An African heavyweight.

Freddy · 26th February 2006, 07:46 PM

Yesterday, I found this knife at a jumble sale. The owner lived in the Congo before 1960 and had some good items on his stall.

This dagger comes from the following tribes : So, Topoke, Mba, Lokele (according to some authors also Mbole).
The piece consists of a thin blade, a wooden handle with copper binding to which a real heavy iron weight is attached. It weighs about 1,2 kg !

Looking through books I found several explanations for this strange iron butt. Some authors say it was used to increase the weight of the weapon when delivering a blow. I don't think that this is the reason, because it feels akward when handled.
Others gave an even weirder explanation. They believe that these knifes were used by tribes in the tropical forest. The knives were dropped on the heads of the enemy.

The light metal blade would act as a stabilizer during the flight. I'm sure they would do some damage when received on the head

, but I don't think they were used for this. As one author states : the undergrowth in a tropical forest would make accuracy difficult.
A third explanation was that the metal weight was only used to 'show off'. It was a method of displaying one's wealth. The bigger your butt, the richer you were. My guess is that this is the true explanation.
Iron was undoubtedly valuable. So, these knives can also be seen as some kind of currency.

The total length is 40 cm (16 "), length of the blade is 26,5 cm (10,6 ")
The metal butt measures 8 x 6,5 cm (2,9" x 2,6") and is 6 cm (2,4") thick.

Tim Simmons · 26th February 2006, 10:05 PM

Gosh that was some jumble sale. What a fantastic find, beautiful, simply adore that pommel. I have a Congo knife with a solid steel pommel but of a different shape. I do not think these are for fighting. You find such nice things. This knife has a tempered blade but is really quite thin, I would think not a fighting blade. Tim

Luc LEFEBVRE · 26th February 2006, 11:35 PM

Nice one Freedy (ça chine bien à Bruxelles...).
Here is an exemple with a scabbard from "De Fer et de Fierte".
Luc

Luc LEFEBVRE · 26th February 2006, 11:38 PM

Your one Tim is really good also, a mix of Kumu for the blade ( the one with a kind of ring at the end of the handle on the picture below) and Nkutshu for the handle.
Tetela, Hamba, Yela, Kela...
Luc

26th February 2006, 07:46 PM	#1
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	An African heavyweight. Yesterday, I found this knife at a jumble sale. The owner lived in the Congo before 1960 and had some good items on his stall. This dagger comes from the following tribes : So, Topoke, Mba, Lokele (according to some authors also Mbole). The piece consists of a thin blade, a wooden handle with copper binding to which a real heavy iron weight is attached. It weighs about 1,2 kg ! Looking through books I found several explanations for this strange iron butt. Some authors say it was used to increase the weight of the weapon when delivering a blow. I don't think that this is the reason, because it feels akward when handled. Others gave an even weirder explanation. They believe that these knifes were used by tribes in the tropical forest. The knives were dropped on the heads of the enemy. The light metal blade would act as a stabilizer during the flight. I'm sure they would do some damage when received on the head , but I don't think they were used for this. As one author states : the undergrowth in a tropical forest would make accuracy difficult. A third explanation was that the metal weight was only used to 'show off'. It was a method of displaying one's wealth. The bigger your butt, the richer you were. My guess is that this is the true explanation. Iron was undoubtedly valuable. So, these knives can also be seen as some kind of currency. The total length is 40 cm (16 "), length of the blade is 26,5 cm (10,6 ") The metal butt measures 8 x 6,5 cm (2,9" x 2,6") and is 6 cm (2,4") thick.

26th February 2006, 10:05 PM	#2
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,807	Gosh that was some jumble sale. What a fantastic find, beautiful, simply adore that pommel. I have a Congo knife with a solid steel pommel but of a different shape. I do not think these are for fighting. You find such nice things. This knife has a tempered blade but is really quite thin, I would think not a fighting blade. Tim Attached Images Last edited by Tim Simmons; 26th February 2006 at 10:17 PM.

26th February 2006, 11:35 PM	#3
Luc LEFEBVRE Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: France Posts: 472	Nice one Freedy (ça chine bien à Bruxelles...). Here is an exemple with a scabbard from "De Fer et de Fierte". Luc Attached Images

26th February 2006, 11:38 PM	#4
Luc LEFEBVRE Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: France Posts: 472	Your one Tim is really good also, a mix of Kumu for the blade ( the one with a kind of ring at the end of the handle on the picture below) and Nkutshu for the handle. Tetela, Hamba, Yela, Kela... Luc Attached Images