1: Not blunt instrument - it has point on front (5)
5: Republican badly ires one on the way up (5)
8: Smuggler participating in arms race? (9)
10: Neil lost a letter and ended up with nothing (3)
11: Uncharacteristically, Dickenson pens uplifting romantic ballad (5)
12: Greek characters suggest dawn (3)
13: Belated top-and-tailing to gladden one's heart (5)