Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
This is all exceptional information, and much appreciated, you are clearly very well informed. Honestly I am delighted to find that these edged weapons (and thank you for the itemized list) were indeed made at the Machin Khana. I had never been able to find proof that was the case.
As ALWAYS, the emphasis is on guns with edged weapons seldom meriting mention as with most military oriented literature.
I am thrilled to hear of this upcoming book, and hope you will keep us informed on how to obtain when released. I presume though the focus is on firearms, the details on swords regardless how minimal are mentioned as suggested.
Good to know these blades on the Afghan military swords are unique as I had suspected, so your confirmation is appreciated. Also that the hilts were based on some British design (I had mentioned similarity to a sword bayonet hilt). I once tried to reach Wilkinson to discover if they in fact had any part in these hilts being so close to bayonet style, but no useful response was forthcoming.
In these times Wilkinson had plenty of contracts supplying India as well as Abyssinia, so it does not seem it would have been a problem, but if the Khan chose otherwise.
The Afghan shashka would of course have been unique to Afghanistan, however these have often been deemed Uzbek, which is rather a vague differentiation which I have yet to follow the particulars. Note fluted scabbard component similar to those on paluoars.
If the British pattern bayonets were being produced there, wonder if the components were interchangeable for the grip, pommel, and ferrule?
Some of these military hilts have had different guards, and on occasion it seems similar to paluoar types.
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Yes your shashka is Afghan, Uzbek shashkas had completely different handles. Factory made Afghan shashkas were spartan, wooden handled weapons that the government issued, and had scabbards with plain metal fittings. Officers on the other hand could go to a local swordmaker and have a more elaborate specimen made for himself, as fancy as his purse would allow. Your example with its horn handle and decorated fittings is a non factory made piece. That chape design seems to be the signature of late 19th to early 20th century Afghan silversmiths ( Im assuming that a separate silversmith would make fittings, I dont know if that was the case with European sword cutlers)
Basically officers could private purchase more elaborate swords to wear, as long as it matched whatever the standard issue prototype was roughly. I wonder if such a policy still existed at the same time in Europe, or if by the mid 19th century officers were only allowed to wear government issue swords