Scots Greys sword discovery

Ian Knight · 10th August 2010, 01:35 PM

Thanks Gene,
I am very pleased at the way that it turned out. I had already bought a hatchet bladed Scots Greys sword a couple of weeks before so I knew what marks to look out for.
I aquired another fine sword last week. It is a French 1812 dated AN XI. It too was in rusty condition and the brass guard was almost black in colour. Luckily the previous owner had smeared the blade in grease. When I cleaned the sabre up the blade came up as new with most of its original polish.

Ian

Atlantia · 10th August 2010, 02:53 PM

Thats a lovely weapon. You've certainly been very fortunate recently!
It never fails to amaze me just how efficient these steel scabbards are at protecting blades. Given a good smear of grease they can protect a neglected blade virtually until the rust eats through from the outside.

Jim McDougall · 10th August 2010, 08:01 PM

Absolutely fantastic find Ian!!! "Scotland Forever"!!!!
On the scabbards, one of the biggest problems was the iron scabbards, as these things dulled the swords incredibly, from a much more contemporary situation. In reading "Nolan of Balaklava" I believe it was, it speaks of the British noting the fearsome use of sabres by the warriors in India, and tried to discover what made these so gruesomely effective. They were stunned when they found the blades were old M1796 cavalry sabre blades.
The Indians kept these honed razor sharp,well oiled and in wood lined scabbards. In Europe, many of the cavalry sabres were also timber lined, as were some of the British M1788s.
The grease is they key

Ian, it seems another of these (unless it was this one) was discussed recently and I cannot recall about the numbers. Obviously the 2D was 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), but there was some key data about the 14 and Bn number. What was that?

All the best,
Jim

10th August 2010, 01:35 PM	#1
Ian Knight Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: East Sussex, England. Posts: 103	Thanks Gene, I am very pleased at the way that it turned out. I had already bought a hatchet bladed Scots Greys sword a couple of weeks before so I knew what marks to look out for. I aquired another fine sword last week. It is a French 1812 dated AN XI. It too was in rusty condition and the brass guard was almost black in colour. Luckily the previous owner had smeared the blade in grease. When I cleaned the sabre up the blade came up as new with most of its original polish. Ian Attached Images Last edited by Ian Knight; 10th August 2010 at 03:27 PM.

10th August 2010, 02:53 PM	#2
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Thats a lovely weapon. You've certainly been very fortunate recently! It never fails to amaze me just how efficient these steel scabbards are at protecting blades. Given a good smear of grease they can protect a neglected blade virtually until the rust eats through from the outside.

10th August 2010, 08:01 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,195	Absolutely fantastic find Ian!!! "Scotland Forever"!!!! On the scabbards, one of the biggest problems was the iron scabbards, as these things dulled the swords incredibly, from a much more contemporary situation. In reading "Nolan of Balaklava" I believe it was, it speaks of the British noting the fearsome use of sabres by the warriors in India, and tried to discover what made these so gruesomely effective. They were stunned when they found the blades were old M1796 cavalry sabre blades. The Indians kept these honed razor sharp,well oiled and in wood lined scabbards. In Europe, many of the cavalry sabres were also timber lined, as were some of the British M1788s. The grease is they key Ian, it seems another of these (unless it was this one) was discussed recently and I cannot recall about the numbers. Obviously the 2D was 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), but there was some key data about the 14 and Bn number. What was that? All the best, Jim