[Tim Simmons]

It is interesting the spread of this hilt form. It may simply be a matter of ease of production form and function coupled with a matter of scarce materials, one imagines Africa is full of large game animals or cattle free for the taking. Bones and rags had a value in the UK you do not see rag and bone men these days. Clearly lavish things were made in Africa but I think we are not looking at a royal piece.
The piece I started a thread with may be for show. It could be a nasty weapon against an opponent armed with a traditional weapon. I do wonder how traditional local weapons were at that size as opposed to imports. Perhaps the one I have was only really practically possible with the new technology of the portable gas welding pressure tanks, so the problems of slag forming in a long blade could be overcome, untill the transition from locally smelted iron was replaced by imported steel to even the most remote centres of production. There must have been a time when the balance of labour to smelt locally and the cost of imported steel became very fine.