British Blades 3

The heavy cavalry blades with Klingenthal markings in No. 1 to 10 are not the only such ones known to exist. A similarly blue and gilt decorated blade marked ‘Klingenthal’ along its back edge in the same style to those shown above was illustrated in an article by Richard Brown entitled A Troop Quartermaster’s Sword which appeared in the magazine Classic Arms & Militaria in 2008 (Vol. XV No. 3). The blade is decorated with the GR cypher of George III on both sides (as opposed to having the Royal Arms on one side) and is mounted with a steel hilt pierced with triangular patterns which is commonly referred to by modern collectors as a star hilt. Swords with this type of hilt are known to have been carried by NCOs and Other Ranks of the Royal Horse Guards from 1796 to 1820.