What kind of sword, that in itself could also create another depth of meaning.Spanish/ pirate Cutlass, roman gladius, katana, or my personal favorite Japanese sword pistol:
http://flutterknife.tumblr.com/post/947644730/sword-pistol

Or it could be a bayonet if you had family that served in any wars. Normally if you have anything slightly cultural in your family history, or like a certain area all you have to do is type that region into google and add swords right after it. Part Inuit, they have pretty neat bone spears instead of sword. India has pretty epic swords as well.