African dagger. Completely stumped

blue lander · 18th August 2014, 07:22 PM

You're right, they do look identical. Perhaps it is camel bone. If I ever try to sell it I'll definitely categorize it as such.

I have a pipe with a camel bone shaft and it feels like regular bone. This one feels more like a rock.

David · 18th August 2014, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue lander

You're right, they do look identical. Perhaps it is camel bone. If I ever try to sell it I'll definitely categorize it as such.

Well, given the laws surrounding ivory here in the States you certainly wouldn't want to call it that even if it truly was…

blue lander · 20th October 2014, 06:33 PM

I bought another pair of these , I don't even know why. These look a little different than the others.

blue lander · 11th November 2014, 04:58 PM

They just arrived. They appear to be made of the same material as the other two, whatever that is. Attached are two closeups of the hilt.

blue lander · 30th March 2015, 02:17 PM

An auction recently ended on two more of these, nobody bid on it. These have straight blades and the pattern on the hilt looks a bit different.

Shakethetrees · 31st March 2015, 02:05 PM

But why are the blades made of brass? It's such an inferior material for this purpose that surely it must be they were symbolic or talismanic, and not functional weapons/tools?

This is a question I've had for years since I found mine!

fearn · 1st April 2015, 11:57 PM

I don't know about parallel cultural development, but I do know that there are machine lathe tools that can produce that knurled handle pattern. I'd suggest common tool use, not some sort of cultural bond.

20th October 2014, 06:33 PM	#3
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	I bought another pair of these , I don't even know why. These look a little different than the others. Attached Images

11th November 2014, 04:58 PM	#4
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	They just arrived. They appear to be made of the same material as the other two, whatever that is. Attached are two closeups of the hilt. Attached Images

30th March 2015, 02:17 PM	#5
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	An auction recently ended on two more of these, nobody bid on it. These have straight blades and the pattern on the hilt looks a bit different. Attached Images

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18th August 2014, 07:22 PM	#1
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	You're right, they do look identical. Perhaps it is camel bone. If I ever try to sell it I'll definitely categorize it as such. I have a pipe with a camel bone shaft and it feels like regular bone. This one feels more like a rock.

31st March 2015, 02:05 PM	#6
Shakethetrees Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Louisiana Posts: 363	But why are the blades made of brass? It's such an inferior material for this purpose that surely it must be they were symbolic or talismanic, and not functional weapons/tools? This is a question I've had for years since I found mine!

1st April 2015, 11:57 PM	#7
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	I don't know about parallel cultural development, but I do know that there are machine lathe tools that can produce that knurled handle pattern. I'd suggest common tool use, not some sort of cultural bond.