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Originally Posted by stephen wood
...who used trade blades?
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More or less all of Northern Africa. If I recall correctly, in his book on African Arms, in the chapter dedicated to Sudanic Africa, Spring mentions that the city of Kano in Northern Nigeria (still ruled by an Emir today!) was a major trading center, where no less than 50,000 blades were imported from Europe annually. The blades were hilted there according to local preferences, and then sold all over Northern Africa, even as far as Khartoum.
In other words, it is not so unusual for a sword with a "kaskara" blade to be mounted in Manding fashion.
Nice sword, congratulations.
Teodor