new club
 

hi all
I bought this today.
I do not know if it is a good club.
I do not know his source.
I your opinions impatiently wait.
Many thanks.
galvano

Galvano,

That's a very nice club. It comes from Africa and an old collegue of my who worked as an accountant for the dutch government was sent to Kenia. He brought such a club back home and was very proud of it. At every occasion if you liked it or not he told about it.

Such a club was made from the roots of a tree. The end of the root was strangled by a rope and left alone for a while. Through the rope the knob developped and when it had been there for a time the root was dug up again.
The root was cut off and what left was a club like yours. It is similar to the club of that collegue of mine. He told us that the steel of the club was in the sleeve of a shirt and the knob in the hand. When necesarry the hand was opened and the club felt from the sleeve in the hand, ready for action.

I changed job, so I got lost the clubstory :D

club. Masai ?
 

Henk seems right.
It has the same shape of mine. Really heavy and hard wood.
I've purhcased this when in Kenya for a photosafari. It was told to me it is Masai, I would prefer to label mine as "allegedly Masai tourist club".
Yours seems the genuine one.

Hi Galvano

I really do not think this is African due to the type of wood and the bark that still is covering it. I would say you have a shillelagh there and not a rungu or a knobkerrie.


Lew

hi all
 

Ok for your answers.
Louieblades I do not understand " shillelagh "
Thanks
galvano :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

A shillelagh is a Irish fighting club.

Lew

I would tend to agree with Lew. I do not think it is necessarily Irish, I think it could be a rustic cudgel from anywhere in rural NW Europe.

europe
 

I would never have believed that in Europe one had used this kind of object
A which time?
galvano

Quite possibly into the early 20th century by some rural rufftytuffty.

Hi,in my opinion this is a Swazi club,type "Gebu"from S-Africa.
I attached an other example I have myself,these types always have the bark on their shaft. :)
Danny

Danny.
Very interesting, that is quite different in form and length, have you got others? I am torn between the two. I know that there are European rural clubs and sticks used by brigands, poachers/game keepers and other rustic hobbledehoys.

Danny, nice early golf club ;) I have never seen this design before.

Henk, your information on how a knob kerrie is 'grown' is very interesting. Previously I thought they were carved from a single tree branch.

Would the shorter shaft on the club posted by Galvano, possibly make it a throwing club???

I am still thinking that the thread starter is possibly rural European. The wood, with the dark heart wood is that African does African wood show seasons? I do not know a great deal about woods. When looking at images of "shillelagh" they all seam to show this dark heart wood or season. Personally I have not seen this on African clubs, none of mine have it.

Meet my new East African club. There is something wonderfully primeval elemental, even the texture of the wood is like bone. It looks like a strange leg bone images of Stanley Kubricks 2001 space odyssey come to mind. It is a very nicely balanced weapon, I like the way the handle end is finished. I have shown it next to a large knobkerrie so you can see it is quite a thumper 83cm long.