Turkish sword , good stuff ?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Edster

Francotolin,

I'm not qualified to comment on your sword, but the repair looks dodgy to me. I'm really interested in the mechanics of how your blade, cross-guard and hilt are joined. This type of sword has been considered as a prototype to the Sudanese Kaskara, but I've never had an opportunity to explore the mechanics of it's joining. Also, the date of your sword type could inform when the Kaskara's mechanics could have been adopted.

I assume the cross-guard is cast copper alloy, but its internal shape is basically the same as the Kaskara's 4-piece forge-welded iron construction.Is the bottom of the handle wedged into the top of the guard to hold the blade in place and secure all three parts together? Also, it looks like there is a pin in the handle that would attach the handle to the blades tang.

Best regards,
Ed

Ed, this is a fantastic insight! I had never thought of the similarity of this Ottoman hilt crossguard in comparison to that of the kaskara. Clearly the proximity would offer such influence for the profoundly produced examples of the Mahdiyya and after.