British Royal Navy Dress Saber with white faux rayskin grip – Universal Swords

Still carried today by the Royal Navy as a dress sword, the Royal Navy dress saber bears the marks of tradition, history and Empire. First issued in 1827, this style sword has stayed largely the same since its inception. The heavily-etched blade bears the symbols and seals of the British Empire and the anchor of its Navy. The brass hilt bears a large, fouled anchor and a part of it is hinged to latch onto a scabbard stud for security. The lion-head pommel hearkens back to the blade of Nelson himself. Most examples have a rayskin grip, but this example has fine, ribbed brown leather inlaid with copper wire. The scabbard is leather with brass accents and two suspension rings. A leather washer at the base of the blade protects the crossguard from colliding into the brass throat of the scabbard.

First introduced in 1827, this sword was carried by the Navy through a whole host of conflicts to today. As mentioned it was adopted by every other Commonwealth navy that was part of the British Empire. Indeed it is likely this sword even found its way into the hands of the officers of the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. This beautiful sword is made in the gothic style with some harkening back to Nelson’s times with the lion’s head pommel/back strap.

The solid bowl guard is pebbled to create the illusion of negative space, and in the centre is, of course, is a crown and fouled anchor. The sword knot slot in the guard has been rounded to allow the Navy cord knot to pass through. A very nice touch is the folding rear part of the guard which latches into a stud on the gilt brass top piece of the scabbard. This latching system is requisite for Naval officer side arm especially onboard during a gale. The white imitation fish skin grip is wrapped with gilt wire to complete the look of the gold plated (gilt) hilt.