British military practice sword

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Peter Hudson

That was a very well placed web address and Matt Easton showed some blades marked with an E which must be Enfield marks .. However whereas late 19th C puts a squeeze on inclusion of Foils agewise, it may be noted that they were used as training swords in the 18thC and as Duelling swords especially by the French in the late 19thC and that was copied by German students..thus I believe they can be represented on these pages.

Regards, Peter Hudson.

Hi Peter,
Thank you for coming in on this, and its great to see you writing here!
Matt Easton's information was outstanding and the E I do believe stood for Enfield.
Well noted on the use of foils in the military in training exercises. It is most interesting that while the sword was in every sense technically obsolete, it was considered viable in training in the way fencing teaches not only dexterity, discipline but self confidence as required in combative situations.

Gen. George Patton, one of the strongest general's of this country, was a champion and world class fencer, and designed one of the finest swords this country had.......the 1913 'Patton' cavalry sword.
How ironic that it arrived in the 20th century, this took place.
Clearly the story of the sword cannot be defined within a chronology or confined to certain time frames.

The Spaniards were known for their venerable fencing (outdated) techniques and using equally older cuphilt rapiers well into the 19th century, but it was a matter of tradition and honor.....the key to the character of the sword.

With the example of training sword I posted here in the OP, as we have found (thanks to Will), this is quite likely an example from the British Raj in India, as the hilt resembles the character of the British M1908 grip on the Indian version.

Best regards
Jim