the iklwa arrived. beautiful, tight. no major damage other than age, nice patina on the sharp blade, some light pitting, blade is of a shallow diamond x-section. tip is rounded and sharp.
wire wrap is solid and undamaged. it is a combination of braided bands of brass and steel wire, the steel now black with age. you can see where the ends of the wire were inserted into tiny holes in the wood at the starting end of the braids, braided towards the point and the bitter ends hidden under the last few turns as they reached the far end.
some evidence there may have been two more bands spaced along the haft, two pale band areas about an inch or so wide in the darker wood patina. the wood is a heavy 'assegai wood', a dogwood variant and similar to ironwood.
i'll take some pictures later & add them here.
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