Thanks Ed, quite a trip down memory lane! Was this back in 2008 or before?
While I cant see the blade very well, in recent years I have learned that there were European blades with these three central fullers on broadsword blades. There does seem to have been numbers of these blades produced in Solingen and exported to African and Red Sea ports, where these found their way into trade routes.
It does remain curious that a broadsword blade was mounted in one of these British cavalry hilts. I had one of these four slot hilts of this type I got from Flayderman back in the 70s which had a spherical pommel and a huge 40" backsword blade. Another I had from Denner had the curled bars in the hilt and a heavy sabre blade.
Whether these were 'remounts' or one off officers swords is anybodys guess.
Burton did use quotes from some of the 19th century adventure narrators such as Barth and Clapperton & Denham, who noted that the African swords had blades usually from Solingen, and "...preserves the knightly form of crusading days" ("Book of the Sword", p.162).
I think Burton et al, were aware of the blades being 'of the type', but not necessarily of that vintage.
We do know that we have found blades in Tuareg context which indeed were of medieval period, though these are quite rarely found in modern times.
Oakeshott, I think in his "Records of the Medieval Sword" (?) notes that there are numerous cases where souvenier kaskaras had their blades taken and remounted in spurious hilts to appear medieval.
I hadn't realized that we discussed this riding sword back in 2000!!!!
It was very nostalgic to see those names so long gone again.
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