Interesting african arm dagger
 

Picked this one up. Not a type I've had before.
Seems to have lots of age, lovely patina on the wood.
Nothing earth shattering, but thought you chaps might like to see it.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...a/SDC10722.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...a/SDC10720.jpg

Seems to be Hausa looking at the hilt. See the link third dagger from the top.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2890

Certainly Hausa, the form is found in wood as yours is, or also in brass. I'd guess early 1900s for this one, given the blade. Could be older though. Nice find, these aren't as common as say Tebu examples.

Lew and Iain

Thanks guys. Have you noticed how carefully 'knotted' the long strips of material forming the arm band are?

Despite being crude, the blade is suprisingly thick and meaty.
It's a nice little thing really :)

Thanks
Gene

Hi Gene,

I've always found arm daggers an interesting field in that it's a style that spans the entire Sahel. A lot of these are invariably labeled Tuareg (kind of like takouba) or Sudanese without any further classification. A pity as there's a lot of variety out there that I suspect is linked to specific tribes and geographical areas. As always, more to learn, for me at least.

Cheers,

Iain

I agree completely. They are many, varied and interesting.
I must admit, I've always fancied the 'posh' end of the spectrum, the multi fullered blades, the silver mounts etc.....
Sadly I've never had a really fancy one.
This one is full of the opposite sort of charm. Completely 'rustic' and handmade but suprisingly deadly feeling.
I'll probobly get bored of it soon enough, but I'm enjoying having a different type to the usual at the moment :).

Best
Gene

Some Sudanese Arm Daggers
 

Very nice arm dagger. I agree with its "organic" qualities. I haven't participated in the Forum for a while, and it lured by back. Its interesting the similarities, yet definite stylistic differences of various regions. The examples below may be useful to add to the mix. #753 are from Western Sudan and are qualitatively different from # 755 from the Nile Region. People off Eastern Sudan don't wear the jalabiya gown, but prefer pants and an over shirt. They usually wear their knives around the waist.

#744 would be an arm dagger if that style was used in the Kassala area. In fact I purchased the blade and sketched the handle. my friend/translator and handle make crafted the handle in the local style. I was thrilled to later learn that the design became a kind of fashion statement. Dinka bladesmith made several and sold them.

Any more examples in clooections. Maybe we can do a small catalogue.

Regards,
Ed ley

HI Ed,

Good to have you back :)

Nice selection there. Thats a great story about your design being 'adopted' it's a great example of how these diverse variations 'evolve'.

There are other members here who have extensive collections of these daggers.............
Lew, you still here? ;)