Turkey Creek Trading U.S. Model 1860 Light Cavalry War Replica Sword

Well, first of all, its not historically accurate at all. I have had mine for quite some time now and i have finally come to write a review. It does have a hearty weight and is a bit of a wrist breaker. I bought this as a practice beater and it works great. the brasswork and overall appearance is good looking and the blade (once cleaned and properly shined as it comes with oil on it) is very strong and has withstood impressive amounts of punishment against my other beaters. the edge is not sharp but the steel is fair enough if you want it sharp, mine is further blunted from its factory edge from use. The overall effectiveness in formal styles is good to say the least, its weight in an inexperienced hand would effect one's balance and seem very hard to use. however, on the flip side, its perfect for practicing styles and stances. The weight would also make it perfect as its design was for, calvary drills. I highly recommend this to beginner practicing swordsmen/women and tyro sword collectors. Overall, a very satisfying and good buy that is unbeatable for the price payed.

This is a very nice replica, especially for the price. Materials are good and the sword is quite hefty - no thin sheet metal here. Brasswork is basic though well finished (I didn't expect perfection and fancy filigree at this price). The sword looks and feels good, and you get that nice 'shiiiing' sound when it comes out of the scabbard (also heavy, btw). The blade is partially sharpened, so there isn't too much worry about cuts. Don't let kids go around swinging it though - this is about the same length and weight as a baseball bat.Summary - a perfect decorative replica for people (especially boys!) who would love to have some knives and swords hanging around.

I'll be posting a video about this once I get around to it, but to anybody who is buying this sword as just a sword or wall hanger, then you will be pleasantly surprised with the weight and quality for the price. You can even sharpen it for an excellent beater sword. If, however, you are buying this as a replica of a Model 1860 Light Cavalry sword... then look elsewhere for a more exacting replica. Here is why:To begin with, I am a collector of U.S. sabers. I own brands that range in quality from Cold Steel to Windlass, to the less than $100 India made replicas. This particular saber has several design flaws that do not make it a true replica of a light Model 1860.The discrepancies begin with the nut at pommel. The originals did not have a threaded tang, much less a knob nut at the end. The pictures don't show the nut, but trust me, it's there. The reason why this didn't effect my review too much was because many of the less than $100 sabers have the same nut, which I typically remove and then heat the threaded portion and hammer it flat like the originals.Now to my gripe about the grip. The grip has a brass backstrap that travels the length of the handle that is fairly reminiscent of the Napoleonic sabers that the Model 1860 was partially based on. Needless to say, the Model 1860 did not feature a backstrap, nor did the Model 1840. The other part of the handle that shares characteristics with Napoleonic sabers is the contoured grip, which tended to be thinner towards the pommel and thicker towards the guard. The Model 1860 and Model 1840 both had a grip that was more-or-less the same circumference for the entire length.Finally, about the four prong guard that should be a three prong guard... everything (expect for that fourth prong) about this guard screams "Model 1840". The most telling Model 1840 feature is the slight up-sweep of the back quillon. The Model 1860 had a rounder guard with a thickened ridge, whereas this saber has a more oblong guard that lacks a ridge.Like I said above, this sword is a great beater sword, hence the rating. I've had a lot of fun hitting things with it and even used my belt sander to sharpen the blade for some good ole watermelon cutting! The final thought that I will leave you with is that the balance on this blade is pretty far forward of the guard. It has a pretty heavy blade that is more in the weight category of the Model 1840 (although the width of the blade does not match the 1840). If you choose to sharpen it, it will help out the balance a tiny bit since a lot of the edge needs to be ground down.

It is an amazing decoration piece, and is 100 percent accurate to the civil war, but it is too heavy for dueling due to it's very thick blade, NOT SHARP, NOT FOR DUELING, but for civil war and history buffs, amazing piece, it can rust, as it is made of high quality carbon steel, with a real brass knuckle guard and faux leather grip.

This sword is perfect. It looks great and feels solid and well made. I saw some swords like it in a local Civil War museum and you could put this one beside it and no one would see any difference. I can not see how anyone could have given it a bad review, unless they had somehow received a flawed or damaged item.There is one point however: the sword I received is absolutely straight bladed, not curved like the display picture. I do not know if they had sent me the officer's sword instead of the cavalry saber, or if the picture was distorted. In any case, I am absolutely satisfied with it.

This was an excellent product. It will be used in American Legion Honor Guard ceremonies and events. Completely satisfied 100%.

I just received this saber about an hour ago. This was an impulse purchase. I mean, what am I going to do with a Civil War cavalry saber? But, for $37.00 this is a really nice sword. The edge is not sharp and it's probably not something you would want take into a cavalry battle, but it feels sturdy, and mine fits in its scabbard perfectly. And so, it's a wall hanger, doesn't have a hand forged blade, but what would you expect for 37 bucks? I give it 5 stars, cuz it's kinda cool.

The inside of the sheath was a solid coat of rust. I applied a heavy coat of rem oil and scrubbed with a wire brush which removed some rust but still a lot down inside I couldn't reach. On the plus side, the sword is solid with good heft and looks good. No rust on sword or outside of sheath. Not terrible for the cheap price but the amount of rust inside the sheath is unacceptable.