Help to identify a sword

[Almonzo]

Hello all members,

I'm new here but I read a lot of the forum threads and like edged
weapons.

I have this strange sword to identify please.

For most of my friends it is just a fantasy sword but I think it is good.

[Lee]

Instructions as to how to attach photos to threads are provided here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13631

[Oriental Armament Collection]

Originally Posted by Almonzo

Hello all members,

I'm new here but I read a lot of the forum threads and like edged
weapons.

I have this strange sword to identify please.

For most of my friends it is just a fantasy sword but I think it is good.

Welcome! I'm new here too, and I'm looking forward to seeing your sword.

[Almonzo]

Hello thank you,
I tried , now I hope it will be ok.

Sword is a mix of medieval pommel and hilt with a celtic ? ?
guard and blade

[Ian]

Your friends may be correct but I think you will get more responses in the European Armoury, so I'm transferring it there.

Regards,

Ian

[Almonzo]

Hello, OK thank you !

I put other pictures with more light,
The blade is really thin , sharp at edges and 3-4mm at the middle
With no visible central ridge

Thank you

[Lee]

I think that you are correct in your attribution of the styles of the various components. I do not recognize the whole, perhaps something along the lines of an militia infantry sword of the early 19th century, a hunting hanger or a particularly nicely made theatrical prop with some age. Hopefully someone will have more definitive ideas.

[werecow]

My guess would be a 19th century historicism piece, though I can't say I've ever seen another like it.

[Hotspur]

Possibly from the Hollywood sand &sandal era. I saw this one years ago, listed as a prop for the silent Ben Hur. B&W era stuff.

For some reason, my first impression was the type of stuff Kirby Wise may have made during the SCA years but this has real age showing.

[francantolin]

I'll be less harsh than my comrades.
The leather-covered guard is old, and the wide, flat, and sharp blade as you said , which shows clearly some age and is made of quality steel, reminds me of my 16th-century Italian sword/storta.
See my previous post: Strange blade on Italian(?) old sword

Is it a short sword or long sword?
The hilt, even though it looks like a Viking/Norman or Celtic type, reminds me of certain long cinquedeas from the same period, 1500-1600. Clearly, the leaf-shaped blade is anachronistic. Perhaps it was a special order with a beautiful medieval pommel. What is the sword's length and weight, by the way?

Kind regards

[werecow]

What are the measurements?

To me the hilt looks to be 1.5 hand sized but the sword as a whole looks like a one handed sword, so if that is the case the proportions are a bit off as compared to historical examples (but as it happens actually do match lots of movie swords). However it is hard to judge the real measurements from the picture.

[Almonzo]

Thank you all members for the messages,
I will look for old European Italian swords .

It is a large sword, I would have mentioned that.
The total length is 97,5cm/ 38,38 inches
Weight is 1,4 kg / 3.09 pounds
Balance of the blade is 16cm away from the guard.
Largest part of the blade is 6,5cm large/ 2,56 inches and really thin ,
a little larger in the middle as I already said
It don't look like a deco piece ,
the blade is really really sharp all around the sword ; except the 5-6 first centimeters near the guard.
For a movie, I don't think it will be the best .

[Victrix]

A movie prop would likely not be sharpened.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Almonzo

...the blade is really really sharp all around the sword ; except the 5-6 first centimeters near the guard...

That pretty much dismisses the possibility of a theatrical or film prop sword!

[werecow]

For the most part... although, I have two very sharp, very banged up Indonesian swords that were apparently used in a play about the Aceh wars.

But, those are originals, and it is admittedly unlikely that a sword made as a theater piece would be sharpened.

It could still be a historicism piece or a composite of some sort, though. That is where my money is.

[toaster5sqn]

It could still be a movie sword if it was for use in a scene where the wielder cuts through a object as a demonstration, then swapped for a blunt version for the fight scenes.

Honestly it's such a mishmash of parts that I can't think of anything except movie or historicism when I look at it.

Robert

[Almonzo]

I forgot to write that when I received the sword
It was very rusty and I cleaned it with a lot of baking soda.
I wanted it shiny but maybe it is too much and help to make it seems too "clean'/fake


I found , thank you ,
this 16th large cinquedea sword who don't looks older, guard is +/- look like
The pommel is as unusual as my wheel medieval pommel.
Maybe this one is recent too ?

I wonder if there are old steel leaf blades for comparison ,
The ones I found were all bronze made,
Sure iron/ steel avoid humidity and turn to rust then dust
but it is srange that since antiquity,, laTène period.
no celtics or just leaf blades steel models have been kept with care.

[Lee]

My understanding is that the "leaf-shaped" blade form reflects the properties of the bronze they were made from and that this form is not so relevant to steel blades. It is only rarely that any early European swords survive in better than excavated relic condition leading to much suspicion whenever there is no demonstrable provenance - but happy exceptions do exist.