Honest Kaskara to share.

TVV · 17th June 2019, 10:26 PM

It would be nice to get better pictures of the blade. If this was originally a single edged blade, that had its back ground and sharpened to modify it into a broadsword according to the traditional taste in Sudan, then to me that would indicate an imported blade, modified locally.

ariel · 17th June 2019, 11:38 PM

Drac,

Go to Classics and check the most recent entries ( the lowest): splendid topics on Kaskara .

Edster · 18th June 2019, 12:40 AM

Drac,

This could well be a Mahdi Era sword. In the early part the Sudanese were getting blades from whatever sources were available. This presumably European blade could have been dressed in the Kaskara style. After the British Reconquest these was a general disarmament period with mush lesser demand to cobble a sword from uncharastic blades. Plus, there was a vast "surplus" of Kaskara resulting from the Mahdist defeat.

Your blade has what could be a maker's mark just under the lower langet. Is the blade otherwise marked with Arabic/Islamic inscriptions? If not inscribed it could be of Italian origin as they were active in the Kassala area, and many of their Sudanese allies were against the Mahdi. Either way it could help in identifying its source.

Best,
Ed

drac2k · 18th June 2019, 01:04 AM

Thank you, gentlemen, for your comments and information; I will try to post some better pictures. I can't see any makers' marks, but I will look more closely with a magnifying glass.

drac2k · 20th June 2019, 06:57 PM

I hope these additional pictures help

TVV · 20th June 2019, 07:17 PM

Thank you for the additional images - the blade looks like it was actually reforged from curved and single edged to straight and double edged. I have a sword that started as a gurade and went through a similar rework here:

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread...hlight=kaskara

Teodor

Jim McDougall · 20th June 2019, 07:44 PM

Teodor that is a very astute observation, and seeing these additional images I think this could be the case. You can see the remains of a European ricasso block, and the fuller seems remarkably asymmetrical, where it would be central on the usually seen broadsword blades.

I recall the discussions where it was shown that this reworking of a sabre blade could be done, but it seemed like a lot of work! Still, blades were at a premium in these Sudanese regions, and were refurbished continually through generations. The sharpening of blades in these and Saharan regions was often pretty brutal and crudely done so it is amazing these blades could survive as long as they have.

This falls directly in place with the British disarmament after Omdurman, as noted by Ed, and the availability of blades was pretty dismal in most Sudanese areas. It seems more remote Darfur still got blades OK, but through varied trade routes aside from those virtually restricted by England.

20th June 2019, 06:57 PM	#5
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,255	I hope these additional pictures help Attached Images

17th June 2019, 10:26 PM	#1
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,660	It would be nice to get better pictures of the blade. If this was originally a single edged blade, that had its back ground and sharpened to modify it into a broadsword according to the traditional taste in Sudan, then to me that would indicate an imported blade, modified locally.

17th June 2019, 11:38 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Drac, Go to Classics and check the most recent entries ( the lowest): splendid topics on Kaskara .

18th June 2019, 12:40 AM	#3
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 411	Drac, This could well be a Mahdi Era sword. In the early part the Sudanese were getting blades from whatever sources were available. This presumably European blade could have been dressed in the Kaskara style. After the British Reconquest these was a general disarmament period with mush lesser demand to cobble a sword from uncharastic blades. Plus, there was a vast "surplus" of Kaskara resulting from the Mahdist defeat. Your blade has what could be a maker's mark just under the lower langet. Is the blade otherwise marked with Arabic/Islamic inscriptions? If not inscribed it could be of Italian origin as they were active in the Kassala area, and many of their Sudanese allies were against the Mahdi. Either way it could help in identifying its source. Best, Ed

18th June 2019, 01:04 AM	#4
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,255	Thank you, gentlemen, for your comments and information; I will try to post some better pictures. I can't see any makers' marks, but I will look more closely with a magnifying glass.

20th June 2019, 07:17 PM	#6
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,660	Thank you for the additional images - the blade looks like it was actually reforged from curved and single edged to straight and double edged. I have a sword that started as a gurade and went through a similar rework here: http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread...hlight=kaskara Teodor

20th June 2019, 07:44 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Teodor that is a very astute observation, and seeing these additional images I think this could be the case. You can see the remains of a European ricasso block, and the fuller seems remarkably asymmetrical, where it would be central on the usually seen broadsword blades. I recall the discussions where it was shown that this reworking of a sabre blade could be done, but it seemed like a lot of work! Still, blades were at a premium in these Sudanese regions, and were refurbished continually through generations. The sharpening of blades in these and Saharan regions was often pretty brutal and crudely done so it is amazing these blades could survive as long as they have. This falls directly in place with the British disarmament after Omdurman, as noted by Ed, and the availability of blades was pretty dismal in most Sudanese areas. It seems more remote Darfur still got blades OK, but through varied trade routes aside from those virtually restricted by England.