How old is the sword?

Jim McDougall · 19th October 2015, 04:50 PM

Radu!!!??
Welcome back!!!!! Glad you are here again.

You are right in that this is a kaskara, the standard sword of the Mahdists in those campaigns, but used traditionally into modern times.
However, this is actually more modern interpretation (I believe termed 'Kasallawi' for the region in Sudan these became produced after WWII)
The highly stylized discs on the blade represent the crescent moons used by Hausa smiths in the 19th century, and are now degraded into stylized examples as seen here.
Indeed there is a brilliant article written by Ed here on sword and knife making in the Sudan (in articles archived) and Iain is our resident authority on these swords in the broader sense.

19th October 2015, 04:50 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,195	Radu!!!?? Welcome back!!!!! Glad you are here again. You are right in that this is a kaskara, the standard sword of the Mahdists in those campaigns, but used traditionally into modern times. However, this is actually more modern interpretation (I believe termed 'Kasallawi' for the region in Sudan these became produced after WWII) The highly stylized discs on the blade represent the crescent moons used by Hausa smiths in the 19th century, and are now degraded into stylized examples as seen here. Indeed there is a brilliant article written by Ed here on sword and knife making in the Sudan (in articles archived) and Iain is our resident authority on these swords in the broader sense.