English 1751 Pattern Infantry Hanger with Scabbard
Slightly curved hanger blade with hatchet point, single narrow fuller close to the spine. Cast brass heart-shaped hilt with short quillon, two side bars, spiral grip and round pommel. Black leather scabbard with sheet brass throat piece, brass frog hook, and leather chape piece. Blade 24¾ inches in length, the sword 30 inches overall.
The ‘1751 Pattern’ is not an official pattern of British sword (built to specifications set by the military establishment) but a widely used type that appeared around that date, was purchased officially to some degree and issued to many regiments. In this era colonels of regiments typically controlled procurement of equipment but market availability affected their choices and some larger-scale ordering took place. The 1751 is simple and durable, its blade typical of the British ‘hanger’, and survives in some numbers today considering its age.
Almost all examples are marked to a militia unit: this one is unmarked so was probably non-military. It is also unusual in retaining its original scabbard: few of these leather items survived hard usage and the passage of time since. Even intact caches of militia examples held in stately homes are often hung up as wall displays with bare blades, their scabbards presumably discarded.
Like other swords of this period the hanger has a low carbon tang and shoulder, forge welded to a higher carbon steel blade, and the differential aging of the two materials can be seen clearly at the transition point, about 2½ inches from the shoulder.
The blade is well peened to the grip but there is movement to the hilt, causing it to rattle. The blade has some very light speckled pitting, mainly around the tip. Its finish is midtone dark, with an almost blued look in places, while the low carbon forte is noticeably lighter with speckled patination. A few forging marks. The tip of the blade is rounded. The section from the end of the fuller to the tip, about six inches in length, is slightly bent to the right as seen from the hilt. The edge is unsharpened and free of nicks. The brass parts have a light, even patina. No cracks to the hilt bars, although the outer hilt bar has been pressed inward. One small dent to the pommel.
The brass pieces of the scabbard have a moderate patina, the throat piece has a few shallow dents. The leather body of the scabbard has some rubbing wear, abrasion and surface-level cracking, but is both strong and flexible for its age, able to support its own weight with the sword withdrawn. All of its stitching is intact. The leather chape piece has similar wear and its own seam along the trailing edge, the stitching of which is also intact up to a break point where the chape end of the scabbard has been lost leaving a ragged edge. The sword will sheath, albeit with the hilt not quite touching the throat piece of the scabbard and the tip of the blade protruding out of the scabbard where the missing chape end should be.
