The Leadcutter sword or lead cutter is a type of broad, heavy, specialist English

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...

History

Popular in the 19th century, these weapons resemble an enlarged naval cutlass, consisting of single-edged, flatbacked blades with broad widths, often flexible and sometimes slightly curved, always with a full cutlass-type hilt. The swords, heavier than standard cutlasses, were designed for strength training and for "sword feats" (most often the severing of specially made triangular lead bars, hence the name). These displays often included the dissevering of whole sheep's carcasses and of balanced lead bars in a single blow.

Prominent manufacturer and size descriptions

A prominent manufacturer of Leadcutters was Wilkinson Sword, which produced the sword in four sizes, Model 1 being the lightest and Model 4 being the largest and heaviest. A Model 2 blade measures in at in length and in width, with a model 3 blade long and wide.

References

{{Reflist European swords Victorian-era weapons 19th-century weapons