M1748 Grenadersabel

One of the true gems of my collection. This undoubtedly is the grenadier saber, but it is from 1748 and not from 1753. The grip is virtually the same at the M1753, but the blade is longer and holds a much higher quality. Why put a new and almost similar model in production after only five years? Capt. Otto Smiths manuscript published in Vaabenhistoriske Aarbøger IIc in 1939 describes “an earlier, but so far unknown grenadier saber” with a somewhat longer and heavier blade than the M1753. It was found in the ground and evidently had been driven over by some earth moving equipment. Well, it is no longer unknown – here it is.

So, why this massive misunderstanding? There are extremely few M1753 that have the grenadier grenade. As I see it, these were probably only replacement sabers, but as the M1748 was unknown and the grenadiers undoubtedly had a saber… Then why did they not replace with identical M1748? The M1753 was by then in running production and was a less expensive saber to produce.

The picture shows the M1748 compared to a M1753. The blade is some some 7 cm longer on the M1748 (67 cm) compared to the average M1753. The etching are much deeper and sharper.