Assegai

[RobertGuy]

Originally Posted by kronckew

my zulu/shona isizence axe with similar forging on the blade. this is a 12.5 long toy or dancing axe, i'm still looking for a full sized one

You mean like this? I was going to post this up in a new thread but as we are on a roll here goes.

Catalogue description:
Late 19th century Zulu Axe bearded head with joining shaft. Polished wood ball ended handle which the joining shaft passes through. Lower handle cut with 7 small notches.

My stats:
Weight: 18oz (0.51kg)
Length of haft: 34.5'' (88cm) Blade: 8'' (20cm) Blade edge to haft: 6''(15m)
PoB: 10'' (25.5cm) from top of haft.

Thin blade section, very sharp. Blade joining shaft wedged into haft head with a metal wedge or nail. Slightly curved haft aligned to the cutting edge.

Again never sure of Zulu provenance. I understand that the Zulus didn't use war axes that much and that those they did use were often supplied by the Shona or other peoples. The Zulu axes I have seen seem to favour more angular blades.
I do have a question about this as well. The 7 small notches cut in the haft....crafty marketing ploy on the part of the craftsman who made this , or something more sinister?