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It seems in Aylward, I think, it was noted that British makers, did not place names on blades (until 18th c.)? Again, must find that reference......there must have been use of markings though, as the Cutlers Co. decreed that there should be no use of others markings by makers on blades. Naturally that was about as effective as the rest of the Cutlers Co. rulings.
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I was determined to establish absolutely that colichemarde smallsword blades from SB were not marked, so I un-hilted my silver, boat-shell hilt colichemarde from William Kinman, who seems to have used SB blades a lot, equally for non colichemardes. I wanted to see if there was any tang markings, and there wasn't, but...
When the syndicate were given their royal charter there was a clause that provided for marking the smallsword blades from SB and fines plus confiscation of any unmarked hollow blades traded in the UK. There was no such mark... why? Because only SB could produce the rolled groove, so anything else was easy to spot and confiscate.
In the past I had wondered about that mark until I realised all SB hollow blades had the groove.
Incidentally: one of the bundles of blades confiscated when Mole was arrested for smuggling was all hollow blades, probably for the Newcastle cutler Thomas Carnforth and his customers who didn't like the groove. Never could understand why Mole was smuggling those blades in. There were also hundreds of munition's-grade blades but they were for the Jacobites, as by then, the entire output from SB was going to the Tower and Parliament.