Please Identify These Swords

Hi All,

My landlord claims that I destroyed 2 of her 3 swords by storing them in the basement for 6 months (supposedly they rusted). She claims that those 2 were WWII swords, one of which was valued at $750 and the other at $1800. Can anyone identify any of these swords? At least one of them looks like it may be a masonic sword. Thanks for your help.

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I'm not an expert in this field, but none of them look WW2-era to me. The few countries that had swords during the war used them for ceremonial purposes (ie: not combat), and as such they are usually ornate. These all look rather "basic" to me. The only major exception to this "rule" is Japan, whose soldiers made use of them in Banzai charges and close quarters combat, and these clearly aren't Japanese.

 

These look like Masonic or Knight's of Columbus swords to me. They can be collectible in their own right...but they are not anywhere in the neighborhood that she is purporting. Let her take you to small claims...an arbitrator would more than likely tell her to pound sand...

 

750,1800 ....? Who evaluated those and on what grounds? They are just basic ceremonial swords , certainly not WW2 , they don't even a sheath and a scabbard. The rust will come of easily if you know how to clean it , for instance with a pyrolyse cleaning. Worth a few dozen dollars at the most.

nice scenario btw....

 

Thanks for the help. As I suspected, it looks like I've been fleeced.

 

I hope you didn't pay your landlord the amount he wanted for these

 

Patton, RRCollector and Skipper are correct, these are all ceremonial swords, regalia pertaining to fraternal organizations like the Knights of Columbus, Freemasons, DeMolay, etc. They're trash. Tell her take you to court; she'll back down if she knows what's good for her.
As to the exact identity we need much better photography, at full resolution. Forget the blades, we need pictures of the hilts -- both sides in detail. And we need shots of the riccassos, that's the part of the blade just below the hilt where sword-makers often stamp their hallmarks and other identifying marks.

 

The problem is I've already moved out, so she's withholding my security deposit. That leaves the ball in my court.

 

Depending on how much the security deposit is, it might not be worth fighting for, unless you know or have access to a cheap lawyer.

 

If she put the false claims in writing you probably have a pretty good case for not only recovering your deposit but winning lawyer's fees. The amounts you mention will take it out of small claims court I believe. You might be able to find a lawyer that would take it on a contingency fee.

 

Skipper - could you look at my post and help me clean the sword for my son. I posted it under new member and I don't think anyone that knows about swords is actually reading it. I'm repeating it here
[h=2]Cleaning of British WWII Officer's Ceremonial Sword[/h]

My son (18 years old) has just inherited his Grandfathers WWII Officers Ceremonial Sword. There are black marks on the highly ornate blade and we have been using a metal polish to clean it. It has shone up nicely, but the black marks remain. The scabbard is leather and we have used a leather oil to feed it and the tassle/decoration and it looks beautiful now.
Also the 'handle' is ornate and I believe was gilt (I presume that means brass gilt) but not all of it is shiny anymore.
So I have 2 questions:
1. What cleaning materials should I be using?
2. Is there anywhere in South Africa that would be able to assist in restoring this sword?
It was presented to my father-in-law in 1936. He was with the Leicester regiment.​