Naval sword- opinions,please

M ELEY · 20th June 2005, 02:52 AM

I absolutely concur about the subculture of European items(not just swords) and would also add most Western "colonial-types" made in the field. I have been really taken by Spanish colonial pieces ever since I landed a nice Spanish Caribbean sword (or Spanish Moroccan, if Jim wishes to challenge me on this one!!LOL

, as these pieces truly fit into the ethnographic catagory by their very unique construction, artistic lisence and folk-artsy appeal. The handle on this sword is rather heavy, but balances fairly well I think with its relatively light sheet metal hilt. I hate to ask a really stupid question, but how does one tell if the hilt is brass or iron if it is covered in black-pitch paint? I would hate to scrape off any of the finish, as this is one of the few pieces of evidence that shows that it was made all together in antiquity (not a piece-meal sword!). Is there a test one can do with a magnet or something? (yes, I'm stupid when it comes to alloys!).

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20th June 2005, 02:52 AM	#14
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,141	I absolutely concur about the subculture of European items(not just swords) and would also add most Western "colonial-types" made in the field. I have been really taken by Spanish colonial pieces ever since I landed a nice Spanish Caribbean sword (or Spanish Moroccan, if Jim wishes to challenge me on this one!!LOL , as these pieces truly fit into the ethnographic catagory by their very unique construction, artistic lisence and folk-artsy appeal. The handle on this sword is rather heavy, but balances fairly well I think with its relatively light sheet metal hilt. I hate to ask a really stupid question, but how does one tell if the hilt is brass or iron if it is covered in black-pitch paint? I would hate to scrape off any of the finish, as this is one of the few pieces of evidence that shows that it was made all together in antiquity (not a piece-meal sword!). Is there a test one can do with a magnet or something? (yes, I'm stupid when it comes to alloys!).