EL6553 - An extremely rare example of the experimental 1904 'pattern' British cavalry troopers' sword, made by Wilkinson (background: https://royalarmouries.org/stories/our-collection/...
). Only about 200 of these were made, and they were tested by various regiments, but did not reach the approval stage due to disagreements in the committee. The sword features several innovative design features, most notably the T-section blade somewhat like a large French Gras bayonet, and the false 'quillon' extension on the grip, for anchoring the index finger. The grip is of patent solid hilt type, as all British cavalry swords after 1853 and until the 1908 pattern were. A very pleasing sword in the hand and more nimble than the eventual 1908 pattern. This example is in very good condition, with some restoration. The guard has clearly been dented and repaired (probably during testing by a cavalry regiment), though overall the sword is in much better condition than the Royal Armouries example in the link above. It is important to note that I believe the scabbard has been heavily (and very well) restored. It clearly contains original parts, but the leather is a very good restoration, which I suspect would fool a lot of people as it is so well done. What is very interesting is that there are regimental markings to the leather. I cannot say whether these are spurious, or whether the craftsman was replicating markings on the old rotten leather that was replaced (which is entirely possible). In any case, some of the scabbard is original, and as far as I can see, most other surviving examples of this experimental sword don't usually have scabbards at all. It is very rare that these swords come up for sale, and it has sat in my collection for a while.
