Hi David,
The finial/knob/capstan routine is most often not a nut. We see these on a great many types of swords. However, one reason they were used in cutlery is to add a little relief of other parts. Attached is a prime example why there is a peen block added to a lot of assemblies. Some of them a bit over the edgewith the extreme nature of such a simple fixture.
Cheers
GC
Ps
Jim, we are all lifetime scholars of the swords and while I regard a great many periods as relevant, seem to have settled with study specifically looking at the federal period in the U.S. use, manufacture and import. The internet has opened a great deal and I will always admire the depth of research by yourself and others before the advents we see now. Narrowing further to just eagles, I currently have over 5,000 files of hundreds of variations just of those hilts. I am in no way an expert in any aspect of them but am raking up leaves in the shadows of such as Medicus, Lattimer and their own specialists such as Peterson, Neumann, Mowbray, et al. One book builds on another with more appearing all the time. I am more just an inventory accountant looking in the different bins for matches.
