Ed,
Many thanks, that's about as good a explanation as I could hope for.
The separation of metal workers based on specific material is something I'm familiar with from the Hausa. At least there you have castes based on iron/steel working and white metals (silver, tin, brass, copper etc.).
Part of the reason I'm asking so many questions is that in some sources such as Barth, he talks about a large number of blades being imported to Kano, hilted and reexported out, in part, to the Sudan. However as the term at the time included a rather more massive area than the current country it's hard to know just how accurate his report is and just how far this would have extended. I'm trying to find out what I can about the overlap in these regions between takouba and kaskara and a large part of that is obviously the hilts.
The notes about the silver fittings being more or less after market finishing is rather fascinating for me. Given the somewhat close connections between the eastern and western Sahel in terms of metalsmith casts and practices gives me some insight into how the two sword forms were manufactured differently (brass hilted takouba being impossible to finish in a half way stage due to the integral nature of the brass to the overall hilt design).
I'm not sure why I thought the tassels were a latter addition, perhaps the older blades I've seen in museum and private collections just had them removed, or aging took a toll on the organic material.
Your insights are fascinating as always. Thanks for sharing.
Best,
Iain