Midshipman Saber episode " THE BOOK OF THE SAILOR KNIFE "

Midshipman Saber..

 Recently obtained at a fair

 Brass knob with the Leon very well worked.

 

 The blade is adorned with floral motifs..

 It is shorter than the Endowment Sabers of the Spanish Navy.

 

 With anchor and crown.  There are other similar sabers in Spain and it is believed (those in the know) that they could be of British origin... for someone with money who would not mind paying for an English-made saber.

 ..

 

 The handle seems to be made of plastic... with a very well-crafted and robust thick brass guard...

 Cut and paste from a blog LA HOPLOTECA:

 In 1717, the Company of Royal Midshipmen was also created, and annexed to it, the academy for its instruction, thus guaranteeing the training of future officers of the General Corps of the Navy.  This Company, reconverted in 1825 into the Royal and Military College of Midshipmen established in the Carraca arsenal in Cádiz, already regulated in its Provisional Regulations, article 97, the uniformity of the young guards, citing "a short saber of yellow metal" as regulatory weapons.  Later, in December 1845, we find the following description regarding the uniform and weapons: "... three-cornered hat, narrow gold galloon with red cockade, and saber-sword..." and again in the "Regulations for the regime and government of the Marine Guards and Marine Artillery Cadets on board" in its articles 78 and 79 it mentions the saber:

 "It is made up: the gala (...) like that of the Officers of the General Corps

 of the Navy, (...) saber like these, but always with a belt and suspenders

 black patent leather and gold metal plate to fasten it, chiselled in

 her an anchor and crown fringed with oak and laurel leaves..."

 Thus implying that in 1845, the armament of the young Midshipmen was identical to that of the Officers of the General Corps of the Navy, with the exception of cases of size, given the short age of admission between 14 and 16 years, as can be seen in a multitude of portraits and miniatures, as well as in the sabers that have survived to this day, such as the example presented below.

 The example we illustrate:

 It is a Saber for Officer of the General Corps of the Navy, model 1844/57, suitable for the measurements of a young Midshipman.

 It consists of a gilt bronze bowl with a flat ridge on the inside and a handguard ring on the outside.  On the guard emblem of the General Corps of the Navy consisting of an anchor with stocks and hawser stamped with a royal crown.  (In this case we can verify that the crown is the English one with four diadems, instead of the Spanish one with eight diadems. This detail allows us to assert the English origin of the garrison, which, on the other hand, is quite common in the sabers of the Spanish Navy preserved, a circumstance due to a possible higher quality of the manufacture, or at the mere whim of the owner) all inserted in an oval and surrounded by strong ribs on a dotted field according to the model.  The collapsible hinge counterguard, to enable the girdling of the same on the uniform.  The ribbed cuff is made of ivory, and equipped with a brass wire braid.  It has a continuous ferrule and mount that ends on the pommel in a beautiful lion's head according to the model.

 The curved blade with a rounded spine on the inside and a running edge on the outside that is raised and doubled at the tip, originally etched according to the model, but now practically lost.

 Black leather scabbard with interior wooden ribs, and brass sets.  On the corner we can see a shield stamped with a Spanish royal crown, inside which "Ignacio Rovira Cadiz" has been written, manufacturer

 As a note, we will add that the blade, of a very reduced width, has very possibly been suitable from an original for the small garrison intended for its young owner.

 Detail of the arms of the General Corps of the Navy with the English Royal Crown

 Pommel detail on the lion's head

 Detail of the curbstone with the manufacturer's shield

 Ignacio Rovira of Cadiz

 Detail of the Saucer Garrison "Francesada" in a specimen from the author's collection donated to the Naval Museum of Madrid

 Lithograph dated 1844 where the design of the model 1844/57 saber can be seen (Museo Nava del Madrid)

 Lithograph dated 1856 where the design of the saber model 1844/57 can be seen (Museo Naval de Madrid)

 Saber for Officer of the General Corps of the Navy, model 1844/57

 Overall Length: 810mm.

 Blade length: 690 mm

 Blade Width: 18 mm

 Heel Sheet Thickness: 4 mm.

 Saber for Officer of the General Corps of the Navy, model 1844/57

 Portrait of the Midshipman Don Enrique Godinez y Mihura 1845-1866 in which

 the saber model 1844/57 of reduced dimensions can be seen (Naval Museum of Madrid)

 Miniature of Midshipman Cesáreo Fdez. Duro dated 1845 (Naval Museum of Madrid)

 Bibliography:

 -Spanish Portable Armament 1764-1939.  B. Barceló Madrid 1976

 -3 Centuries of Portable Weapons in Spain.  B. Barcelo.  Cala Millor 2002

 -Catalogue of White Weapons of the Naval Museum of Madrid.  M.J Melero/Adolfo Bernalte Madrid 2006

 -Brief review of the ordinances since 1717 regarding the weapons used by the different bodies of the Spanish Navy.  Adolfo Bernalte Sanchez.  Madrid 2006

 The Hoplotheque