My first antique blade, help with ID?

[AUhills79]

Originally Posted by Rick

Peter, is there any chance you could find out from the seller where he sourced it from?

It's an out of town dealer so I sent an e-mail asking, saying I was working on researching the knife and it's provenance but haven't heard back. Not sure if he is going to reply, I negotiated him down to less than half the asking price when I bought it and now I'm getting back to him asking additional questions so probably not his favorite customer. They specialize in sculpture and art this knife was a pretty random item for them to have I think and definitely outside their area of expertise. I would guess most of their inventory comes from local estates and estate auctions there around Austin, Texas though.

Chances are this blade has been here in the States for some time but will probably never know for certain. Now knowing it's age I'd like to imagine it being carried and used by men throughout the whole development of the America from Colonial days to our Declaration of Independence, adventuring into the wild west and all the way through the Civil War until more modern times.

In all actuality though if the blade was commissioned by the English as seems likely it really could have been here since all the way back in colonial days

[Rick]

It could possibly date to the era of The Great Migration which occurred fairly shortly after the success of the Plymouth colony. You are a lucky guy.

[midelburgo]

I think you have two inscriptions from two different times/places.

The one with Me fecit Solingen has "E"s that you often find in XVIIth German exports into Spain, imitating a sort of Spanish XVIth c. script. You find many swords attributed to SEBASTIAN HERNANDEZ, with that sort of "E"s.

On the other hand, NEC TEMERE NEC TIMIDI is not a motto that you find in Spanish swords. Its "E"s are more an Italian (standard) type.

Maybe your knife (and possibly some Scottish backswords) could have started life as a double edge blade.

I put Sebastian Hernandez and sword in google, and I got this officers 1728...