THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SMALLSWORD in the 18th Century was a natural consequence and evolution of the transition of sword types from the earlier rapier form. The requirement for a large or long-bladed sword had passed and a gentleman also no longer needed the protection of armour, particularly in towns and cities, where society was becoming more stable and organised. This does not mean that the streets were completely safe and by the beginning of the 18th Century, a form of defensive, edged weapon for the civilian was still required to be carried. This was the smallsword and as the century progressed, the smallsword became not only a reliable weapon but also a symbol of status, wealth and ultimately, fashion.
By end of the 17th Century, a true smallsword hilt and blade type had emerged and was in widespread use throughout Europe. In general terms, this transitional type comprised a single-fullered, flattened blade, reminiscent of earlier rapiers although the great length exhibited in rapiers of the previous century had been greatly shortend. Hilts of iron and brass were simply decorated and displayed globular or ovoid pommels. Two curling arms that reached down to the small dish guards also became very popular (pas d’âne). Grips were shorter than before and manufactured from a number of materials, including wood, horn, ivory and bone. Most were bound with either steel, brass, copper or silver twistwire.
A new blade type specifically for smallwords also appeared in the early years of the 18th Century, having its roots in German sword makers, who designed a duelling blade featuring a wide forte that abruptly tapered into a much narrower blade near the point. The blade cross-section was of triangular shape and “hollow-ground”, a form of special grinding that produced this unusual and radically new shape, the colichemarde blade. It created a blade that was considerably lighter than previous smallsword blades of traditional type and allowed the swordsman to wield the blade in a more maneuverable, flexible and faster way that could thrust more accurately against an opponent.
English sword makers, most notably the Hollow Sword Blade Company of Shotley Bridge, Durham, aimed to emulate their German sword maker rivals, and also produced hollow-ground blades, ironically, with the help of German swordsmiths fleeing persecution in their homeland. They brought the skills needed to craft these blades and for a relatively short period of time, they were successful, although extant examples of their work are extremely scarce and likely to indicate that production numbers were small and didn’t make much of an impression on the large quantities of German made smallswords brought into the country (no doubt, in some cases, illegally, as there were Royal charters in place to stop the importation of foreign sword blades, to help support indigenous manufacture) during this period.
Towards the mid-late-18th Century, smallsword styles gradually changed with much emphasis on the decoration of the hilt, in contrast to the earlier, rather plain-hilted smallswords. This was the time of the flamboyant, rococo style and English silver-hilted smallswords were particularly popular. Their work featured finely wrought piercings to the knucklebow and chased and embossed decoration to the dish guards. Most are London hallmarked to the knucklebow and names such as John Radborn (1737-1780), John Carman (c.1721-1764) and William Garrard appear on elegant silver hilts of the period.
Smallsword scabbards were made from both leather and strengthened vellum and because of their construction, were inherently fragile and prone to damage. Very few have survived to this day.
The use of the smallsword in the British Army and Navy was quite popular in the 18th Century, particularly within the Royal Navy, although its practicality on board the confines of a crowded ship’s deck could be questioned, resulting in many naval officers also carrying a more practical, fighting sword when engaged in combat. Indeed; it is the more robust versions of the smallsword type that inspired future patterns, including the 1796 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword.
© Harvey Withers Military Publishing, 2024