Feeling a little edgy today...

[Republican Blues]

Great little article on Civil War Cutlasses.......

http://www.oldswords.com/images/Cutlass Article CW for GR.pdf

 

[Nathanb1]

 

[tmh10]

The model 1861 looks more like my idea of a cutlass. They all look like they would do the job.

 

[Carronade]

Interesting - two very different types of weapons. 4 and 5 are what I've always thought of as cutlasses, with the curved, single-edged blade, plus a nice point for stabbing. The other three are straight and double-edged, optimal for stabbing although they can still slash. Then within that group, two of them have handguards which suggest that one edge is more likely to be facing the opponent, whether on attack or defense.

 

[Nathanb1]

It occurred to me after looking at this terrific post....we should have a thread called "Sharp Thingies and How to Tell Them Apart" for newbies. I now know the difference after four years, but I can see where we should be a reference for folks. Just how many "Can you identify this....." threads on swords and knives have we had in four years? A ton!

 

[diane]

Nice! Think the US navy issued dirks for a time, at least in the 1830s. The Royal Navy issued midshipmen dirks (probably because they were boys - too short for swords!) and they could get pretty formidable using both a cutlass and the dirk. (Imagine a 12 year old kid coming at you with that combination...! )

 

[Nathanb1]

Nice! Think the US navy issued dirks for a time, at least in the 1830s. The Royal Navy issued midshipmen dirks (probably because they were boys - too short for swords!) and they could get pretty formidable using both a cutlass and the dirk. (Imagine a 12 year old kid coming at you with that combination...! )

It's all fun and games till someone loses an eye.

 

[redbob]

It is interesting to me is that many of the sword designs of the Civil War are still the authorized sword designs for today's military. An example is the USMC NCO sword of the Civil War is the same design exactly that Marine NCOs are authorized to wear today. A classic is a classic is a classic.

 

[diane]

It's all fun and games till someone loses an eye.

Ahem...That's what Nelson said...!

 

[redriver6]

and if yer feelin really 'edgy'....

you can buy a CS Memphis Novelty Works artillery/naval short sword for only.....$1798.00.

(scroll past the twin barrelled/razor hook impalling device??)

http://www.championhillrelics.com/NewItems.htm