Kaskara for comments

TVV · 23rd October 2008, 08:19 AM

It took me a while until I got my first kaskara (or Sudanese sa'yf, but kaskara i easier and everyone knows what I mean). It is long, about 40 inches in length in total.
I hope it is an antique sword as it does not strike me as anything intended to be a souvenir. I think the blade is a locally forged one and aimed at imitating German trade blades. I was intrigued by the "wolf" marking. As you can see, it is very rough, just like the markings on the other side of the blade. My guess is that the latter are illegible and a translation would be impossible to obtain.
The crossguard is steel and quite massive. I have taken a picture of how it has four langets, with the one running parallel to the hilt tucked inside the hilt wrapping, as I remembered an old thread in which there was a discussion about this.
The hilt is missing the pommel and is covered in animal hide with some fur still on. I have no idea about what animal it is. If I have to guess I would say it is most likely something domesticated, such as a goat, but I would love to hear suggestions.
Also, what is your opinion about the age and the origin of the blade?
Thank you,
Teodor

23rd October 2008, 08:19 AM	#1
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,621	Kaskara for comments It took me a while until I got my first kaskara (or Sudanese sa'yf, but kaskara i easier and everyone knows what I mean). It is long, about 40 inches in length in total. I hope it is an antique sword as it does not strike me as anything intended to be a souvenir. I think the blade is a locally forged one and aimed at imitating German trade blades. I was intrigued by the "wolf" marking. As you can see, it is very rough, just like the markings on the other side of the blade. My guess is that the latter are illegible and a translation would be impossible to obtain. The crossguard is steel and quite massive. I have taken a picture of how it has four langets, with the one running parallel to the hilt tucked inside the hilt wrapping, as I remembered an old thread in which there was a discussion about this. The hilt is missing the pommel and is covered in animal hide with some fur still on. I have no idea about what animal it is. If I have to guess I would say it is most likely something domesticated, such as a goat, but I would love to hear suggestions. Also, what is your opinion about the age and the origin of the blade? Thank you, Teodor Attached Images