Iron sword?!!! Say it isn't so!
Actually, iron swords were still popular during the time period, but usually of the cutlass variety and they were blackened with paint (or tar!) to prevent rusting. Prior to the popularity of brass hilts, iron hilted hangers and hunting cuttoes were quite popular with officers. I'm just happy to see once again the variations of this pattern and the documentation of naval usage. 'Nando, you were right about searching under 'garde tournante'! Pulls up all manner of information. Interesting that there are few sites outside of the French pages covering this type of sword (our Forum one of the scant few). I understand it being a French sword with said interests on those sites, but if one searches for shiavonna, for instance, you don't have to go to Italian pages!! Thanks again, Jim and Fernando, for your input and especially the pics! Iron sword, indeed!
