My Great Grandfather's Sword

S.Al-Anizi · 6th October 2006, 06:58 PM

Hello,

After many attempts, and years of waiting, I finally got the chance to examine my g.grandfather's sword up close. Last Saturday, I found my grandfather in a 'good' mood

I asked him for it, to clean and restore it abit (its in a terrible condition), he accepted. This sword has been in possesion of my g.grandfather since his youth, as I was told. This sword, and a daghestani flintlock pistol is all that remains of him in the family, and both have been passed onto my grandfather, who has kept them, but did not care for them that much

The crossguard is broken, the knuckle chain was broken off, the blade is deeply rusted and pitted, probably due to bad storage in the humid basement.

The hilt and scabbard are low quality Syrian work. I was told earlier by my late father, that that sword had pure gold fittings, a fact confirmed by grandfather when I talked to him. He said he took the sword, with its old and damaged, but valuable and original gold fittings, to Damascus in the early 90's, where he had them replaced with these ones you see. Thin brasswork with a gold crust, and synthetic leather. The hilt is very unorthodox, it is of cast brass, fixed somehow to the tang, no adhesive, no rivets, I dont know its fixed, but it is solid. The hilt is composed of four parts, the crossguard, hooked-pommel, the handle, and the knuckle chain. Both the scabbard and hilt are of nejdi style, but with enlarged dimensions, something that is usual with contemporary syrian work. They just cant get things straight. The blade is according to my research, french, pattern 1822 LC, made in August 1878, at Chatterlaut. It is also pitted badly, and there some nicks, at the COP. I do not discard the idea that this sword has seen some real use, keeping into mind my g.grandfather's history, it likely has been used somehow. The edge has lost its sharpness, most probably due to the brass scabbard mouth, which rubs against the edge every time the blade is drawn or sheathed.

Since I got it, I have been working on the blade, hilt and scabbard. I have reattached the knuckle chain, polished the scabbard as much as I could, and cleaned the blade from the the active rust, and also tried to polish it. I know that this sword isnt worth much in monetary terms, I know that there are probably more than 1 million 1822 LC blades around in the world, but this sword has a special value to me personally, as an heirloom in our family for almost a century now.

Questions:

1. How could a blade made in 1878, moreso a french military issue, reach a nejdi bedouin from the early 1900's? Did these swords reach merchants?
2. What is the best way to fix the crossguard to the hilt? Would some light brass welding work? Wouldnt that damage and melt the other brass material?
3. Is there a way I could further remove the pitting and polish the blade, without taking too much material away (sanding), or damaging the temper (buffing)?
4. Does anyone know of a workshop in Syria, or better in Arabia, that can re-fit this blade?

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6th October 2006, 06:58 PM	#1
S.Al-Anizi Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arabia Posts: 278	My Great Grandfather's Sword Hello, After many attempts, and years of waiting, I finally got the chance to examine my g.grandfather's sword up close. Last Saturday, I found my grandfather in a 'good' mood I asked him for it, to clean and restore it abit (its in a terrible condition), he accepted. This sword has been in possesion of my g.grandfather since his youth, as I was told. This sword, and a daghestani flintlock pistol is all that remains of him in the family, and both have been passed onto my grandfather, who has kept them, but did not care for them that much The crossguard is broken, the knuckle chain was broken off, the blade is deeply rusted and pitted, probably due to bad storage in the humid basement. The hilt and scabbard are low quality Syrian work. I was told earlier by my late father, that that sword had pure gold fittings, a fact confirmed by grandfather when I talked to him. He said he took the sword, with its old and damaged, but valuable and original gold fittings, to Damascus in the early 90's, where he had them replaced with these ones you see. Thin brasswork with a gold crust, and synthetic leather. The hilt is very unorthodox, it is of cast brass, fixed somehow to the tang, no adhesive, no rivets, I dont know its fixed, but it is solid. The hilt is composed of four parts, the crossguard, hooked-pommel, the handle, and the knuckle chain. Both the scabbard and hilt are of nejdi style, but with enlarged dimensions, something that is usual with contemporary syrian work. They just cant get things straight. The blade is according to my research, french, pattern 1822 LC, made in August 1878, at Chatterlaut. It is also pitted badly, and there some nicks, at the COP. I do not discard the idea that this sword has seen some real use, keeping into mind my g.grandfather's history, it likely has been used somehow. The edge has lost its sharpness, most probably due to the brass scabbard mouth, which rubs against the edge every time the blade is drawn or sheathed. Since I got it, I have been working on the blade, hilt and scabbard. I have reattached the knuckle chain, polished the scabbard as much as I could, and cleaned the blade from the the active rust, and also tried to polish it. I know that this sword isnt worth much in monetary terms, I know that there are probably more than 1 million 1822 LC blades around in the world, but this sword has a special value to me personally, as an heirloom in our family for almost a century now. Questions: 1. How could a blade made in 1878, moreso a french military issue, reach a nejdi bedouin from the early 1900's? Did these swords reach merchants? 2. What is the best way to fix the crossguard to the hilt? Would some light brass welding work? Wouldnt that damage and melt the other brass material? 3. Is there a way I could further remove the pitting and polish the blade, without taking too much material away (sanding), or damaging the temper (buffing)? 4. Does anyone know of a workshop in Syria, or better in Arabia, that can re-fit this blade? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.