[Nicholas Zeman]

I have had this for some years, I never posted pics on this forum so I thought I would get some more expert opinions on it in terms of origin, age, and condition. It is a damascus steel (well, at least it is patterned steel of some sort) spadroon, sold at the time as a Napoleonic period (perhaps 2nd Empire but I'm not sure) piece. Any opinions, input, etc?

[Nicholas Zeman]

more pics

[Steve Grisetti]

That is a very nice looking sword. It seems to be in very nice shape, and the blade is beautiful with the combination of the pattern welding and double fullers. The sword seems from the photos to have been very well-maintained, showing minimal patina.

[Nicholas Zeman]

Thank you, I purchased this a few years back from a Russian sword collector and antique restorer. He had an amazing eye for good finds, and he had several other Damascus spadroons, smallswords, and sabers in near perfect condition. This is one of the gems of my collection, and probably the highest value antique I own. It has a very steep diamond profile, with blunt edges, but is very stiff and thick, in fact a tad heavier than most of the spadroons I have handled, although it's balance is very well done. It is a thruster for sure, the tip tracks very well in the thrust, and it just feels right when thrusting.

The dealer claimed it's origin to be a Napoleonic guard sword, from the 2nd or 3rd Empire, certainly Damascus steel blades were not standard issue at the time for military sidearms so he postulated that it was probably custom made for the original owner, who was most likely a wealthy individual (judging from the expense of such a weapon at the time).

There is a numbered artillery engraving on the hilt, and there is a "Klingenthal" engraving on the forte. There is another mark on the other side of the forte, although I can't make out the script. I might be able to take another pic of the symbol and see if anyone knows what it means, or leads to a clue in the date and time of manufacture.