AFRICAN???SWORD for ID and COMMENT

[kahnjar1]

Thanks Gentlemen. Yes I agree sub Sahara, maybe Mali or Chad. The pommel top resembles those seen on other Taureg items and I agree the hilt style is very similar to those seen on Omani swords. The thing I like most about this is the leatherwork which is very nicely done IMHO. As has been said above, the blade could be an old European one.
Stu

[Iain]

I'd lean towards 20th century locally made blade myself, it's subtle but the fullers and profile of the blade don't strike me as one of the older European trade blades. Just an opinion though based on photos.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Iain

I'd lean towards 20th century locally made blade myself, it's subtle but the fullers and profile of the blade don't strike me as one of the older European trade blades. Just an opinion though based on photos.

I agree. As I stated in the original post, my feeling is locally forged. As to date again I agree likely 20th c sometime.
Stu

[rickystl]

Hi Stu.
As you know, I'm very much a novice when it comes to these blades. But I agree with you. The attractive feature is the scabbard and leather work. Looks like it took longer to make than the blade itself. Nice find.
Rick.

[Kubur]

Maybe it's time for me to introduce my Mandingo sword with a French blade end of 18th c.
As Professor Mc Douglas and I said your blade is probably older. Closer pictures would help.
Best,

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Maybe it's time for me to introduce my Mandingo sword with a French blade end of 18th c.
As Professor Mc Douglas and I said your blade is probably older. Closer pictures would help.
Best,

'Professor McDouglas' !!! ???? Hey, I like that!!!
Very nice blade on your Manding sabre, indeed looks end of 18th French, with these type blades most common on these sabres.
On this West African sword in discussion, the grooves look remarkably uniform, and the reason I suggested 19th c. European is that in about that period there were a degree of 'blanks' out of Solingen into trade markets. At least that seems the case as the over inflated industrial sector struggled to keep up at end of Franco-Prussian war (1870).

The moons (dukari) were consistently on Hausa blades (masri) of the eastern Saharan into Sudanese regions. It seems that there were indeed 'kaskara' type blades on West African swords of Sierra Leone and others with cylindrical hilts, but hard to determine periods earlier than of course latter 19th c. These of course did not have the moons that were indicative of the 'masri' type blades (Rodd, 1928).

[kahnjar1]

Thanks KUBUR for posting pics of your Mandinka sword......very nice piece. So mine would appear NOT to be Mandinka, as the only "similar" feature I can see is the pommel top.
As far as the blade on mine is concerned ....yes the fullers are really straight and consistent, which is not IMHO seen on locally forged blades.
As Professor Jim has mentioned, large quantities of European and English blades were shipped to the Middle East and Africa, and were no doubt mounted locally. This blade could well me one of those, but there is NO marking of any sort visible.
Anyway I think we can safely say that it comes from the Sub Sahara somewhere, maybe modern day Mali/Chad.
Stu

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

'Professor McDouglas' !!! ???? Hey, I like that!!!

Sorry for the misspell, Mc Dougall.