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Originally Posted by Edster
Iain,
Excellent job of research and analysis!! I hadn't realized that the takouba was so wide spread and had such a long history. I'm impressed. A couple of observations/questions.
1. The takouba and kaskara have significantly different profiles. Would European trade blades have been made in the differing profiles to serve the individual markets of the Western Sahel and the Nile Valley? Those Sahelian kingdoms were much more sophisticated than those of the Sudan, and I would expect that more native blades would have been in the takouba form.
2. As you noted, the establishment of provenance is difficult based on a limited database of attribution and stylistic variability. Is there a place for "forensic metallurgy" in further identification? Native ore content and forging, quenching, processing techniques would different from say Solingen as well as native forging from imported steel stock like lorry springs. I wonder if this type of investigation could be done non-invasively? And if so, are enough examples are available to provide a suitable database?
An excellent contribution to the field.
Best regards,
Ed
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Hi Ed,
Excellent questions which deserve a bit of a longish answer.
1. I think not, I have seen the exact same pattern blades in both swords, with the kaskara seeming to leave the blade relatively unchanged, while the takouba shows massive reprofiling of the tip.
Here is a
kaskara with a Kull blade, here is a
takouba with the same pattern but reprofiled.
My impression has been that there was much more of a homegrown weapons industry in the western Sahel compared to the Sudan proper. This is not to say a large number of imported blades were not used in takouba, but I think particularly on the fringes of the takouba range, like Cameroon, you see a lot more native blades.
2. I think there is a place for metallurgical analysis. Unfortunately its not something I have any experience in and I'm not sure of the methods needed and how invasive that might be.
I have noticed quite a variety in the visual appearance of the steels on native takouba blades, unfortunately no good imperical data to back up my instincts regarding some of these.
Swords ground from springs and other scrap steel are somewhat easy to pick out I think. The texture is quite different and you do not see delamination and other factors of a less than perfect ore and forging process.
Cheers,
Iain