EL7223 - A Victorian 1845 pattern Royal Navy ship's cutlass with a long history. Made in Enfield and approved by the Board of Ordnance before it was dissolved in 1855, this cutlass was already in service at the time of the Crimean War, yet in 1888 was selected to be converted to the new regulation length and point shape (they were slightly shortened and made more 'pointy'). The edge has clearly been service sharpened during its life (possibly several times during its at-least-33-years service life!). The cutlass remains solid, with no movement. It has light pitting all over and the hilt which would have originally been painted black is now bare steel.
