Cutlass
Also known as: naval cutlass
A short, broad naval sabre with a straight or slightly curved blade and cup hilt, a boarding weapon that the US Navy kept in service until 1949.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The word cutlass arose in 17th-century English from the French coutelas, which in the 16th century denoted a medium-length single-edged blade similar to a machete. It is a short, broad sabre or cutting sword with a straight or slightly curved sharpened blade 71 to 81 cm long; in the variant called the leadcutter the blade reached about 91 cm. The hand was protected by cup, half-basket or branched guards. The cutlass was sturdy enough to cut through thick ropes, heavy canvas and dense vegetation, yet short enough for close combat when boarding, in the rigging or below deck. It required less training to master than the rapier or small sword. It was carried by sailors, pirates and privateers; it was in service with the British Royal Navy, the US Navy and London's Metropolitan Police. After the early 1930s it was used only rarely in weapons training. In 1936 the British Royal Navy decreed it would serve only for ceremonies. The US Navy kept it in service until 1949; the last newly introduced model was the M1917.