. It's usually made in a decorative shape, but it has a practical function in that it wears away instead of the body of the drag so you don't end up with a hole in the end of your scabbard. Here is an example of one that has been worn down. bit.ly/1znBOKv
To prevent the ground or other things from wearing a hole in the bottom - called a drag, as mentioned above.
Thanks Jane Murphy, Drunkduck, lancer D and scholagladiatoria. I guess I just assumed swords wouldn't drag on the ground!
The engineer in me giggled with child-like glee when you mentioned the wheels, Duck
Thanks for the vid sir.👍🏼👍🏼
I really like this hybrid style. Did they ever make any hybrids with this style of blade and even more protective hilts, like the gothic hilt?
Ben Kirkby Yes there were custom officers' swords like that.
I like the shape and look of this sword, but it's a little floppy for my taste. I really don't like the idea of sacrificing all my thrust capability, and I find a rigid blade, while less forgiving during the cut itself, seems to move more predictably and smoothly in the air. Then again, I'm not an Afghan tribesman raised on the draw cut and taught to lop sheep in half at a single stroke, either.
You mentioned the Scottish Broadsword in this video. Can you do a more detailed video on those at some point? I'm very curious about them in regards to several things. For instance, why all the confusion on what does and does not constitute a "claymore?" Also, what was their cut vs. thrust capacity, and how much did it vary sword to sword? How were they seen as "stacking up" next to the sabre? Which units commonly used them at what periods, and did the targe or buckler that's often associated with them ever show up in India, Afghanistan, etc?
Saw that guard and went AHA. Recently picked up a repop cheapy, the guard is the same only in sheet brass. The blade itself is not bad, needs some work. The scabbard is toast and burnt toast at that. The guard I can, probably, reinforce by brazing some brass rod to it. Once I get the proper curve in it.The grip will likely be replaced as well. The makers mark on the ricasso is Sardar Kirpan Factory. So a Sikh or Punjabi style, not an antique by any means.
Huh, a new camera angle with more swords...
Cool! :)
Thanks for the vid. Could You please tell me what manuals are those on your wall?? Thanks. :)
Hello can you please tell the dimensions like length of blade, type of hilt and handguard of officers saber sword used in Royal British army and Indian army.
Great video! I like to think this is the saber Sharpe used in Bernard Cornwell's novels
Davi Lessa This is a later hilt design, dating from around 1820. Though there were earlier forms of it.
I have a question about the properties of the blade.
The blade being more sturdy or being more flexible have some relevance in the cutting power or the stabbing power of the sword?
For some reason I thought that a sturdy blade was better for cutting and a flexible blade was better for stabbing.
Other way around. If you thrust with a flexible blade, the blade will bend instead of penetrating, all the energy of your thrust is is transformed into spring potential energy as the blade bends
My guess:
- If you look at some really stabbing weapons, like misericorde, koncerz, estoc, rapier ... at least some of them do not seem to be too flexible. As Kirby said - you want them to go through, not to bend everytime, they meet resistance. And also - duelling in shirts woud be different from fight on the battlefield, when enemy has his uniform and all gear on it - or even armour of some kind. So your duelling smallsword would probably have lighter blade that one you take to the battle.
When cutting is in guestion, probably it depends what cutting you expect. If chopping, than maybe more thick blade would be ok - it could take more punishment from impact.
But for draw-cuts and push-cuts, thin blade may be far better option. And these types of attack are said to be used by Indian and Arab swordsmen.
Matt,
great info! Have you tried putting this hybrid sword in a standard p1796 LC saber scabbard? Do you think it would fit? A metal scabbard is certainly more durable than leather and wood.
What is the sword in the silver scabbard, in the middle? I like its look :)
Hey Matt, what is that bit, that protrudes from the cross guard up towards the blade, that is also seen in medieval swords called?
I own one of these but my sword have lion head can you tell me price please??
Matt! Tell me about training (fake) swords (so no metal at all). I see they are commonly used, but it also looks like people just flail with them like they have no weight and parries aren't as "sure" as with metal beating other metal. Are they good for anything else than drilling? Why do people use them even in competitions?
What was done for left-handed people?
ive always wondered how they got the curve of the blade could you tell me?
Sooo is it actually a 1796 blade ? or is this ^ blade just very similar to a 1796 blade Matt ?
It is approximately similar, but not the same.
The stepped pommel is also a common feature of an officer's sword.
That is quite a handsome sword. The P1796 blade has a certain je ne sais quoi about it. I've noticed that many of these Indian Army derivatives of British Army pattern swords are often in very good condition (being made and used well after the British equivalents were retired) and very reasonably priced. Does it handle like a P1796? If it does, you could, have a bit of P1796 'action' without having to drop the best part of £1000 to find the genuine article in decent condition.
Hello could I send a photo of my sabre as it's very fancy legitimate and a family heirloom . I'd love to know more about it, it's got a lot of gun blue and gold all over the sabre. Thank you very much.
so i went to the Walters Museum (in Baltimore USA) and they had a collection of swords with short built in firearms. what are your thoughts on theses?
It's difficult to tell how popular they actually were - I think they have enjoyed a high survival rate due to being expensive curiosities and therefore looked after and kept safe. Of course most of them are single-shot, so all you really have is a pistol and a sword joined together, which makes for a cumbersome pistol that's difficult to reload and a very unwieldy sword. I'd rather have a good sword and two or three pistols.
The blade is so thin. It can not be used to stab? Was it useful in fighting?
tran hau wanna try....??
i just scored one of these in great condition for a meager $400nzd unfortunatly its missing the scabbard - but won very nice sword
Why does the sword go scha-wing when he pulls it out of the scabbard?
I own the unique saber it was passed down by my grandad I just got it today and because we both own one how rare is it
I have a 1796 pattern sword which seems to be of comparatively recent manufacture, and which, frankly, doesn't seem to me to be of very high quality. No marks. Who has made this pattern of sword - when and where?
Possibly German. The model was very, very popular with the German states (Blucher sabre), and not always great quality. The style was influential all the way to ww2, but the blades got thinner and the hilt a little more ornate.
Drunkduck
Thanks Drunkduck. Mine looks exactly like a standard British trooper's 1796 light cavalry, with the stirrup hilt and steel scabbard etc., but the blade is, if anything, too substantial, even given that they are generally quite a heavy sword (I've handled a few good ones of Napoleonic vintage). It's not a Cold Steel repro or anything else that recent. Have any other countries made them?
simon bill It could be a modern replica that has aged over 10 or 20 years.
scholagladiatoria
A bad buy then. I actually used it in a self defense capacity when we had an aggravated burglary last year (I mentioned about that in a comment on another video) and it's just been returned to me from the police. Before that it was just in a cupboard, more or less forgotten, I guess because I knew it was unsaleable. I sold the good ones a while back. Anyhow, thanks Matt. Suspicions confirmed.
simon bill so did you have to like run someone through or did you just scare them off?
what does the three bar hilt protect you from?
Tridents
Slashes. When fighting against cavalry that primarily use slashing techniques you can charge on point with the blade and catch theirs while stabbing them
Great Video ! Here are my questions :
1) How did native Indian cavalrymen use this type of sword ? Were they trained to use it like a saber ? or they used it like a Tulwar " i mean their native fighting style " ?
2) Please take a look a this formidable sword .This the " Mamleuke sword " that i told you about .It was described as a "terrible cutter "and it saw active service .This sword is similair to the Persian Shamshir and Turkish Kilij and was used by Hussars . ichef.bbci.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/images/paintings/npg/large/npg_npg_6171_large.jpg
1. It seemed that Indian cavalrymen in British service primarily used their saber in their accustomed native style, one British officer remarked that the troopers of the regular cavalry regiments (those issued with British style sabers) have rubbish swordplay and relied entirely on their pistol, while the irregulars' talwars were exceedingly devastating. That sounds a lot like the native troopers not being used to the proper usage of British style sabers
IMA had some hybrids in their Nepal stash. Don't k now if they still do. :)
Cool
Sticky plaster on right sleeve
+scholagladiatoria do you only ware superdry?
Heavy sword
I got two of the same swords in India
Drink a shot every time Matt places/removes a sword from his shoulder.
Or touches it to the palm of his hand.
Looks to me like a cutlass.
skykid A cutlass is generally a short sword with a bowl guard.
scholagladiatoria how much roughly would one of that quality cost??
did you ever get an answer
I wonder what two people gave this video a thumbs down and why?
I saw one of these at a damn car boot sale! I walked straight passed it because I didnt have money on me and I was a little narked off, DEALER, I WILL FIND YOU
Straighten that picture in the background goddammit.
The expression "bacon slicer" comes to mind.
It's "talwar" not "tulwar"
Please see my videos on this topic. Roughly 80% of historical sources write 'tulwar' and 20% write 'talwar'. Remember that Indian pronunciation is not important here - the ability to use English written words to search in English language documents is important.
scholagladiatoria no offence bro.. Was trying to clarify :)
I can't flex any of my 1796 blades like that 😁 they'd go through my hand!
I have the trooper version of the Indian Cavalry sword and it is not flexible like the one in the video and would indeed go through your hand!
Well thrusting swords are useless battlefield weapons, they have no stopping power or any versatility in their use besidez turning the sword arround and using it as a club (which would make it actually usefull in any combat situation) their complete dogshit in general and find rapier and smallsword fencing easy to overcome and overly complicated as i have beaten a rapier fencing champ with only my trench knife