Is this considered an edged weapon?
 

Hi I am new to this forum. I picked up this knife (pictures below) in S. Ethiopia and it probably originates from Wolliso, Sidamo, or thereabouts. At first I thought it to be some type of edged weapon. Hilt is made of horn, very heavy, single edged (on the inner curved side), the blade is extracted from the side of the scabbard as opposed to the top, the scabbard is leather and in excellent condition. I have no indication of the age. It seems to be a most unusual knife. However an Ethiopia friend upon looking at it said it may be used for cutting a type of banana tree called enset (common in the region) as well as possibly being a weapon. Does anyone have information about such a knife? It seems a bit intricate for only agricultural purposes.

Best regards

Rod

Tool or weapon
 

Agricultural implements have been used as weapons for thousands of years and this certainly looks like a weapon. It may have been based on a tool, but this looks to me like it was meant for more than bananas.

bbjw

It certainly looks like a weapon, a closer view of the blade could be helpful.
Are there any markings / decoration on the blade? How thick is the blade and what shape is it in cross section?

Welcome to the forum Rod :)


Regards David

The knife is in Nairobi at present and I'm in Zimbabwe but I'll try to get a closeup of the blade from the existing pictures. There are no markings on the blade but there's a large ridge running the entire length of the blade on both sides. Again I am not in a position to measure the thickness of the blade but I can say it's very heavy and far thicker than daggers or knives I've come across. Thanks for the welcome.

it looks very well made and elaborate for an agricultural tool.

maybe ritual banana harvesting :D :D :D

Never underestimate a banana. :D


That said, looks like a nice well made piece. Good find, and Welcome :)

Is this an edged weapon?
 

Some slightly better pictures of the blade.

I would think an agricultural tool would be made as light as possible...but robust enough to suit its use. Constantly cutting vegetation would be very tiring with a heavy weight blade. Unless this was designed to cut the main trunk of a banana bush (not trees as some people think....in fact banana's are classified as a berry) then my vote is, its a weapon. Bearing in mind the medial ridge would not allow clean deep cuts into 'woody' branches .....human flesh, however, is another story.
Another clue could be the design of the scabbard, it seems to be designed for 'rapid' removal , not necessary for agricultural use.....unless your bananas are particularly aggressive :D

Regards David

Thanks for all the good feedback. I think the consensus is that it is an edged weapon and bananas (berries) whilst not to be underestimated have not in the past been the main recipient of this blade. Rod.

When I look at that blade I envision large gaping wounds; looks like a very effective short sword.

Speaking of which; can we get some measurements of this piece?

Unfortunately I'm not in a position to give an exact length but at a guess the entire knife is between 45-55 cm. Next time I'm in Nairobi I'll get some exact specs of length, blade thickness, etc. and some better pics.

Thanks Rod, that seems of a size that would make it an effective sidearm. :eek:

actually, side removal
 

Would be the only way to get that out of the scabbard; otherwise the scabbard would have to be as wide as the L-shaped bottom part of the blade.

Most agricultural tools can and have been used as weapons; when the Japanese banned weapons in Okinawa sickles and flails for separating rice from its hull became very effective weapons, and that's only one example.

Or, as one of my cousins said of a particularly nasty-looking Italian 'agricultural' chopper, "Quello non fa cilecca" (That one doesn't mis-fire!)