Austro-Hungarian 19th Century Briquet Sabre by Pacholek
Curved unfullered hatchet pointed blade with false edge. One-piece cast brass hilt with ribbed grip, forward curving quillon with ball finial and simple knucklebow, domed pommel. No scabbard.
Blade 25¼ inches (64.2cm) in length, the sword 30 5/8 inches (77.8cm) overall.
The blade is stamped at the forte on one side with the maker’s mark ‘PACHOLEK GY _UDA_ES_’, some letters being only partially struck or double stamped. I believe this indicates the manufacturer György Pacholek of Budapest, Hungary. The same area is also stamped with ‘10S’ over ‘1174’ divided by a horizontal line, partly overstamping the maker’s mark, the numerals in an Austro-Hungarian style.
Simple, sturdy and cheap to produce, the ‘briquet’ sabre was found across Europe in the mid-19th century. Austro-Hungarian examples seem to be uncommon but may have been used for infantry or artillerymen.
The blade has a quite even light patina, with a few small spots of darker patination. The edge has been sharpened, leaving visible grinding marks on the sides of the blade, and has a number of small nicks on its upper section. A few tiny dents to the brass hilt, which has a mostly even finish, with some darker patination on the quillon finial, pommel cap and on the top of the hilt next to the blade shoulder.
