Ethiopean Sword

roanoa · 10th July 2005, 11:48 PM

Sorry to disagree with some of you guys (Hi, Derek), but the hilt is NOT rhino. It is of bovine origin. Lots of humped cattle in Abyssinia with huge horns. I have enought rhino hilts and "cow" hilts in my collection to tell the difference. I agree that the main straight piece looks fibrous, BUT it is clearly "scaly". Cow horn will look translucent too. The give-away is the hole that is usully found in the "cross" piece. The tip of cow/buffalo horns is solid but not wide enough. So they are cut sideway and the end of the hole will show most of the times. By the way, I have seen several examples of the same sword with wooden hilts. And I have seen very crudely made shotes with rhino hilts. So the quality of the blade is not always associated with the quality, or material, of the hilt.

roanoa · 11th July 2005, 12:06 AM

As an afterthought, I am sending one more picture. The cross piece is VERY yellow and translucent. But NOT rhino. Just cow... Not that it makes any difference. One of the "flares" of the straight black piece is broken and it shows very clearly (not in the picture) its fibrous structure. But it is also cow. The cow horn fibres are very very tight and the single "strands" can be seen with some magnification. In the rhino horn, the individual strands are much coarser and can easly be seen by the naked eyes. I hope this will be of some help.

derek · 11th July 2005, 12:24 AM

I don't think I'm going to even attempt to ID one from the other at this point.

Roano, will you run down a list of features to look for that will confirm what a hilt is or isn't? We did this on another forum about a type of kukri and it was extremely helpful.

I'm further in doubt about a few others I've seen now............help.......

-d

spiral · 14th July 2005, 01:02 AM

Greatl info Roanoa! any more points to look out for? Its cool to find such knowledge.

thanks!

Spiral

10th July 2005, 11:48 PM	#1
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	Sorry to disagree with some of you guys (Hi, Derek), but the hilt is NOT rhino. It is of bovine origin. Lots of humped cattle in Abyssinia with huge horns. I have enought rhino hilts and "cow" hilts in my collection to tell the difference. I agree that the main straight piece looks fibrous, BUT it is clearly "scaly". Cow horn will look translucent too. The give-away is the hole that is usully found in the "cross" piece. The tip of cow/buffalo horns is solid but not wide enough. So they are cut sideway and the end of the hole will show most of the times. By the way, I have seen several examples of the same sword with wooden hilts. And I have seen very crudely made shotes with rhino hilts. So the quality of the blade is not always associated with the quality, or material, of the hilt. Attached Images

11th July 2005, 12:06 AM	#2
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	As an afterthought, I am sending one more picture. The cross piece is VERY yellow and translucent. But NOT rhino. Just cow... Not that it makes any difference. One of the "flares" of the straight black piece is broken and it shows very clearly (not in the picture) its fibrous structure. But it is also cow. The cow horn fibres are very very tight and the single "strands" can be seen with some magnification. In the rhino horn, the individual strands are much coarser and can easly be seen by the naked eyes. I hope this will be of some help. Attached Images

11th July 2005, 12:24 AM	#3
derek Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 215	I don't think I'm going to even attempt to ID one from the other at this point. Roano, will you run down a list of features to look for that will confirm what a hilt is or isn't? We did this on another forum about a type of kukri and it was extremely helpful. I'm further in doubt about a few others I've seen now............help....... -d

14th July 2005, 01:02 AM	#4
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Greatl info Roanoa! any more points to look out for? Its cool to find such knowledge. thanks! Spiral