Ethiopian Dagger with a Fancy Scabbard

TVV · 9th January 2016, 10:14 PM

I acquired this dagger because its scabbard appealed to me aesthetically. These daggers have been described here by the forum Ethiopian specialist Ron Azzi in the link below:

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showpost.p...7&postcount=62

As you can see, apart from the scabbard, the rest of the parts are pretty unremarkable and of low quality: the blade looks like it was made by stock removal from another piece of steel, and the hilt is of some light horn (sheep?). The interesting part is the scabbard, where a leather sheath is inserted into what used to be the chape and a reworked band from the scabbard of an older straight sword.

An explanation for these daggers may be that when Ethiopian swords were exported to Yemen for their rhino horn hilts, the scabbards were left as surplus and it probably felt wasteful to discard them, so one or more craftsmen found a way to at least utilize the scabbard furniture.

Sincerely,
Teodor

Battara · 10th January 2016, 02:00 AM

Very impressive metal work! Thanks for posting.

Helleri · 11th January 2016, 04:43 AM

Could you post a sharp close up of the bottom of the bottom of the handle (the butt)?

9th January 2016, 10:14 PM	#1
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,598	Ethiopian Dagger with a Fancy Scabbard I acquired this dagger because its scabbard appealed to me aesthetically. These daggers have been described here by the forum Ethiopian specialist Ron Azzi in the link below: http://vikingsword.com/vb/showpost.p...7&postcount=62 As you can see, apart from the scabbard, the rest of the parts are pretty unremarkable and of low quality: the blade looks like it was made by stock removal from another piece of steel, and the hilt is of some light horn (sheep?). The interesting part is the scabbard, where a leather sheath is inserted into what used to be the chape and a reworked band from the scabbard of an older straight sword. An explanation for these daggers may be that when Ethiopian swords were exported to Yemen for their rhino horn hilts, the scabbards were left as surplus and it probably felt wasteful to discard them, so one or more craftsmen found a way to at least utilize the scabbard furniture. Sincerely, Teodor Attached Images

10th January 2016, 02:00 AM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	Very impressive metal work! Thanks for posting.

11th January 2016, 04:43 AM	#3
Helleri Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Boulder Creek, CA. Posts: 202	Could you post a sharp close up of the bottom of the bottom of the handle (the butt)?