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RARE US ARMY MODEL 1905/06 EXPERIMENTAL CAVALRY
SABRE – AMES: Developed in response to a
personal dissatisfaction with the current cavalry sabre
expressed by then President Theodore Roosevelt, the
M1905/06 Experimental Sabre was the first of several new
patterns of cavalry sabres for the US Army that would
see trials during the first two decades of the 20th
Century. The President wrote in a letter to Secretary
of War Taft that if the army was going to carry a sword
“they ought to carry a sword they can cut or thrust
with”. The experimental pattern was designed and
approved, resulting in a lighter weight sabre than its
predecessor, the Light Cavalry Sabre, with a straight
blade, iron guard with a pistol grip style pommel, a
leather covered wooden scabbard.
The Experimental Sabre
was produced in very limited numbers, totaling less than
2.000, at the Springfield Armory, which also supplied
the guards and pommels to the Ames Sword Company who
manufactured the bulk of the total production of this
model.
This specimen, manufactured by Ames is marked
with plainly legible stamps on the riccasso, “A. S. &
Co.” above the Ordnance Department Flaming Bomb and
dated 1906, and on the opposite side of the riccasso is
stamped “US”. The pommel and guard are complete and in
full form, with no misshaping or damage, no corrosion
and a nice even dark patina overall. The double wire
wrap is complete over the original fish skin grip
covering. The fish skin is worn through in several
spots to expose the wooden grip, however these spots
show the wood to have a pleasant patina and the skin
wrapping is tight and not coming loose. The blade is
full length and full form. The blade has a nice
presentable appearance, showing a bright attractive
finish and still retaining much of the original
glitter. The edge has a few minimal nicks, and the
surface of the blade has scattered areas of pitting,
more pronounced at the tip. As is normal with these
M1905/06 Experimental Sabres, the scabbard is not
present, likely due to their relatively light and
fragile construction as compared to the heavier steel
scabbards of other patterns.
This is a nice specimen of
a fairly rare US Cavalry sabre and will be a nice
addition to complete your display of early 20th
Century cavalry and horse equipment.
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