Eglinton 'Pinch of Snuff' Scottish Highland Officer's Broadsword
Step into the world of late 18th-century Highland officers with the Scottish Highland backsword “Pinch of Snuff”. This carefully crafted replica combines striking appearance with high-quality workmanship, making it an ideal choice for collectors, reenactors, and history enthusiasts alike.
The Eglinton basket hilt sword is based on a historical original from the collection of Eglinton Castle, now housed in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. Its distinctive name comes from the painting “A Pinch of Snuff” by William Delacour (c. 1760). The artwork depicts an officer of a Highland regiment taking a pinch of snuff while cradling a basket-hilted sword in his left arm. The weapon shown reflects the characteristic style of officers’ swords from roughly the 1760s to the 1790s.
The single-edged, approx. 84 cm full-tang blade is secured at the pommel. It features a strong spine and tapers gently both in profile and distally towards the point. A distinctive feature is the presence of two fullers: a broad central fuller running almost to the tip, and a narrower, deeper fuller along the back of the blade, extending over roughly two-thirds of its length.
The hilt follows the classic Scottish basket-hilt design. Its finely pierced steel basket, made from approx. 2 mm thick steel, fully encloses the hand and offers excellent protection. The grip consists of a wooden core covered in black leather and further enhanced with twisted steel wire, providing both visual appeal and a secure hold. The hilt is finished with a solid, hemispherical steel pommel.
The sword is supplied with a black leather scabbard fitted with a steel throat and chape.
This broadsword is designed as a collectors or decoration/display piece and, besides its quality as a collectible, is also perfectly suited as a prop, e.g. to complete your costume.
- Blade material: C60 (high carbon steel, not stainless)
- Handle material: wood with leather cover and wire wrapping, basket and pommel made of steel
- Overall length: approx. 99 cm
- Blade length: approx. 84 cm
- Hilt length: approx. 15 cm (grip approx. 11.5 cm)
- Max. blade width: approx. 3.2 cm
- Blade thickness (at spine): approx. 6.5 mm at guard / 1 mm at tip
- Cutting edge approx. 1 to 1.5 mm
- Point of balance: approx. 11 cm from the guard
- Incl. black leather scabbard (stitched), with steel throat and chape
- Weight without scabbard: approx. 1260 g
- Weight with scabbard: approx. 1580 g
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