Swedish Artillery Sabre, 1831 Pattern

Late in the year 2000, I bought a P1831 for SEK 2200 (roughly USD 200), which can be considered a fair price for a sabre of this pattern. It is in good condition, but the screws holding the scabbard throat weren't original. I changed them for a couple that looked more like the original screws. Apart from that, I haven't done much about the sabre except oiling the leather on the grip. The sabre is easy to swing, and would be very interesting to sharpen for some test-cutting.

The sabre has markings identifying it as belonging to the Svea Artillery Regiment, and is marked SAR. 7B. No 19, which stands for "Svea Artilleri Regemente, 7th Battery, sabre #19".

The P1831 is esy to confuse with the P1808, which in turn is the Swedish designation for the British Light Cavalary sabre P1796. 2000 of those were imported to Sweden, and appears to have inspired the design of the P1831. The easiest way to tell them apart is to check the blade, which is longer (+75 mm) and more narrow (-5 mm) than that of the P1808.

Vital stats:
OL: 104,5 cm
Blade lenght: 90 cm
Blade width: 3,6 cm
Weight: c. 960 gram
Scabbard weight: c. 1 kilo
Point of balance: c. 16 cm from the hilt

Literature:

Olof P. Berg: Svenska blankvapen, del II, Armén: underofficers-och manskapsvapen, 1990, 1999
Olof P. Berg: Meddelande 55 från Armémuseum.

Thanks to Mr Max Sjöberg for help in ID'ing the sabre.