Some more objects from the RDG - kaskara (?) and spears

RDGAC · 14th May 2010, 07:38 PM

Item #2: One of our four kaskara - or what seem to be kaskara, anyway. All four, I believe (at least three quite certainly) were taken by the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, during the Anglo-Egyptian of 1882, probably during the pursuit phase following the disastrous (from an Egyptian standpoint) battle at Tel-el-Kebir. Since, in the words of one Sergeant Thomas Littlejohn, 4th Dragoon Guards, "we [the 4th D.G.] received orders to kill none except those who refused to give up their weapons, which in almost every case they were only too glad to do" (J. M. Brereton, A History of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and their predecessors, 1685-1980, p. 260; Catterick, 1982), it seems likely that these were some of the many blades discarded by fleeing Egyptian infantry following their rout. It's also possible, however, that they were taken as trophies from the citadel at Cairo, which the 4th Dragoon Guards were also to take shortly afterward - if only by a splendid bluff.

In any event, we've got four of these beasts, and they seem to match the typical profile of a kaskara from my own research. Long, double-edged blade, designed for a one-handed grip, one or three fullers, and to be honest, fairly crude-looking construction. All but one are without their scabbards, and this example's scabbard is less than half intact; given the damage it's sustained over the years, I'd surmise that even if the others once had their scabbards, they have long fallen victim to time, neglect and abuse.

This particular blade is also, sadly, the worst of the lot; as well as substantial chips in its edge, the flats of the blade are badly pitted. When I removed its scabbard, in March, I found that the blade was still rusting slowly away, and immediately began trying to remedy this; so far I've been using 0000 grade steel wool and Young's "303" gun oil, with a coating of 3-in-1 to try to protect the blade from further moisture, but I'm checking regularly for activity. Advice on this matter would, as always, be very helpful.

The blade is, overall, some 34.125in (86.5cm, give or take), from the tip to the lowermost edge of the cross guard, which is of course cruciform in shape; its width varies from 1.25in (3.5cm) near the tip, to just shy of 1.7in (4.4cm) a quarter of an inch forward of the ricasso, which tapers by 0.1in toward the cross guard, presumably to accommodate said part and the grip. At a guess - for I've not had the nerve to remove the remaining sections of the grip - the blade's length, including tang, is probably around 39.5-40in (100-102cm, again give or take). The blade exhibits pitting, extensive inactive rust, and several chips along its edge - possibly battle damage, or possibly due to careless handling, I'm sorry to admit. There was also significant active rust on the lower 21in (52cm) of the blade, which had probably remained covered by the scabbard for some time. It exhibits three fullers, the outer two extending a little less than 11.4in (29cm) from the cross guard, while the innermost runs some 17.25in (43cm) down the blade. To either side of this central fuller sits what appears to be a depiction of a crescent moon, but with an unusually jagged "cut" to its crescent; it may be Arabic text, or perhaps a depiction of something else entirely (sunrise over mountains?).

The grip is in poor condition; denuded of its binding material and the leather (?) pommel present on our other three kaskara, all that remains is its wooden core and some coils of what seems to be steel or iron wire. This wire is terrible corroded and very brittle; a piece around 1/4 of an inch in length snapped off in my fingers when I attempted to unwind it. It is deteriorating and will probably do so until it has simply disintegrated; at this stage I can see no means to stabilise what is obviously almost totally destroyed metal. The grip's core has a single nail through it, which presumably passes through a hole in the tang in the manner of the Japanese mekugi/mekugi-ana method.

The scabbard is, likewise, in poor condition; 22.5in (57.2cm) in length, it is obviously missing a foot of its length, perhaps more - or am I wrong, and do kaskara scabbards (if this even is a kaskara - argh!) not extend so far as those found elsewhere? In any case, whatever lay above that 22.5in mark has been torn away, judging from the jagged edges of the damaged portion. The tip of the blade has ripped through the very tip of the scabbard, with the result that it now protrudes by around 1/3 of an inch, and the scabbard's stitching is failing badly on the reverse side. I have no idea how long it has been left without leather treatment of some sort, but any help in mitigating the damage would be most appreciated.

And now, pictures!

Weapon in scabbard:
http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/4185/img0389gl.jpg

And out of scabbard, with this alongside:
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8172/img0372he.jpg

Blade details, obverse:
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6236/img0378ws.jpg
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/500/img0379a.jpg
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9711/img0380w.jpg
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/3628/img0388sc.jpg

Blade details, reverse:
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/9725/img0382u.jpg
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9394/img0383y.jpg

Grip, cross guard and wire:
http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1305/img0381ek.jpg
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8186/img0384cu.jpg
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5012/img0393ax.jpg

Scabbard, obverse:
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1089/img0373el.jpg
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/750/img0374o.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5611/img0377ao.jpg
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5930/img0375hl.jpg
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6500/img0376q.jpg

Obverse, with sword inside:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6521/img0391r.jpg

Obverse, damage to scabbard tip:
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/1773/img0390.jpg

Reverse, damage to scabbard tip:
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9353/img0392bg.jpg

View down scabbard:
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2976/img0387uz.jpg

14th May 2010, 07:38 PM	#1
RDGAC Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: York, UK Posts: 167	Item #2: One of our four kaskara - or what seem to be kaskara, anyway. All four, I believe (at least three quite certainly) were taken by the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, during the Anglo-Egyptian of 1882, probably during the pursuit phase following the disastrous (from an Egyptian standpoint) battle at Tel-el-Kebir. Since, in the words of one Sergeant Thomas Littlejohn, 4th Dragoon Guards, "we [the 4th D.G.] received orders to kill none except those who refused to give up their weapons, which in almost every case they were only too glad to do" (J. M. Brereton, A History of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and their predecessors, 1685-1980, p. 260; Catterick, 1982), it seems likely that these were some of the many blades discarded by fleeing Egyptian infantry following their rout. It's also possible, however, that they were taken as trophies from the citadel at Cairo, which the 4th Dragoon Guards were also to take shortly afterward - if only by a splendid bluff. In any event, we've got four of these beasts, and they seem to match the typical profile of a kaskara from my own research. Long, double-edged blade, designed for a one-handed grip, one or three fullers, and to be honest, fairly crude-looking construction. All but one are without their scabbards, and this example's scabbard is less than half intact; given the damage it's sustained over the years, I'd surmise that even if the others once had their scabbards, they have long fallen victim to time, neglect and abuse. This particular blade is also, sadly, the worst of the lot; as well as substantial chips in its edge, the flats of the blade are badly pitted. When I removed its scabbard, in March, I found that the blade was still rusting slowly away, and immediately began trying to remedy this; so far I've been using 0000 grade steel wool and Young's "303" gun oil, with a coating of 3-in-1 to try to protect the blade from further moisture, but I'm checking regularly for activity. Advice on this matter would, as always, be very helpful. The blade is, overall, some 34.125in (86.5cm, give or take), from the tip to the lowermost edge of the cross guard, which is of course cruciform in shape; its width varies from 1.25in (3.5cm) near the tip, to just shy of 1.7in (4.4cm) a quarter of an inch forward of the ricasso, which tapers by 0.1in toward the cross guard, presumably to accommodate said part and the grip. At a guess - for I've not had the nerve to remove the remaining sections of the grip - the blade's length, including tang, is probably around 39.5-40in (100-102cm, again give or take). The blade exhibits pitting, extensive inactive rust, and several chips along its edge - possibly battle damage, or possibly due to careless handling, I'm sorry to admit. There was also significant active rust on the lower 21in (52cm) of the blade, which had probably remained covered by the scabbard for some time. It exhibits three fullers, the outer two extending a little less than 11.4in (29cm) from the cross guard, while the innermost runs some 17.25in (43cm) down the blade. To either side of this central fuller sits what appears to be a depiction of a crescent moon, but with an unusually jagged "cut" to its crescent; it may be Arabic text, or perhaps a depiction of something else entirely (sunrise over mountains?). The grip is in poor condition; denuded of its binding material and the leather (?) pommel present on our other three kaskara, all that remains is its wooden core and some coils of what seems to be steel or iron wire. This wire is terrible corroded and very brittle; a piece around 1/4 of an inch in length snapped off in my fingers when I attempted to unwind it. It is deteriorating and will probably do so until it has simply disintegrated; at this stage I can see no means to stabilise what is obviously almost totally destroyed metal. The grip's core has a single nail through it, which presumably passes through a hole in the tang in the manner of the Japanese mekugi/mekugi-ana method. The scabbard is, likewise, in poor condition; 22.5in (57.2cm) in length, it is obviously missing a foot of its length, perhaps more - or am I wrong, and do kaskara scabbards (if this even is a kaskara - argh!) not extend so far as those found elsewhere? In any case, whatever lay above that 22.5in mark has been torn away, judging from the jagged edges of the damaged portion. The tip of the blade has ripped through the very tip of the scabbard, with the result that it now protrudes by around 1/3 of an inch, and the scabbard's stitching is failing badly on the reverse side. I have no idea how long it has been left without leather treatment of some sort, but any help in mitigating the damage would be most appreciated. And now, pictures! Weapon in scabbard: http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/4185/img0389gl.jpg And out of scabbard, with this alongside: http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8172/img0372he.jpg Blade details, obverse: http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6236/img0378ws.jpg http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/500/img0379a.jpg http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9711/img0380w.jpg http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/3628/img0388sc.jpg Blade details, reverse: http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/9725/img0382u.jpg http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9394/img0383y.jpg Grip, cross guard and wire: http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1305/img0381ek.jpg http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8186/img0384cu.jpg http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5012/img0393ax.jpg Scabbard, obverse: http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1089/img0373el.jpg http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/750/img0374o.jpg http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5611/img0377ao.jpg http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5930/img0375hl.jpg http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6500/img0376q.jpg Obverse, with sword inside: http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6521/img0391r.jpg Obverse, damage to scabbard tip: http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/1773/img0390.jpg Reverse, damage to scabbard tip: http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9353/img0392bg.jpg View down scabbard: http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2976/img0387uz.jpg