Another Sudan dagger for comment
 

Hi All

This just ended another arm dagger but what is that needle thing for?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sahara-Desert-An...QQcmdZViewItem


Lew

to remove the thorns from bush?
often, those arm dagger have a short metal part at extremity of the handle for that purpose
you are sure about the Sudanese origine for that dagger? :confused:

an other hand, Masaï have custom to take some quantity of blood from their cattles for their feeding, that long needle could be useful for that action :rolleyes:

à +

Dom

Hi Dom
The seller said he obtained it was purchased it in the Sahara Desert in 1989 ?
It's not Massai and I do have a around 8 of these knives in my collection all with similar features its missing the disk pommel but it is could be a variation of that style of dagger. Where do you think it comes from?


Lew

Definitively sudanese! Sometimes these daggers come with a needle or a tweezers. Nice dagger :)

The dagger arrived today. Here is a good pic of it. The hilt has a nice artistic finale on the butt.


Lew

Nice blade and scabbard. It looks as if it was quite old when the seller bought it. The needle looks like a darning needle you can get in any haberdashery, they are a rare sight these days. Is there a special holder for the needle or do you just push it in the scabbard before the knife? Does the needle have an eye? In the not to distant past nomadic or semi nomadic people of the area just had these things because they were useful, a bit like my Swiss Army knife :o . How sad. Tim.

Interesting hilt material ; wood ?
The end grain looks very much like rhino horn .

Well Lew, you know, they do say it's easier for a camel to pass thru the eye of a needle then it is for a rich man to get into heaven.....and this is supposed to be a camel drivers knife. :D

[QUOTE=Tim Simmons]Nice blade and scabbard. It looks as if it was quite old when the seller bought it. The needle looks like a darning needle you can get in any haberdashery, they are a rare sight these days. Is there a special holder for the needle or do you just push it in the scabbard before the knife? Does the needle have an eye?

Tim

There is a section in the scabbard for the needle which btw has a eye and another spot next to where the needle sits that would hold another object?


Lew

Yes Rick it is a dense type of light colored wood.


Lew