British 1822 Light Cavalry Saber – Universal Swords
In stock
$245.99
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- Every blade inspected before shipping
- 30-day returns
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Blade
- 1060-1065 High Carbon Steel
- Overall Length
- 41 1/4''
- Weight
- 2 lb 2 oz
- Brand
- Universal Swords
- Culture
- British
- Era
- 19th Century
Overview
British 1822 Light Cavalry Saber - Universal Swords
This was the iconic blade borne defiantly aloft during the fabled Charge of the Light Brigade whose heedless gallop into waiting heavy guns during the Battle of Balaclava earned them the penning of one of Lord Tennysons most famous poems of the Crimean War. Historians have argued that an accident of miscommunication caused the Light Cavalry to be sent into a frontal assault on Russian artillery batteries with an excellent field of fire, as opposed to harassing and flanking gunners to prevent their retreat. The cavalrymen themselves knew the charge to be undertaken was suicidal, yet they did their duty without complaint and were upheld as paragons of Victorian soldierly virtue because of it. Of the 670 men who spurred their mounts into gallop that day, 270 would be felled by mechanistic Russian artillery.
The steel that flashed in the sights of the Russian gunners during the charge was the British 1822 Light Cavalry saber. This reproduction sword is made from unsharpened, tempered high carbon steel. The blade is well-embossed with leafwork, the British crown and the marking of John Prosser, sword manufacturer in Charing Cross, London. The gothic-style hilt is of steel and the grip is of hardened black leather with twisted copper wire inlaid into the grip. The scabbard is of steel with steel hanging rings.
Specifications
Every measurement that matters
- Brand
- Universal Swords
- Culture
- British
- Era
- 19th Century
- Pommel
- Nut
- Overall Length
- 41 1/4''
- Blade Length
- 35 7/8''
- Blade
- 1060-1065 High Carbon Steel
- Weight
- 2 lb 2 oz
- Edge
- Unsharpened
- P.O.B.
- 7 5/8''
- Thickness
- 7.6 mm - 4.9 mm
- Width
- 32.4 mm
- Grip Length
- 3 7/8''
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Country of Origin
- India
- Type
- Saber
Reviews
What collectors are saying
Q&A
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The Maker
Universal Swords
With origins going back to 1960, India’s Universal Swords has been making reproduction swords for decades. With an emphasis on military sabers, universal produces a number of designs not found elsewhere. As the official US distributor of Universal Swords, KOA will be expanding to stock their entire line over time.
Often paired together
Most definitely not “Battle Ready” I obtained and had this model of sword sharpened a while back and recently brought it along to test cut it. The performance of the blade against tatami mats was on the poor side.
We also had a couple of pigs heads, so that we could examine the effects of sharp sword strikes on flesh and the wounds that can be inflicted. It was at this point that my sword broke some four inches back from the tip. This revealed a course grained internal structure which, while I am no expert, appeared to show ferrite and pearlite. Now what you would expect from a well tempered blade.
So why two stars? Well as a decorative piece the original intact blade was not bad and it is cheap. But it isn’t anything near combat ready.
The low rating is due to misleading elements in the description. The pipe-backed blade indicates an officer’s sword, which should be in the description. It would be nice to see an actual 1821 trooper’s light cavalry saber.