I got my first Antique Saber! | Part 1: 1821/1845 British Wilkinson Officer's Sword

Today is a very special video. We're taking a look at an antique, a real British fighting saber. Normally on this channel I review reproductions of swords that are historically inspired, but today we're actually going to be taking a look at an original. This is my very first antique sword I've ever owned, and it is a British 1845 pattern artillery officer's sword. So where did I get this sword and where can you find it? This particular sword came from an Etsy shop called Vortex Finds, owned by a wonderful gentleman named John. I saw this listed on their site at the time for about 650 US dollars. It came with a scabbard and a whole bunch of other accoutrements that I'll get into later in the review. And after doing some research, and I do mean research, I went down a rabbit hole because of this, I decided to purchase this one. He has a very large selection of antique British sabers and other swords and knives on his page, and he was extremely responsive. So John, thank you for telling me more about this sword before purchasing, and I would certainly buy from Vortex Finds again. Aside from just wanting to own a piece of history, why did I buy this sword? Quite frankly, I wanted something that I could eventually cut with that wasn't a reproduction. I wanted something that was true to the original because it's an original. And the appearance of this style of sword is something that I've wanted for a very long time. For over a year now, I've been researching this particular pattern of sword. So when I saw one in the condition that it came to me in, I had to jump on it. Now, on sites like Vortex Finds and even more famous ones like Matt Easton's Antique Company, there are different swords that are going to be in different conditions, and you should know before purchasing what kind of work it's going to take to restore a sword like that without destroying its historical value. There are swords that are going to cost a little bit less, and there are swords that are going to cost a little bit more. And you want to make sure that whatever you're purchasing isn't going to be ruined by any work that you put into it. And I do recommend that if you're going to restore a sword that is worth a lot historically and even monetarily, definitely get it professionally cleaned and sharpened. So you might be asking, why would I use an antique for cutting when there are reproductions out there that I could just purchase and cut with it and not risk damaging a piece of history? Well, there really isn't. If you look on the market currently for quality cutting sabers, there's only a handful of companies making good quality reproductions that feel close to, if not exactly like, the original. And because you can buy a sword like this for roughly three to four hundred dollars, depending on the condition it comes in, that's about the price, if not a little bit cheaper, than some of the good reproductions that are out there. Now, as I stated before, I'm one of the senior fencing instructors here at Ludus Ferocia, and one of the disciplines we teach is the Highland broadsword and British saber from the Roleworth traditions. Roleworth's manual, The Art of Defense, details how to fight with a myriad of different swords, ranging from the saber to the broadsword, spadroon, and other swords as well. But this manual was designed for soldiers to learn fencing techniques relatively quickly, so it's a very good reference point for a lot of HEMA practitioners to start with, and that's why we love it. The general look of this sword started as an 1821 pattern saber, both in the trooper's model and officer's model. This was a replacement for the very famous 1796 light cavalry saber, which was much curvier and much choppier. We've reviewed a reproduction of that sword already, and it is a very popular sword with HEMAists. Now, the original trooper's model of the 1821 had what is known as a pipe back blade that literally has a pipe type structure on the back of the blade near the spine. I don't know if that structure is welded onto the blade or it is actually milled out of the blade. I assume it is just welded onto the back and then ground together to make it look like one seamless thing, but the larger pipe structure on the back of the blade would serve to be able to block things a little bit better using the spine and not actually break blades. If you didn't know this, one of the surest ways to snap a blade is to strike it on the back of the spine where there is already a pre-existing fracture. So if you have a deep chip in your blade and then you so happen to strike just on that same spot on the spine of your blade, the chances of you getting a catastrophic failure is way high. I wonder if that's the reason why they had that pipe structure. I'm not sure. If you do know, please let me know in the comments. I'd love to know the history behind that. Now, a lot of people did not like the pipe back design because it limited cutting through certain targets such as larger wool coats and other pieces of clothing. So the 1845 pattern blade came about and this was made by the Wilkinson Sword Company to replace the pipe back design. So let's talk about the Wilkinson Sword Company for just a second because their story and involvement in this design is just so interesting. The Wilkinson Sword Company was based out of England and it was run by a man named Henry Wilkinson who took the company over from his father-in-law who was previously making firearms. In the mid-1800s, Henry realized that there was a lack of quality in a lot of other swords and so he sought out to create a process to make superior blades for military use. This resulted in the creation of the 1845 pattern blade which has this iconic spear point and fuller and of course no pipe back. The Wilkinson Company would continue to have a meteoric rise. There was a huge scandal that occurred in 1885 to where sword bayonets that were being used in military service broke and bent in combat which resulted in a large loss of life. The Wilkinson Sword Company was tasked with making over 150,000 bayonets which is the largest order that they've ever taken. This prompted Henry to be able to move their factory into a new location and expand their operation, securing their legacy in British sword making history. The Wilkinson Factory stayed open until 2005. Having tracked them to be in business for 160 years but there's so much more to show you close up so let's go to the table. While the sword is based on an 1845 pattern artillery officer's sword, it was meant for the Royal Army Supply Corps unit and it was not forged in the 19th century. It was forged at around 1950 making it a hundred years after this design gained popularity and we know this because of the The acid etching on this particular blade is beautiful and very prominent and adds a level of refinement to the sword that not every version of the sword has. The very back of the hilt is checkered and hides a peen that holds the sword together. A lot of other versions of this sword have either a screw pommel or the peen hanging off of the pommel itself which doesn't look bad but I really like the attention to detail on this sword not having one at all. Moving down to the guard this is a three bar or sometimes known as a two bar hilt and it is my personal favorite aesthetically out of all of the saber guards that I've trained with but it was possibly one of the most successful hilt designs in British history due to its level of hand protection versus how easy it is to carry the sword. The grip itself is carved wood covered by a fish skin covering and wrapped with brass wire. It has a very grippy feel and it would be perfect to use with gloves. Aesthetically I am a big fan of checkered back straps and I do like resting my thumb there even if I do not always use the saber grip in my cuts. The checkered back strap on this model goes all the way through the grip and feels great in the hand once you index your thumb to it. One of the reasons why buying a Wilkinson sword is so much fun is because you get to research who carried this sword in what unit they were with. You really do get a piece of history but to do this you must have a serial number that is etched on the back of the spine of your sword. Mine doesn't happen to have one. Instead all we see is a Made in England stamp on the back of the spine. There's a lot of reasons why this might be but the most plausible is that this sword was used as a window display to sell razor blades. That's right razor blades. Wilkinson swords made razor blades later in their career. They would often send swords like this to outlets to put in their windows as a marketing gimmick but that does not make this sword a wall hanger. Every single one of these pieces was forged and proofed exactly like their issued counterparts. At the very bottom of the ricasso we have this very distinctive part of the blade which is known as the proof disc. This disc is surrounded by what is known as a Damascus star which doesn't really hold any religious significance but is a representation of bond and strength by having two triangles interlocking each other. We'll get to what this device actually is in just a bit. Moving down the blade the fuller goes deep into the center of the blade and does lighten up the blade quite a bit. It also creates a nice amount of sword wind when doing proper edge alignment. This blade terminates into what I would consider to be a very handsome spear point which makes the sword an excellent cutter and thruster. Every one of these swords was hot rolled in a gigantic machine out of high carbon spring steel and quenched in oil or water just like any other usable fighting blade would be. But what makes these blades so special especially in the time that they were first made is how these swords were tested and certified. Henry Wilkinson knew that many of his contemporaries were making swords of inferior quality and he wanted a way to not only market to the general public that his swords were superior but a way to prove it. He did this through an invention of his own called the Eprevet machine. Now I couldn't find a whole lot of information on what this machine is or was but apparently this machine was in that factory all the way up until 2005. Every sword that was made from the 1845 period and onward maybe even before that including bayonets were all tested through this same process. Wilkinson and a person who worked as his general manager would personally test every one of these swords, certify them on paper, and denote based on how their quality was and classify each of these swords by quality using one of these slugs. Now Wilkinson had three categories that he would bucket these swords in. The very first one has no slug at all and that is going to be what I would consider maybe like a munitions grade, right? This is something that you would give to a trooper. It doesn't have to be the highest quality but it passed their tests for flexibility and durability. The next would be a circular disc and this would denote a good quality sword, something that was above average. Lastly you would have what is called a hexagonal slug and this is going to be what I have right here. This was to note best quality. I don't necessarily know what that means but these were the swords that performed the best during their tests. Now here's what I know about the Eprevet machine. It was designed, and this is quoting from Henry Wilkinson, to be able to exceed the force that humans can impart on a blade during battle. Essentially he wanted to engineer a blade that a human being would not be able to break under normal use. The two classifications of tests he would do is a flexibility test and an impact test. The Eprevet machine could flex blades up to 30 degrees and if they did not take a set they were passed on to the next test. This test was an impact test in which they would strike the blade at the point of percussion. That is going to be when you hit the bottom of a blade at the pommel, the section of the blade that does not vibrate. That is the point of percussion. It is the best place to actually strike a target because the most amount of force is going to be going into it. So they would strike it right at that spot and based on whatever measurements and classifications they would use in the factory, determine the quality of the blade. They would stamp it with a slug and they would put it on paper. They would ship it out to a unit, send it off to a retailer, or have it picked up by the officer that ordered it. This is a part of the Wilkinson story that I'm most fascinated by but I know the least about. So if you do know the parameters in which the Wilkinson company structured these tests, I really want to know what a hexagonal slug or a round slug or a slugless blade would have had to go through for it to actually pass this kind of test. I don't really know the difference between a round slug and a hexagonal slug for example. So if you're somebody who has this information and you'd like to let me know in the comments, please do so. This marketing gimmick became so popular that many other sword companies started copying it. Whether or not they were actually proofing their swords in the same manner, I don't know. But you can find other sabers and other swords with these brass and sometimes even gold plated inlays that is supposed to follow the same marketing ploy that Wilkinson did. Now when I purchased this sword from John, it did come with a scabbard, frog, and sword knot. What I like about this scabbard is it is wood cored with a leather covering. And why that matters to me is many of these swords come with steel scabbards. Steel scabbards will end up dulling your edge but they are better for horseback because they're more durable. This is probably going to break on a horse at some point. But if you were someone who was on foot, this might be a very good option to make sure that the edge on your sword is very very much alive and sharp. I really like this opening here. I mean this is of course historical so whether you know whether I like it or not really doesn't matter. But it is very functional. It melds into the design of the scabbard very nicely and the sword goes in and out without any friction. There's no grinding of the edge that you would hear in some of the steel counterparts. This scabbard also came with what I would just call a sword frog. This is most likely to attach onto an officer's belt. Because I don't have an officer's belt I really don't know how this attaches just yet. But I'm glad it came with it. It looks really cool and I'm sure I'll be able to find a way to attach it properly in the future. And lastly it came with this little device right here. This is called a sword knot. Now I had to do some research on what this thing is because it's usually attached to the grip right here. And I found a really useful video from Matt Easton's channel Scholar Gladiatoria. The sword knot is designed to wrap around the wrist almost as a lanyard. But a lot of people ended up replacing these with a simple silk scarf. I hope you guys enjoyed our first look at my first antique sword. I am so thrilled to have this. I went down a rabbit hole to study up on British sabers. And just because of my fascination with the 1821 pattern I ended up learning a lot about other sabers and the history of the Wilkinson Sword Company. So it was a wonderful journey and I hope to continue taking it. If you're interested in antique swords of any kind I definitely would check out Vortex Finds on Etsy. I'll link their store in our description. I had a great time talking with John. He's very knowledgeable and very upfront with everything he is selling. And it's a very good avenue to purchase antique swords and get into this hobby maybe even as a HEMAist and not just a collector. Currently we're revamping our website with new features but our classes are still going on seven days a week. So if you are in the Hampton Roads area and you want to train with us in the various HEMA disciplines that we teach definitely check out our website www.historicalfightingarts.com. And we now sell our own coffee so if you're interested in a dark roast coffee from Papua New Guinea definitely go to the website and make your order and I'll ship it out to you myself. If you're interested in seeing how this sword is going to cut in our next video make sure to hit that like and subscribe button so you know when it drops. See you next time. Bye!