Model 1831 French Artillery Sword – Universal Swords

This French Model 1831 Artillery Sword has an EN9 high carbon steel blade; it has been tempered. The entirety of the hilt is of brass. The scabbard is black leather with a brass throat and brass chape.

The base of the blade replicates the markings on an original; on one side it is stamped with its origin, maker and year – Talabot FS 1832, Paris. The reverse bears other period inspection and issue stampings.

The French 1831 artillery sword is strongly based on the original 1816 design – the most significant difference being a restyling of the hilt, most noticeably the replacement of a fish-scale patterned grip for this round-ring style.

To an uninformed eye, this sword could be mistaken for a Roman Gladius; this is no mistake, as they design of the blade was specifically designed to evoke the aura of Rome and its Legions. In 1816 Neo-Classical designs in art and architecture were all the rage.

Artillerymen typically used them to clear brush and debris for their gun emplacements, and could use them in close quarters if pressed. The sword was often called the cabbage cutter by these soldiers, no doubt a use for which the sword was gainfully employed to great effect.