Naval Caribbean rapier

[midelburgo]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

I very much look forward to the articles!!! as I am busily (and totally) revamping my notes!!!

To that I would ask, on the familiar 'Spanish motto' blades, I had long thought that these were decidedly Solingen products and from c. 1750s, typically of course on the 'dragoon' blades ('1728') which remained in production well through to later in the century. I had no idea of the French capturing these and remounting them.

What book by Toledo?

Until this year I thought mottoes were a thing from Solingen all the way. I am still trying to understand the order of appearition in straight blades, but for sabers, Barcelona started and Solingen copied. I have a couple of swords, I have not shown yet, that are a good proof.

At Tolosa, as they were also making armors, they had both engravers and gilders. I suspect I have identified a group of 4 blades, all with the same motto that could come from there, late XVIIth century.

I wrote previous post thinking in "POR MY LEY Y POR MY REY". It appears in several blades in Brinckerhof, which I believe are prior 1767 and marked as from Barcelona.

But this motto has been described as a liberal (against Carlist faction) because it puts law first and the king in second position. Sometime around 1820-1850.

The oldest blades with "NO ME SAQUES" I have seen are Italian and XVIth century. The first Solingen versions I believe are XVIIIth century and by the same people who where making fake markings of ENRIQUE COEL and GIO KNEGT. Because there are blades marked ENRIQUE COEL and GIO KNEGT in XVIIth century, but there were several batches/rounds of faking them later. This is when you find the same blade (lenticular, broad channel, 1/3 of length) being inscribed ENRIQUE COEL or GIO KNEGT or NO ME SAQUES, depending of the fancy that day in the Solingen workshop.