G'day Cathey,
I don't know when it was first used, but I can tell you there were two types used on British swords. In the 18th century the "ray skin" type with large nodules was commonly used. Below is a picture of a 1788 heavy cavalry officer sword with this type of grip. In the 19th century it was more common to use the close grained variety you show in your photo, although occasionally the "ray skin" type was also used. I have never been sure if both types come from different areas of the same type of ray, or if the close grained type is from a shark rather than ray.
Cheers,
Bryce
|