Gothic Hilted British Infantry Swords ( 1822 , 1827 , 1845 , 1854 and 1892 Patterns ) The gothic hilted sword s were a family of swords carried by officers and some NCOs of the British Army between 1822 and the present day . They were primarily infantry swords , although they were also regulation pattern for some other officers such as surgeons and staff officers . The term “ Gothic Hilt ” derives from a perceived similarity between the curved bars of the guard and the arches found in gothic architecture . They were elegant aesthetically pleasing weapons , although they were generally considered as , at best , mediocre fighting swords . Despite this the weapon and its variants had a very long service life . They were replaced with the 1897 Pattern British Infantry Officer ' s Sword . Private Purchase . Although sergeant ’ s swords were issued by the Army , officers were expected to purchase their own . In theory they were required to purchase a sword which conformed to an official pattern , however some regiments had their own peculiarities and some allowed their officers some leeway in specification , so there are variations between individual pieces . Also , minor differences between individual manufacturers ' examples exist , partly due to their own unique interpretations of the specification for the weapon . 1822 Pattern Infantry Officer ’ s sword . In the 1822 dress regulations mandated the introduction of a new sword , to replace the 1803 flank officer ' s sabre and the Spadroon bladed 1796 infantry officers sword . The sword featured a 32 . 5 inches ( 826mm ) inch long , slightly curved blade of what was known as the “ pipe - back ” or “ quill - back ” design . This consisted of a flat , un - fullered , single edged blade with a nearly straight rod running along the back of the blade , with a “ false edge ” being formed near to the tip . The blades were generally extensively decorated with etched , or occasionally blued and gilt , patterns . The gilded brass , “ half - basket ” hilt consisted featured the characteristic , gothic tracing and the monarch ’ s cipher in the guard and an ornate one piece pommel and backpiece . The inside of the guard folded towards the grip to allow the sword to rest easily against the wearer ’ s side . The grip was covered in fish skin and wrapped with brass or silver wire . Although the pipe reinforcing was intended to add rigidity for the thrust and strength for the cut , the blade is rather flexible . The half basket guard would have given better protection to the hand than its predecessor , the 1796 pattern , however the thin brass is fragile as illustrated by many extant examples having damage or repair . John Latham of the great sword maker Wilkinson , although admittedly with an ulterior motive as he was promoting his rival design , described it as : " the worst possible arrangement of hilt , blade and shape that could possibly be contrived . It is crooked but has no regular curve ; it is wrongly mounted for thrusting and wrongly shaped for cutting . The hilt is so flimsy as to be no protection to the hand and is made of bad metal poorly tempered ” 1845 Pattern Infantry Officer ’ s sword . In 1845 , the pipe backed blade was replaced by Wilkinson ’ s design . Again , this was a slightly curved cut - and - thrust blade of the same length of the previous pattern , however the new blade featured a single , wide fuller and a flat back , rather than the pipe back . The hilt remained essentially unchanged , although the hinged flap disappeared in 1854 . Direct comparison of the two blades shows that the new weapon was , indeed , an improvement , being stiffer in bending and compression , although it is still rather delicate for a fighting sword . 1892 Pattern Infantry Officers Sword . Despite its weaknesses , the 1845 sword enjoyed a long service life . However , in 1892 the cut and thrust blade was replaced by a straight dedicated thrusting blade with a thick , fullered , dumbbell section and a sharp spear point . A stronger sword , unburdened by the design compromises of a requirement to cut well , this was a much better fighting sword ( Robson reports on its good performance against the Dervish es in the Sudan ) . Ironically the infantry were finally being given an adequate weapon as rifled and automatic firearms had rendered them almost entirely obsolete . In 1895 the brass gothic hilt was replaced by pressed steel guard which , bringing to an end more than 70 years of service for the line infantry . Steel Hilted Swords . In 1827 , officers of the Rifle Regiments ( considered somewhat of an elite ) were authorised to carry their own variation of the sword . The blade was that of the 1822 pattern sword ( changing , along with the line infantry , to a fullered blade in 1845 ) . The hilt was of the gothic pattern but in steel with the crown and stringed bugle motif of the light infantry replacing the royal cypher . the steel guards were often less well rendered than that of the brass hilts . There was no folding flap . The pattern is still current for the Light Infantry Regiments . In 1854 , the regiments of the Foot Guards were also required to carry a steel hilted sword . This was the same weapon as for the rifle regiments , but with the regimental badge in place of the stringed bugle . Similarly , this is still the regulation pattern for Guards officers to the present day . Variations . Sergeant ’ s swords were similar to those for officers , but generally had undecorated blades and moulded brass , rather than fish - skin grips . Staff officers throughout most of the period carried a brass hilted sword , but with the crossed baton staff symbol in place of the royal cipher . Generals carried the same sword as their staff , until they were formally replaced by a Mameluke style sword in 1831 . References . < / div >