Smallswords, why the terms pillow and mourning swords?

[Dmitry]

This is what a japanned small-sword hilt looks like. It's a French sergeants hanger from the mid-1700s.
No officer or otherwise a person of means would have a sword like this, as Jim writes, the darkened appearance of the hilt was done by other, way more expensive means than the asphaltum-based paint [i.e. japanning] - blueing and russeting.