This dagger were designed not to pierce mail but to go through mail and wound the person. Mine has a very long tip. Hausa from Northern Nigeria were using chain mail. There is a small book Nigerian Panoply discussing that.
The Mandinka/Mandingo are a people of West Africa, all descendent physically or culturally from the ancient Mali Empire, which controlled the trans-Saharic trade from the Middle East to West Africa. In the early 13th century, they were under the leadership of Sundiata. In the same century they spread from the area that is now Mali, carving out a large empire.
Currently, they number over three million and reside in many countries throughout West Africa: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. They are also found in small numbers in almost every country in West Africa.
Hausa are an ancient culture that had an extensive coverage area, and long ties to the Arabs. The Hausa have been Muslim since the 14th century, and have converted many other Nigerian tribes to the Muslim faith by contact, trade, and jihads.
The point of the above paragraphs is to show that the two cultures meet in Nigeria. Hausa people were using mail extensively and they were the most aggressive people of the region. They still are the ruling cast of Nigeria today.
In order to fight such enemy that is using mail you need a specialized weapon. This one!
This is not the only specialized mail piercing weapon. The old Flissa from the first half of the 19th century was like that. Used by the North African Berbers. It is clear that people were using chain mail since two such distant cultures had specialize weapons. Look at the pic.
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