Congo sword for ID and restoration advice

fearn · 5th September 2006, 05:37 AM

Hi All,

Just got this at a flea market, cheap.

Length 50 cm, blade 39.5 cm, width 12 cm.

These are the as-bought pictures. The guy I bought it from obviously doesn't take care of his merchandise.

Here are my questions:

1) Which tribe is it from? There are decorative lines on the blade (on both sides), but I haven't gotten a clean image of them yet. On the design, there are two incised curved lines on one side of the blade, one curved line on the other, coming to a "clip point" near the tip (like the outline of a bowie knife), with an "X" in a box right below the "clip." Edges aren't terribly sharp, and they've been bevel sharpened for a right-hander (opposite bevel on each edge).
2) How old is it? From handling it, it could be 10-20 years old and kept very badly, or 50-100 years old and kept somewhat better. It has been used, as evidenced by the dings on the bottom edge. Personally, I suspect the handle (dark stained light wood) is a replacement, but if so, it fits my hand quite well. Cracks in the handle suggest that it has been on the blade for at least a few years.
3) Conservation/restoration. Right now, I'm working on it with WD40, 00 steel wool, and rags to get rid of the active rust. How far should I go? I've had some success bringing out the lines of the pattern, but the blade's pretty pitted, and cleaning it to bare metal would damage the engravings. Since this is my first Congolese blade, I'm not sure how far to clean it before I start damaging it. Should I leave the dark patina that comes from WD40 and rust, or go further.

Thanks in advance,

F

5th September 2006, 05:37 AM	#1
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Congo sword for ID and restoration advice Hi All, Just got this at a flea market, cheap. Length 50 cm, blade 39.5 cm, width 12 cm. These are the as-bought pictures. The guy I bought it from obviously doesn't take care of his merchandise. Here are my questions: 1) Which tribe is it from? There are decorative lines on the blade (on both sides), but I haven't gotten a clean image of them yet. On the design, there are two incised curved lines on one side of the blade, one curved line on the other, coming to a "clip point" near the tip (like the outline of a bowie knife), with an "X" in a box right below the "clip." Edges aren't terribly sharp, and they've been bevel sharpened for a right-hander (opposite bevel on each edge). 2) How old is it? From handling it, it could be 10-20 years old and kept very badly, or 50-100 years old and kept somewhat better. It has been used, as evidenced by the dings on the bottom edge. Personally, I suspect the handle (dark stained light wood) is a replacement, but if so, it fits my hand quite well. Cracks in the handle suggest that it has been on the blade for at least a few years. 3) Conservation/restoration. Right now, I'm working on it with WD40, 00 steel wool, and rags to get rid of the active rust. How far should I go? I've had some success bringing out the lines of the pattern, but the blade's pretty pitted, and cleaning it to bare metal would damage the engravings. Since this is my first Congolese blade, I'm not sure how far to clean it before I start damaging it. Should I leave the dark patina that comes from WD40 and rust, or go further. Thanks in advance, F Attached Images