Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
Good points Iain, and good note on the pre 1872 Clauberg with this kind of fuller.
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Iain was right on the money in fact!
Some observations on the four kaskara blades I currently own (Fig 1). I have given the attributions as far as I know it (or feel fairly sure). I hope these might be useful, and perhaps others could contribute to the data? I've used figure numbers which I know will vanish in the post, but I have also attached (or tried to) a pdf with figures and captions for reference (if its hard to work out which figure is which).
Firstly Kaskara 1, the blade shown in the thread earlier with the crocodile hilt (and scabbard - not shown). Cleaning under the langet and some rather tricky photography resulted in its identification as a W. Clauberg blade (see Figs 2 & 3 - showing al askeri = the soldier or standing knight & what I believe to be W CLAUBERG, although the W CL is the only part that is clear). In this thread:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10557 it was suggested this mark was used up to 1872 and primarily before 1850. So we have a reasonable idea of the date range.
In the following I have focused on the blades rather than hilt of scabbards since these seem to be refurbished often and so little can be gained from determining that the hilt is new (although an entire old hilt would possibly be more telling). An old guard may tell us little.
Having established the Clauberg we have a basis to work from to examine the other blades. So firstly some comparative measurements including a somewhat standardized measure of flex (since this seems to crop up often). I measured flex as the deviation in mm from horizontal at 46cm down the blade when a 4cm wide 2.1kg weight is placed at 46-50cm . It is necessary to tape a small piece of wood to the blade to stop the weight sliding down and off the blade as it bends. Other measures were using a micrometer with an accuracy of 0.05mm or ruler to nearest 1mm.
Measurements
Kaskara 1 (Clauberg Blade, Crocodile skin grip) :
Flex 50mm
Length: 860mm
Width (base) 36.90mm
Thickness (5cm from base) 5.30mm
Fuller: 15 x 212mm. Does not extend to the hilt starting 17mm from blade base.
Marked: Enigmatic mark, WCLAUBERG, standing knight
Ricasso: Yes, partially sharpened at base
Kaskara 2 (19C European Blade, 20C Kassala fittings) :
Flex 52mm
Length 932mm
Width (base) 44.15mm
Thickness (5cm from base) 4.15mm
Fuller: Full length, starting at the base of the blade 20mm wide.
Marked: None visible
Ricasso: Yes, blade partially sharpened at base.
Kaskara 3 (Native, Nile Valley? style hilt?) :
Flex 41mm
Length: 856mm
Width (base) 36.00 mm
Thickness (5cm from base): 4.95mm
Fuller: Three narrow central fullers, approx 3.3mm wide, central fuller 495mm, others approx 340mm. Start 4cm from blade base.
Marked: Half moons on either side
Ricasso: No, but lower edge of the blade is partially sharpened
Kaskara 4 (Rusty, Same style grip as Kaskara 3) :
Flex 51mm
Length 852mm
Width (base) 39.45mm
Thickness (5cm from base) 5.00 mm
Fuller: 144m wide 220mm long
Marked: Enigmatic mark either side.
Ricasso: No blade sharpened along whole length
Some thoughts. The ricasso on kaskara 1 and 2 is very weak, in kaskara 1 is only really visible on one side of the blade (Figs 4 & 5). Fig 6 shows another sword from another thread with a very similar blade profile, a clear ricasso, but also similar post-production sharpening. What is striking about kaskara 4 is that there is a clear edge sharpened all the way to the hilt. This is clear on Fig 7 where I've compared kaskara 1-4 sideways on looking at the base of the blade. It seems that repeated sharpening would wear away at both the ricasso shoulder but also at the unsharpened edge of the blade. It is also clear that either the bladesmith or subsequent user sharpened the whole of the blade, both sides. This may explain why native blades do not have a ricasso - they simply did not see a use for it.
For another potentially very old example see
http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7668 This one has the same blade style as Kaskara 2, but if you look carefully (easiest with picture 3) I think it is clear that the ricasso has been ground off. Note the oblique grinding marks.
So to kaskara 4. Size, flex, fuller, markings match closely to the Clauberg blade, but no makers marks are visible. This blade has been very well used and sharpened many times. This is clear from the sharp edge that reaches the bottom of the blade and also the missing blade material in Fig 8. The blade profile is very different in the native blade as is the flex and general feel, so I am inclined to believe this is an old and well used European blade - but until I get it cleaned up and look for any residual marks under the rust I must admit the weight of evidence is not 100% compelling.
What would be interesting would be to know more of the dimensions and flex of other blades to see if there is some general rule of thumb that might arise (a sample of four is not very satisfying). Of course identifying routes and times for the trade blades arrival in the region would also be really useful, but very tricky.
Chris Topping