Saif, Moroccan saif, sife, nimcha, nimsha

[Pertinax]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

From what little I know of metallurgy, blades could be heated and 'cold stamped' with markings etc. long after being originally forged.

Jim, I also think that the marks were stamped on the blade blanks.

It is difficult for me to determine from the photo whether the Maurice blade is stamped or hand-forged. The blade on my nimcha is clearly stamped. If this is so, then it is reasonable to assume that due to the abundance of imitations of marks of famous European manufacturers, the blade is of local, Maghreb production.

If we date the blade to the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, then we can say that in the Maghreb countries at that time there were productions similar to Solingen and Klingenthal.

P.s.

I have an example - an officer's sabre of the Royal Guard of Spain M1825. The blade is imported Weyersberg, Solingen, and the inscriptions R.F.D TOLEDO and ANO D 18833 are made by engraving.