Hello Jim!
Saw this auction and thought about bidding on it. Another Brazilian espada, like the one I sent you to look at and featured under that pirate thread. I have seen some of these with straight, thin, relatively short blades and ones with the more classic curved, heavy (often-Brit import) blades. In your opinion, do you believe there is a chance that some of these more "cutlass-looking" bladed types might have seen sea service? After all, Brazil had much traffic leaving it's many ports, not to mention pirate activity. I could see the heavier-bladed examples being used as horseman's sabers, but their size and clumsiness, to me, limits them as a standard sidearm. The hilt still serves well as a cutlass, so I'm holding out for a vote of maritime use!
