American Hunting Sword (Cuttoe)

American Hunting Sword (Cuttoe)

The colonial brass pommel head of this example is better defined than many. It is formed from two vertical shells joined at a median seam and secures the wooden grip which does not taper, but provides grooves for steep curving ropes of brass wire. The double-ended counterguard has symmetrical pierced designs that vary sufficiently to identify unskilled hand work. Its curving European blade bears engraved panoplies of arms, as well as the common 18th century "narrow and wide" fuller combination: 1/8" x 20 1/2"; 5/8" x 24 3/4".

Length: 33 7/8"
Blade: 27 3/4"
Weight: 1.3 lbs.
Hilt: Brass

George C. Neumann, Swords and Blades of the American Revolution, (Harrisburg: Stackpole Books, 1973), 102. (122.S)

c. 1770-1780

George C. Neumann Collection, Valley Forge National Historical Park

VAFO 322

Photograph