Heres the thing, it is difficult to say that a certain form of sword was or was not ever used in combat, as in times of war or insurgence many implements and otherwise unexpectedly chosen arms become ersatz weaponry.
In groupings of weapons gathered as trophies after conflicts and battles, any weapon whether used in the interaction or simply taken as booty from various sources are lumped together and assumed actually used. Naturally the embellishment displaying these trophies portrays them all as 'taken in battle'. I cannot even recount the number of weapons researched that have proven them far from the stories attached to them.
The confusion between these conical hilted swords with good solid European blades, and those which have been fitted with much lighter blades intended specifically for parade and ceremonial events has become almost legion. These swords were worn as status symbols by Omanis in their Zanzibari sphere and these were indeed fitted with heavier European blades, in many cases well into the 20th century.
These examples could easily be presumed to have been used in combat, but the lighter 'dance' versions most certainly and emphatically were not.
The presence of these swords among gatherings of booty does not prove they were blooded weapons. It was much the same in Sudan after those campaigns....the numbers of kaskaras 'taken in battle' would prove that countless thousands of Ansar were vanquished in that campaign. It was the souvenier industry which produced these 'trophies' .
Burton (1884), wrote after his time in Zanzibar some years before regarding the conical swords of Omani's there, "...the usual shape carried by the Arab gentlemen, is three feet to three and a half feet long, the long tang tapers toward the hilt, and is cased in wood and leather. The pommel is cylindrical and the grip wants guard and quillons. Demmin (1877, p.396) finds it difficult to understand how this singular weapon could be wielded.
IT SERVES MOSTLY FOR SHOW, and when wanted is used like a quarterstaff with both hands. But the Zanzibaris sword is always clumsy, as dangerous to the wielder as the old blade of the Gauls and ancient Britons".
Fig, 183b, p.166.
Could one of these have been used in combat....of course, if overrun or attacked, who wouldn't use whatever they had. These accoutrements, just as any court sword or parade sword might be used as a defensive weapon in the moment. But, made and intended for use in warfare, probably not.
Swords were secondary weapons in that respect, subordinate to firearms, and as such were shorter, as hangers, and most likely sabres.
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