[Tim Simmons]

Here are some more pictures. This is not an axe but you can chop with it as you can see when looking at the use on the blade. I feel it is a knife with a long handle which seems to me that it could be held in three positions. Griped around the part near the blade, griped around the middle using the projection by the thumb as support and finally at the far end with the projection as a stop at the palm of the hand.

Is it a weapon? well there is some reach to slash with as well as slashing close in. The blade is razor sharp, a rub on a strop and you could shave with it as I mentioned before. How big does a blade have to be to slice up a half naked opponent. It is a fine piece of steel. I cannot say it is hollow ground to each side in the standard way but when passed through the thumb and fore fingers you can feel that the blade has concave sides. The wood and carving and fine shaving marks are identical to the South Sudan club. So I suspect it is from eastern region and not the elusive Dahomey amazons razor weapon. Somewhere I have heard the slogan "seek and ye shall find" fingers crossed.