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Posted: 1/17/2009 7:22:27 AM EDT
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I have acquired a cut down 16 3/4 inch blade Patton M1913 sword. Original guard, grips, etc. Excellent shape, blueing etc. Clip point. No scabbard.
Somewhere- I read that during WWII that Patton swords were cut down for short swords- and saw a pict of a US soldier wearing one on his backpack. I am talking SHORT SWORD here, not Patton swords made into fighting knifes by San Antonio Knife works etc. Anyone know where I can find further info and photos of WWII Short Sword Patton swords? What type shealth they used- cut down Patton scabbard? 16 " bayonet scabbard? Thanks. |
| Are you sure it is a cut down Patton sword and not a 1917 Cutlass? |
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I have never heard of the Patton sword being cut down, for issue. I think the last use of the sword, was 1942-43, during the last horse-cavalry patrols of the US-Mexican border, by the 7th cavalry, befor the final conversion to mechanized cavalry. The sword, carried on the saddle, was the standard model.
The 1917 cutlass did see issue during the war, and one of those if far more likely to be found in a photograph, as you describe. A cut down Patton would be next to useless as a weapon - it was designed for the thrust, almost solely, and the sword weighed just over 2 lbs full length. On the other hand, as the 7th deployed to the Pacific, I believe, maybe a trooper may have cut one down on his own, but why, I cannot fathom. It certainly would not have been an issue item. |
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I used to collect American military knives and had several hundred.
One thing I learned, is that the WWII American soldier was knife CRAZY. Every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine wanted a "fighting knife" and anything that could stick or cut was used. It very common for old bayonets and swords to be cut down and modified. A high percentage of this was done by individuals, not as any military program. Over the years, I saw some really strange weapons, all of which were some GI's idea of a fighting weapon. Many were done on posts or in camps, many were done at home before shipping out, often by thoughtful family or friends. Bottom line, it's very unlikely your short sword was done "officially" by the military, but in the early war period, some individual units did informally make up weapons from swords or obsolete bayonets. It's just that in all those years of collecting, I never saw a short sword made from a Patton saber. For that reason, I'd tend to believe it's something made up by/for some individual GI. Of course, there's another theory: A LOT of "trench knives" and other "military" weapons have been made up SINCE the war by people just fooling around with bladed weapons that at the moment, aren't worth much. I've seen plenty of 16" and 10" bayonets now worth over $100 that were turned into various "hunting" or fighting knives when they weren't worth much. Bottom line: Without "provenance" of exactly where it came from and who used it, it's just another oddity. |
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