Cutlass (Signature Weapon)

Here is another post in my Signature Weapons series, formally started this year. It's about weapons that could be used for a character in crime fiction or spy fiction, or indeed any kind of genre fiction. So today, I have decided to blog about the cutlass. It's obviously the weapon of choice of a pirate, so this may seem more suitable for historical fiction or an adventure story set in the golden age of piracy. That said, I still think it could and maybe should be featured in a contemporary setting. First, because piracy is still a thing in many parts of the world. Sure, modern-day pirates use modern weapons, mainly firearms, but they probably have blades too. And why not a traditional cutlass? It's barely anachronistic, being halfway between a knife and a sword. Nowadays, the cutlass is mostly a ceremonial weapon for the Navy, but its uniqueness and its history could definitely make it a signature weapon.