Pattern 1796 British Heavy Cavalry Sword – Universal Swords
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$229.99
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- Every blade inspected before shipping
- 30-day returns
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Blade
- USD134
- Overall Length
- 40''
- Weight
- 2 lb 12.5 oz
- Brand
- Universal Swords
- Culture
- British
Overview
Pattern 1796 British Heavy Cavalry Sword - Universal Swords
A robust backsword, the model 1796 cavalry sword was regarded as too heavy for delicate, gentlemanly swordsmanship - which was precisely why the regiments of Dragoons, Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards liked it. Thick, straight-bladed and powerful, the 1796 sword could cleave through foes with abandon from horseback. Sgt. Charles Ewart of the Scots Greys 2nd Dragoons captured a French Imperial Eagle Standard during Waterloo wielding the 1796 sword. He had to defeat several soldiers fanatically defending the regimental symbol they had pledged their lives to defend. This sword is featured in Bernard Cornwells Sharpe novel series as the protagonist, Richard Sharpe of the 95th Rifles, wields this sword in the Napoleonic Wars.
This 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword blade is made from tempered high carbon steel. The hilt is of steel with a ribbed leather grip. The scabbard is of steel with ring mounts. The sword was made by Universal Swords of India.
Specifications
Every measurement that matters
- Brand
- Universal Swords
- Culture
- British
- Pommel
- Riveted
- Overall Length
- 40''
- Blade Length
- 34 3/4''
- Blade
- USD134
- Weight
- 2 lb 12.5 oz
- Edge
- Unsharpened
- P.O.B.
- 8 1/4''
- Thickness
- 6.8 mm - 4.2 mm
- Width
- 33.6 mm
- Grip Length
- 4''
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Country of Origin
- India
- Type
- Saber
Reviews
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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.
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What a sword! The 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword is one massive, heavy brutal chunk of steel. And I love it! From what I have seen of originals, this is as nearly perfect a replica as one could ask for. The blade has a nice temper. The fit and finish is very nice, including reproductions of original makers’ marks. Despite its length and weight, it is surprisingly well balanced. And the price is right. I’m sure Richard Sharpe would be happy to use this sword.
“A right butcher’s blade…” …as one of Richard Sharpe’s men described his sword. I’ve never held a real P1796 heavy cavalry trooper’s sword, but from photos I’ve seen this seems to be as accurate a repro as you can get. Nice markings; I don’t know if Universal Swords copied a real example of the J. J. Runkel mark, but Runkel of course imported a lot of blades from Solingen. I was surprised at the handling characteristics; it’s not as heavy or unwieldy as I thought it would be. I had the sharpening service done, so now to work on some melons!
Its an okay-ish sword. Much like the real Sword, it’s very unwieldy, tip heavy and despite being a fairly strong fella myself, it’s a very demanding sword.
The scarbard isn’t great, matter of fact it had a piece of card stuffed down it to presumably to prevent the edge from scraping the naked rusted steel inside. This proved to be a real problem later as the card begun to rot and decay inside the scabbard causing the sword to stuck and on ocasion needed to be pried apart from its scarbard. The Scabbard was just pure steel. And should have been a WOOD WRAPPED IN STEEP scarbard.
Now this sword is not manufactured with an edge and this a critical point that almost ruined the sword for me. The edge provided by KOA wasn’t great or suitable to the sword. The edge bevels were clearly formed into the blade and I ended up getting a very steep chopping edge witch for this sword isn’t good enough.
The edge bevel wasn’t followed and left the sword to be a very poor performer.
To sum it up. The sword is okay. But it’s worth its current price at all. The steel for the blade bends and can take a very set.
However, if want to know what NOT to look for in a sword. This is it.
Big and Brutal The pictures don’t do this sword justice! This is a big, brutal, utilitarian battle sword that feels great in the hand and looks impressive on the wall.
I know what you’re thinking. Will I feel like Richard Sharpe when I get drunk and wave this wildly in my backyard? Yes, yes you will. Solidly built and while a bit on the heavy side, I like it as a bigger guy. I had to put my own edge on it after the KoA approved edge didn’t go all the way down, but I guess I should have just put my own edge on it to begin with. Handle is comfortable given the weight and it feels great in the hand. Scabbard is nice and solid, I did not have any of the problems as others with this scabbard. very fun to play with. 5/5.
I received the sword as a gift from my wife for my birthday. She paid to have it sharpened and I love everything about the sword. It fit the scabbard fine but the scabbard is covered in rust in two areas. We contacted kult of Athena about the issue, since we got the standard grade, and our only two options were to send both the sword and the scabbard back, which I didn’t want to do since she paid for sharpening, or get a whole 15 dollars for a refund. I thought that was pretty crappy but that is just customer service problems, the sword is great.
Great service from folks at KoA. 2 thumbs up.
As for this sword. Keep in mind that USI makes reenactment focused swords, and so they tend to be thick and lack in distal taper, and I think in this case, profile taper. For this price point, this is the work they’re willing to put in. For sabers around the same price point, better tapered, AND sharpened, get the newest Cold Steel sabers.
Because this sword has little distal taper, and the bottom isn’t as thick as the originals, which helps to bring the balance toward the hilt, it becomes an unwieldy, orcish steel club with no hope of recovery once you commit to a single stroke. That’s exacerbated by the sore lack of profile taper, which really doesn’t help the balance. Thr fuller have too much thickness also makes this an one-shot crowbar of a sword. The slight unevenness of the fullers and the blade grinds done not by design is probably accurate to how these swords were made back in their day. For under $250, this is quality you’re going to get.
An excellent costume piece. Also great for strength training. For backyard cutting and sword practice, you’ll need a complete blade overhaul.