Mysterious Afghan Military Sabre

[Sakalord364]

I am curious what these brass strips are, contemporary (or modern?) repair work to support the leather scabbard, or Some kind of decoration? It seems rather crude compared to the rest of the fittings

[Lee]

I think those could be later "purely practical" reinforcements for a scabbard that had split or had been cut through.

[mahratt]

I completely agree with Lee's opinion.

[Sakalord364]

Originally Posted by mahratt

I completely agree with Lee's opinion.

I had thought that some modern bazaar dealer who originally sold this sword installed those hasty brass repair strips on the scabbard, but it seems it was done at least a century ago correct?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Sakalord364

I had thought that some modern bazaar dealer who originally sold this sword installed those hasty brass repair strips on the scabbard, but it seems it was done at least a century ago correct?

That would be a good assumption ideally, but in the volatile tribal regions in Afghanistan, local artisans busily refurbish and repurpose weaponry constantly as they have for centuries. It is true that items that end up in the bazaars (i.e. Chicken Street) up to modern times reflect a lot of such innovation, but many may have actually been in use by tribesmen prior to arriving there.

As noted, these swords are not 'old' in arms collecting parlance as we are used to, but they were still using swords in warfare well into 20th century. These scabbards had wood inserts and would be subject to cracking etc. (mine has lost most of the already replaced leather) so even with newer leather cover, these bands probably were to secure the wood if damaged.

This example seems likely to be from the period around 3rd Afghan war (1919+) and probably refurbished any number of times over the years. With ethnographic weaponry, especially from these regions, it is more about the 'exotica' and turbulent history of these regions, the warriors and their arms, than age.

[ariel]

This is just a generic Afghani saber with a handle developed from the colonial British bayonet for Brunswick rifle 1837 and 1841 patterns. They were developed initially for the Nepalese military and the main difference between them was that the Brunswick bayonets had a hollow all-metal handle to attach to the rifle, while the Afghani variant of the same " colonial" pattern had a solid mixed metal/wooden or bone handle.
The defining word in the name is " colonial": Brits themselves did not use them, but the " natives" could use them both as rifle-attached bayonets or as short swords, even with a D-guard. The earliest photo example we are aware of was dated to 1879 and used a short straight blade of European style, likely made locally .
Later on, when Abdurrahman started restoring Afgani military post 2nd Anglo-Afghani War, and Mashin Khana in Kabul was rebuilt post 1897, different workshops in Afghanistan were producing short swords with "Khyber knife" blades and the above handles. Those can be legitimately call "military Khybers" ( not the "regulation" ones because there were no state regulation criteria and they all were of different sizes) , but the earliest examples ( see above) as well as the saber posted here, have nothing in common with the " Khybers" (Selavah), Real Khybers had totally different blade profile that cannot be confused with anything else and emphatically never had curved saber-like blade configuration.
Afghanistan was in a rearmament frenzy just before Abdurrahman and until Amanulla. That was the reason for the appearance of varied models of bladed weapons, some of rather bizarre form that were short-lived ( see above) to the final appearance of regulation sabers fully imitating Western examples.

Thus, around 1920-1930's Afghani military finally became armament-like almost equal to the European armies of the early 19 century, which at that time relegated sabers to the status of ceremonial baubles and were arming themselves with airplanes and tanks:-)))

[Sakalord364]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

That would be a good assumption ideally, but in the volatile tribal regions in Afghanistan, local artisans busily refurbish and repurpose weaponry constantly as they have for centuries. It is true that items that end up in the bazaars (i.e. Chicken Street) up to modern times reflect a lot of such innovation, but many may have actually been in use by tribesmen prior to arriving there.

As noted, these swords are not 'old' in arms collecting parlance as we are used to, but they were still using swords in warfare well into 20th century. These scabbards had wood inserts and would be subject to cracking etc. (mine has lost most of the already replaced leather) so even with newer leather cover, these bands probably were to secure the wood if damaged.

This example seems likely to be from the period around 3rd Afghan war (1919+) and probably refurbished any number of times over the years. With ethnographic weaponry, especially from these regions, it is more about the 'exotica' and turbulent history of these regions, the warriors and their arms, than age.

Though couldn’t the owner just commission a new scabbard instead of trying to repair it like this?

[ariel]

Originally Posted by Sakalord364

Though couldn’t the owner just commission a new scabbard instead of trying to repair it like this?

It's a good repair, perhaps even better than a new scabbard: wood and leather would be cut thru in a couple of years, but brass reinforcements will hold almost forever.

A significantly more interesting question is how was it carried? Where are its suspension rings?