Misecorde, Stiletto, ?

JoeCanada42 · 19th August 2022, 02:04 AM

Hi everyone, I would appreciate any help with this,

Just won this last Tuesday and picked it up today.
the local online auction called it, vintage dagger 9.5 inches, based on the auction photos i couldn't tell if it was a letter opener, the brass looked too clean in auction photos, nevertheless a few things drew me to it, I payed for it ,there was another bidder I took it from 20 to almost 100.

I figured it could be a misecorde or stiletto or something along those lines.

it is actually a 9 3/4 blade and 15 inches total length
I liked the fuller and little bit of ricasso, I liked the bone showed age and stain. now that I see it closer in the damaged part you can see the bone has lines like a tree would. the brass looked clean of tarnish because it is gold gilt. but looking close clearly shows age.

the guard appears damaged as if missing finials
the handle is pinned in place, it does not unscrew..
I'm Shure it could cut, but it doesn't appear sharpened.

JoeCanada42 · 19th August 2022, 02:41 AM

sorry for the blurry photos I will only be able to get better photos next week...

M ELEY · 19th August 2022, 08:20 AM

Hello. It looks like you have a very distressed naval midshipman's dirk. Based on the smaller size, it would be classified as more of a dress piece versus the typically larger/plainer 'fighting' dirks. These were a symbol of one's rank among the more common seamen on the ship. It showed that you were a young officer (some as young as 10!) and could climb the ranks in the naval hierachy. Yours appears to be of the period ca 1800-20's. Still a nice historical piece...

fernando · 19th August 2022, 11:34 AM

Agreed

.

JoeCanada42 · 19th August 2022, 05:43 PM

awesome thanks for helping me figure out what it is, indeed it is great news
I am researching it and have seen a few similar examples, most times called British but at least once called American.

so what happened to the guard? was it damaged, did someone want it to be easier to conceal? if i had to guess the finials on the guard were cut off. hammered down into disks and used as trade currency.

kronckew · 19th August 2022, 07:56 PM

the 1796 pre-victorian standardization of swords bled over into naval Midshipmans dirks slowly, the current eagle pommel pattern is from the mid-19c.

This is an example from around 1810, as officers in training, they were private purchase and varied wildly. This one looks fairly close to the posted one, tho lacking a larger oval disk, at the whim of the maker and purchaser. The cross guard quillions are niot yet broken off. The 'edges' would likely NOT be sharpened as the narrow blade's edge geometry would not allow for a decent cut, even if technically as sharp as a razor. Design is purely for thrusting of course.

19th August 2022, 02:04 AM	#1
JoeCanada42 Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Canada Posts: 259	Misecorde, Stiletto, ? Hi everyone, I would appreciate any help with this, Just won this last Tuesday and picked it up today. the local online auction called it, vintage dagger 9.5 inches, based on the auction photos i couldn't tell if it was a letter opener, the brass looked too clean in auction photos, nevertheless a few things drew me to it, I payed for it ,there was another bidder I took it from 20 to almost 100. I figured it could be a misecorde or stiletto or something along those lines. it is actually a 9 3/4 blade and 15 inches total length I liked the fuller and little bit of ricasso, I liked the bone showed age and stain. now that I see it closer in the damaged part you can see the bone has lines like a tree would. the brass looked clean of tarnish because it is gold gilt. but looking close clearly shows age. the guard appears damaged as if missing finials the handle is pinned in place, it does not unscrew.. I'm Shure it could cut, but it doesn't appear sharpened. Attached Images

19th August 2022, 07:56 PM	#6
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,259	the 1796 pre-victorian standardization of swords bled over into naval Midshipmans dirks slowly, the current eagle pommel pattern is from the mid-19c. This is an example from around 1810, as officers in training, they were private purchase and varied wildly. This one looks fairly close to the posted one, tho lacking a larger oval disk, at the whim of the maker and purchaser. The cross guard quillions are niot yet broken off. The 'edges' would likely NOT be sharpened as the narrow blade's edge geometry would not allow for a decent cut, even if technically as sharp as a razor. Design is purely for thrusting of course. Attached Images

19th August 2022, 02:41 AM	#2
JoeCanada42 Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Canada Posts: 259	sorry for the blurry photos I will only be able to get better photos next week...

19th August 2022, 08:20 AM	#3
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,206	Hello. It looks like you have a very distressed naval midshipman's dirk. Based on the smaller size, it would be classified as more of a dress piece versus the typically larger/plainer 'fighting' dirks. These were a symbol of one's rank among the more common seamen on the ship. It showed that you were a young officer (some as young as 10!) and could climb the ranks in the naval hierachy. Yours appears to be of the period ca 1800-20's. Still a nice historical piece...

19th August 2022, 11:34 AM	#4
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Agreed .

19th August 2022, 05:43 PM	#5
JoeCanada42 Member Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Canada Posts: 259	awesome thanks for helping me figure out what it is, indeed it is great news I am researching it and have seen a few similar examples, most times called British but at least once called American. so what happened to the guard? was it damaged, did someone want it to be easier to conceal? if i had to guess the finials on the guard were cut off. hammered down into disks and used as trade currency.