You know, when I first saw a Manding cylindrical hilt I assume it was shaped that way for practical reasons rather than stylistic ones. Like, if you took a stick tang sword and wrapped leather around it to make a hilt, that's the shape you'd end up with.
My other "scrap metal" Manding sword has a very different hilt construction. The tang is almost the full width of the blade. The end of the tang was folded back on top of itself to create a pommel. A leather cap covers it, but it's easily removed. I've seen quite a few similar swords go up for auction and they all appear to have a similar construction. The scabbards terminate in a tip like a European scabbard rather than the usual Manding style. The scabbards always feature woven multicolor leather. The blades are always blackened and extremely crude. The hilt is sometimes circular or sometimes dog bone shape, but there's never any metal furniture to it. Are these modern Manding swords made in a simpler style by less skilled artisans, or tourist pieces, or what?
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