Determining age of Takouba
I'm sure everybody's tired of these "run of the mill" Takoubas, but I just got this one in the mail and it's giving me mixed signals of how old it is. On the one hand it's in great condition and the blade looks native made with ground fullers. So it seems like it could have been made yesterday. On the other hand the blade's nice and thick and sturdy, the moon faces on the blade are fairly well marked, and it looks like it's been sharpened a few times. It's very top heavy, I doubt you'd have any problems putting the hurt on someone with this thing even through heavy clothes. It feels like it was meant for business.
The rings on the scabbard are pretty nice and thick as well. They're brass and have some decorations on them. I've read that newer Takoubas have triangular rings. I know the age of the scabbard and the age of the blade are often very different, but I'd assume the blade wouldn't be any younger than it's scabbard.
I imagine it must be firmly 20th century, but do you think it's pre or post WWII?
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