Thread: Sawfish sword
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Old 21st July 2005, 10:53 PM   #24
VANDOO
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: OKLAHOMA, USA
Posts: 3,138
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THE FIRST SWORD PICTURED APPEARS TO HAVE THE HANDLE SAWED OUT OF THE BASE OF THE ROSTRUM WHICH IS PROBABLY MORE LIKE ONES MADE IN PRIMATIVE SOCIETYS. THE ONES WITH WOOD HANDLES AND GAURDS ECT. ARE MOST LIKELY NAUTICAL MADE OR COPYED FROM EUROPEAN WEAPONS BY NATIVES. THERE WAS ANOTHER OLD THREAD THAT COVERED WEAPONS WITH TEETH OR BILLS FROM VARIOUS REGIONS OF THE WORLD. I THINK IT STARTED WITH THE HAWAIIAN LEI O MANO AND HAD QUITE A FEW PICTURES.
LOGICALLY LARGE BILLFISH OR SAWFISH ROSTRUMS WOULD HAVE BEEN UNUSUAL AND FEARSOME AND WOULD HAVE BEEN EASILY CONVERTED TO WEAPONS OR CEREMONIAL OBJECTS IN PRIMATIVE CULTURES SO WERE PROBABLY USED WHERE AVAILABLE.
MANY OF THE EXAMPLES I HAVE PERSONALLY SEEN OVER THE YEARS APPEAR TO BE THE WORK OF SAILORS DURING THE TIME OF SAILING SHIPS. THEY HAD LOTS OF TIME AND TRAVELED TO MANY PORTS AND LIKED TO BRING BACK ODD THINGS FROM THEIR VOYAGES AND HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO MAKE MANY INTERESTING CRAFTS. I HAVE SOME OLD BROADBILL SWORDFISH BILLS THAT I PLAN ON FIXING UP ONE OF THESE DAYS, THEY ARE QUITE HARD SO WORKING THEM UP WILL BE SLOW EXCEPT FOR WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH A SAW.

THE STUDENT MENTIONED ARCHELOGICAL FINDS THAT WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF PREHISTORIC USE. SOME OTHER CLUB TYPES COULD ALSO HAVE BEEN PATTERENED AFTER THE SAWFISH BILL. THE OCEANIC ONES USING SHARK TEETH AND THE ONES IN SOUTH AMERICA USING OBSIDIAN BLADES COME TO MIND.
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