The sword.

I have been meaning to post this for a while. A few of you chipped in to buy me a Naval Officer's Sword as a wedding present. It was a truly wonderful gift. The gift of a sword is very significant in the service. In the old British navy, swords were given to officers as commendations for bravery in battle. Also, when a captain's ship was taken in battle, he surrendered his ship to the victorious ship's captain by ceremoniously handing over his sword. Cornwallis gave his sword to Washington at Yorktown. Lee surrendered his sword to Grant at Appomattox, which Grant then returned as a gesture of respect. So the first thing I would like to say to you all is: I accept your surrender, and no you won't be getting this sword back!
Seriously though, for an military officer, the sword represents the pride and dignity of command and a respect for the traditions of the service. To receive the gift of a sword from my closest friends on the occasion of my wedding could not have been more appropriate. I want to thank you all for this very special gift which I will cherish for a lifetime. It occurs to me that since the sword was mail-ordered (what, you couldn't find a decent sword-smith in C-ville?) you guys have never actually seen it. I took some pictures of it which I will post below so you guys can see how beautiful it is.



This is the handle. The guard is gold, and the handle is covered in tiny bumps, so small as to almost be sharp. It is made to simulate the original handle covering for naval officer's swords, which was ray skin (sting-? manta-? who knows?) This handle is bound by a wrapping of twisted gold wire.






The guard has beautifully wrought leaf-and-vine ornamentation.









...with a USN (for United States Navy) carved into it, in case I forget who I work for.







The scabbard is made of leather with gold fittings. The design of the gold fittings is meant to emulate the decorative rope-work which sailors have used on ships forever. We still use it on modern warships. If you were to visit my ship I could show you hand-railings and such which some enterprising seaman took it upon himself to decorate with elaborate knot-work.



The blade is etched with more leaves and vines and various highly significant (I am sure) crests and such. It really is very intricate!








There is an eagle etched into the butt of the handle. The golden eagle is significant as both a symbol of the United States but also as a long-standing symbol of the US military officer corps.






And there it is with the scabbard. You can get these things mounted on beautiful wooden plaques so you can hang them on the wall. I intend to do that so I can have something even larger than my UVA diploma to hang in my office. I truly will always cherish this sword, guys. Thank you so much!