Masonic hilt with... a French Cuirassier blade?

[Jim McDougall]

Norman, THANK YOU!!! I had forgotten that magnificent example!!!!
The guard with symmetric trefoil quillon terminals in in accord with the fleuret /fluer di lis examples often seen, and on the one you show in this 2017 thread illustrate the conventions seen in many Masonic style hilts.

I got to my references:
"The American Fraternal Sword" , 2008, John D. Hamilton; Joseph Marino and James Kaplan.
"Material Culture of American Freemasons" John D. Hamiliton, 1994

On p.12 (2008) , "...the variety of swords encountered in American lodges in the late 19th c. range from military sabers and cutlasses to Saracen scimitars.
As various sword patterns were adopted and superceded by the military, the discards became readily available to many lodges that welcomed an 'implement of war' for tiling."

The Tyler of the lodge was charged with guarding the meetings from intruders or eavesdroppers, mostly of course in a symbolic manner. The sword held by him, unsheathed (many originally were flamberge or wavy blades) were inspired by the flaming sword guarding the 'Gates of Paradise' in the Bible.
Many swords were gifted to the lodges by war veterans .

In the 1840s, the US began adopting French sword patterns in developing thier own regulation patterns, and it is not surprising that an assortment of French swords became available in America from various circumstances, European immigration not withstanding.

This skull and crossbones hilt sword I had researched many years ago is another example of Masonic symbolism in hilts and mounted here also with a French cuirassier blade (the klingenthal inspector marks visible on the blade).