Dutch cutlass, the hilt of the cutlass consists of a brass open half-basket guard. The guard is secured to the pommel by a screw and leads to a short straight quillon, which has a small upturned disc terminal. The smooth pommel and back-piece lead to a lightly straightened ferrule and a prominent tang button. The black leather grip is bound at intervals with plaited brass wire. The steel blade is short, straight and broad with a double edge leading to a uniform spear point, bearing at the shoulder three broad shallow fullers. From the 46mm deep shoulder of the blade a broad shallow fuller runs 178mm towards the point in the centre of the blade. The obverse and reverse of the blade are engraved with scroll and foliage motifs, and the numbers '1 7 8 3' and two stylised anchors in a saltire (diagonal cross) with the letter 'A', on the left, and the letter 'W' on the right. The brown leather scabbard is sewn down the back and has a brass top locket and chape. The scabbard is decorated with a line of blind tooling near each edge and is fitted with a frog hook secured inside by a metal tongue. The frog hook is decorated with two pairs of engraved horizontal lines.

It is likely that the cutlass is a version of the 1771 'Sarbe d'Artllerie de la Marine' pattern with its Roman style blade. Unlike the uniform type cutlass, it has no lion's-head pommel. Although the hilt of the cutlass is of the 1783 style of 'boarding cutlers' the curved blade does not follow the same style. This may be, therefore, a re-hilted 1771 weapon. The anchor motif was popular in France for naval weapons but the letters 'A' and. 'W.' do not look French, nor do they fit in with the style of the rest of the engraving. The numbers '1 7 8 3' may refer to the date of manufacture and it is likely that they were added later. The metal parts of the scabbard, apart from the frog hook, are very roughly finished and are not in the same style as the rest of the cutlass. It is therefore likely that they are a later addition or a repair, perhaps done on board ship.