West African sword for I.D. & comment

[Iain]

Others, like this mid 14th century blade are a clear case of remounting because of a shortened blade and no tang. In this case a single piece of steel is split to make a new forte and a new tang was part of or attached to that forte.

So, short answer, I think its mainly out of necessity to mount the blade in the absence of a tang.

The closest thing in terms of outside influence I can think of are how some Indian blades are mounted like firangi, with langets extending over the blade. However those, from what I recall are more like extensions from the hilt and quite integral, versus what we see in Colin's piece and my own examples where the new forte or plates do not seem to be directly integral to the hilt.

[Iain]

Finally to return to the main topic, I think in Colin's images its quite clear his blade was remounted because of a tang issue or break. The blade clearly terminates before entering the hilt which means the plates were necessary to facilitate a forte and form a tang.

I've attached an image with a little tweaking to hopefully make clear what I mean/see.