Smallswords, why the terms pillow and mourning swords?

M ELEY · 7th August 2010, 09:02 AM

I've noticed in some of the old artworks of sea captains that blackened steel 'japanned' smallswords were popular. At first, I wrote this off as perhaps nothing more than a "prop" given to the subject being painted for artistic purposes, but Annis comments that smallswords were indeed popular among the maritime folks. I was wondering aloud if the blackened steel was more rust-resistant, as other naval swords that were painted or tarred black. Here's a sea captain (with an interesting history) whose pic is in the National Maritime Museum. Note the blackened hilt. Click on his pic for a bigger view.

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/exp...cfm?ID=BHC2928

7th August 2010, 09:02 AM	#10
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,141	I've noticed in some of the old artworks of sea captains that blackened steel 'japanned' smallswords were popular. At first, I wrote this off as perhaps nothing more than a "prop" given to the subject being painted for artistic purposes, but Annis comments that smallswords were indeed popular among the maritime folks. I was wondering aloud if the blackened steel was more rust-resistant, as other naval swords that were painted or tarred black. Here's a sea captain (with an interesting history) whose pic is in the National Maritime Museum. Note the blackened hilt. Click on his pic for a bigger view. http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/exp...cfm?ID=BHC2928