Sword or farm tool

[dts52]

This was found in an area which has produced everything from ox shoes and square nails to yesterday's trash. 30&1/2 inches from tip to end of tang. Tang is 5&1/8 inches with two holes. First 14 inches of blade is sharpened. Any ideas? My wife thinks it is a farming tool, I'm hoping it is a military artifact. About 4" deep in what is now a hardwood forest but what was once a field. Thnaks,
HH
dts

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[JackalopeZL1]

Awesome find, if it is a farming tool it is for butchering livestock like with a SWORD.... there is no doubt it is a sword

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[Wildcat1750]

Great find. I hope you can get a positive ID on it. It sure looks like it could be a sword!

 

[Patriot Relics]

Anything stamped on the hilt? Looks a lot like a WW2 Japanese trophy... found one myself in the woods of VA http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/444756-japanese-sword-found-woods-va.html

 

[dts52]

Im going out on a limb and say its a Cutlass.

Cutlass? Could it be that there were pirates in Northwest Connecticut? Argh... LOL
dts

 

[dts52]

Anything stamped on the hilt? Looks a lot like a WW2 Japanese trophy... found one myself in the woods of VA http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/444756-japanese-sword-found-woods-va.html

That was a great find you made. I need to do some research on this. I don't think Rochambeau's Army was in the immediate area, (assuming Revolutionary War artifact). Obviously, there have been a number of Civil War era artifacts recovered in CT, not from battle sites but most likely from kids playing army. I remember that, as kids, we played with our parents' helmets, canteens, etc. and I'm sure a lot was lost in the woods over the years. I know a lot of my military "stuff" was lost by my boys somewhere in the woods.
HH
dts

 

[peruna]

Angle grinder?

Actually, looks like that would be a great candidate for electrolysis.

^this right here^

 

[Bruce R]

Has a blade, has a tang, too long to be a butcher knife or Japanese Bayonet , too short to be a military sword, so I'd have to say a gentleman 's short sword, a fashion statement.

 

[treblehunter]

When I said zap it, I was talking electrolysis, maybe after that you might be able to find markings.

 

[dts52]

Again, thanks to all for comments and suggestions.
HH
dts

 

[Madmox]

I'm going with M1855 sword bayonet. Blade is the right length. It's curved.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[against the wind]

Did they have salami slicers back then??
Congrats on finding a sword.

 

[dts52]

I'm going with M1855 sword bayonet. Blade is the right length. It's curved.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks doing the research for me. Would it have any markings I should be looking for (although this is pretty toasted)?
HH
dts

 

[dts52]

Did they have salami slicers back then??
Congrats on finding a sword.

I don't know but, believe it or not, there was a PICKLE FACTORY not too far from there. We've all heard the joke about the pickle slicer
HH
dts

 

[Madmox]

Apparently a m1855 sword Bayonet would have a "SP" inspectors stamp. Though like you said, it's been in the ground a long time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Madmox]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I'm going with M1855 sword bayonet. Blade is the right length. It's curved.

The blade looks perfectly flat, so I don't think it's that sword. Maybe it just looks that way to me, though.

I know nothing about swords, but I do know about hand tools. My guess is that it's some sort of machete that once had a wooden handle. Seems excessively long for a machete, but I do see a notch at the 14" point of the blade. If I was using that as a machete, that's about where I would be hitting the tree branch or bush with it. Just my take on it...

 

[bowser]

it's a sword, tell your wife she was right things will go much bettter for you

 

[Madmox]

Haha. Happy wife, happy life. Best answer yet


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dts52]

It doesn't have a groove (what we called a blood groove, no idea whether that was really the function). The blade is flat with a slight taper towards the sharpened edge. Only the first 14" from the tip are sharpened. The 10" section from the tang forward are unsharpened. I'll try to zap it after the new year. It seems too heavy to be a farm tool. Maybe it is a homemade sword from colonial times. If that is the case, I could never verify it.

Thank you all for your input. As far as the wife goes, my MDing finds usually are met with a disinterested eye roll. I don't think she is concerned with being right because, deep down in her soul, she really doesn't care.
HH
dts

 

[Tommy G]

Very cool, whatever it is. I'm leaning toward a short sword. I think a farm tool would have been more curved, wider and more practical.