French blades on Saharan Edged Weapons

[Jim McDougall]

At present we are discussing the arms of the French Foreign Legion from the origins of the units in 1831 up to about 1900 in Saharan regions, with focus on the rifles and particularly bayonets.
Here I would like to look further into the blades of these French weapons as they ended up in various edged weapons in Saharan contexts. In many cases these may have been bayonets from the Chassepot rifle (needle gun) 1866 (more of a yataghan style blade); the Gras bayonet of 1874 (a straight stiletto type blade) and a fullered blade from the Mannlicher-Berthier M1892.

These kinds of blades would have been used possibly in the Moroccan s'boula or genoui; and possibly in Tuareg arm daggers (telek).

As for sword blades, many French saber or hanger blades seem to have been used in many cases for the Manding saber of Mali, or in Tuareg takouba of curved variety called 'aljuinar' (in Burkina Faso into Mali regions and others).

We have had this subject come up many times over the years, but results always inconclusive as to actual examples of these weapons with French blades identified.

I am hoping that there might be such examples out there, and ultimately would hope to find any example with blade to French Foreign Legion.

The dagger with red cord is a Moroccan genoui with what is believed to be a Mannlicher-Berthier 1892 (as seen to left next)
The next two are the yataghan blade Chassepot or the straight blade Gras
The picture is of Moroccan tribesman with s'boula at hip, these often have straight pointed blades similar to Gras bayonets.