West African ? sword for I.D. and comment.

colin henshaw · 12th September 2011, 04:46 PM

Thanks Iain, most interesting.

The scabbard and handle covering appear the same work and seem newer than the blade. Perhaps the blade has been refurnished at some time. Was this common ? The blade is single edged and does not have much "spine", also the quality is not so great. I usually assume this means native work, but I suppose European trade blades would also be of cheap/poor quality sometimes ? Also to be considered is whether native blades were made from smelted local iron ore, or European scrap metal...

The scabbard on my sword, with the squared-off end looks slightly as if it was a longer scabbard cut down maybe ?

An aspect I have noticed on blades that are presumably native work, is how they rust. Somali blades, some kaskaras, and these West African blades often seem to develop deepish black rust patches... Have you any observations on this ?

Can you recommend any references/books on the historical European export trade in sword blades to Africa ? I wonder if there are any old manufacturers' export blade catalogues in existence ?

Regards, Colin

12th September 2011, 04:46 PM	#6
colin henshaw Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,429	Thanks Iain, most interesting. The scabbard and handle covering appear the same work and seem newer than the blade. Perhaps the blade has been refurnished at some time. Was this common ? The blade is single edged and does not have much "spine", also the quality is not so great. I usually assume this means native work, but I suppose European trade blades would also be of cheap/poor quality sometimes ? Also to be considered is whether native blades were made from smelted local iron ore, or European scrap metal... The scabbard on my sword, with the squared-off end looks slightly as if it was a longer scabbard cut down maybe ? An aspect I have noticed on blades that are presumably native work, is how they rust. Somali blades, some kaskaras, and these West African blades often seem to develop deepish black rust patches... Have you any observations on this ? Can you recommend any references/books on the historical European export trade in sword blades to Africa ? I wonder if there are any old manufacturers' export blade catalogues in existence ? Regards, Colin