Rare 18th Century Knife made from a Spontoon

This a unique piece, a dagger made from a sergeants spontoon.

The spontoon was a short weapon used by sergeants from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Unlike the pike, which was an extremely long weapon (typically 14 feet/4.3 meters), the spontoon measured only 6 or 7 feet (1.8-2.2 meters) in overall length.

After the musket replaced the pike as the primary weapon of the foot soldier, the spontoon remained in use as a signalling weapon. Non-commissioned officers carried the spontoon as a symbol of their rank and used it like a mace, in order to issue battlefield commands to their men. (Commissioned officers carried and commanded with swords, although some British Army officers used spontoons at the Battle of Culloden).

During the Napoleonic Wars, the spontoon was used by Sergeants to defend the colours of a battalion or regiment from cavalry attack.

The shape of our piece suggests that is a late 18th-century blade mounted on a period brass grip, to have the aspect of a plug bayonet.

The grip can be unscrewed, leaving the only the blade and the cross guard attached together.

The blade preserves it's bluing (now black) and is quite sharp.

~ Dimensions ~

The blade is 9 ¼ inches long (23.5 cm) and the overall length of the piece is 15 ¼ inches (39 cm).

~ Condition ~

The blade remains excellent with minimum ageing.

The brasswork has minimal usage.

ref. GS918B24A / TWCH0X3LLD2FF3E