Thanks KUBUR for posting pics of your Mandinka sword......very nice piece. So mine would appear NOT to be Mandinka, as the only "similar" feature I can see is the pommel top.
As far as the blade on mine is concerned ....yes the fullers are really straight and consistent, which is not IMHO seen on locally forged blades.
As Professor Jim has mentioned, large quantities of European and English blades were shipped to the Middle East and Africa, and were no doubt mounted locally. This blade could well me one of those, but there is NO marking of any sort visible.
Anyway I think we can safely say that it comes from the Sub Sahara somewhere, maybe modern day Mali/Chad.
Stu
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