US Navy WW2 LILLEY-AMES M-1917/M-1941 TRANSITIONAL KLEWANG BOARDING CUTLASS RARE

Description

In 1941, the US Navy decided to order more M-1917 boarding cutlasses. The Bureau of Ordnance could not find technical drawings or specifications, so sample swords were supplied by the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the Lilley-Ames Co. (formerly Ames), who received the contract to produce 3,000 cutlasses. This was at the same time that Lilley-Ames was producing Klewangs for the Netherlands East Indies Army under a contract from Vince Fencing Equipment. After producing only 170 M-1917 boarding cutlasses, Lilley-Ames asked the Bureau if the US Navy order could be produced to the same pattern as the Dutch order. The Bureau agreed with only minor changes, and the remainder were produced to that new specification. The Brooklyn Navy Yard reported that 2,958 boarding cutlasses were completed by Lilley-Ames and paid for; these examples were not marked. Thus, there are 170 M-1917 boarding cutlasses without the "USN" marking on the ricasso that were produced by Lilley-Ames in 1941 before the Dutch pattern M-1941 Klewang was adopted by the US Navy. Those 170 unmarked swords are likely the scarcest Klewangs ever procured by the US Navy, and this is the only example known to exist. This US Navy WW2 LILLEY-AMES M-1917/M-1941 TRANSITIONAL KLEWANG BOARDING CUTLASS is in good condition, with the blade and guard having been recently oiled and cleaned, some rounding to the blade tip, moderate chipping to the middle and upper blade edge, an old price of " 00" hand applied in black marker at the reverse ricasso, some scattered finish abrading, pitting, and patina at each side of the blade, some patina to the guard, a small nick in the left edge of the guard, two hairline surface cracks in the upper left handle scale, a few small chips in the lower spine of the left handle scale, and with some overall age wear evident (ALL pictured). Otherwise, the cutlass is in fine shape, with no other damage. Most interestingly, it features a 24 1/2" clip point fullered blade that retains approximately 60% of the original blued finish, sports the classic sweeping metal "full cup" hilt, and boasts gorgeous brown hardwood handle scales secured by three thick brass rivets; the grip shows bold cross-hatching and the number "83" stamped at each side, likely the number out of 170 "transitional" Klewangs produced. It carries no "U.S.N." marking at the reverse ricasso, exhibits the number "18" lightly stamped at the top forward curve of the guard, likely a rack number, and is a fine example of an extremely rare, original US Navy WW2 LILLEY-AMES M-1917/M-1941 TRANSITIONAL KLEWANG BOARDING CUTLASS. No scabbard included. With apologies to our valued international clients, we must restrict bidding to US bidders only. Now celebrating over 20 years on eBay. Bid with confidence and please view our other great military, aviation, and sporting classics, including a "US & ALLIED MILITARY KNIVES VOL. 2" WW2 CASE EK WESTERN OSS KNIFE REFERENCE BOOK in near mint, unread condition, boasting an elegantly illustrated dust jacket over hardcovers, and sporting 676 pages.
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