Dahomey cutlass ?

[colin henshaw]

Hi

Here is a photo of the cutlass after cleaning off the rust. I have also taken a photo of the sword blade alongside an old cutthroat razor, for comparison.

As noted by Vandoo - the forms are very similar, and the theory that the inspiration for this type of sword (and Amazons' razor weapons), came from European razors seems a strong one to me.

On close examination of the hilt - the shark/ray skin pieces used do indeed look if they could be from a European military sword, as Jim mentioned.

Regards
Colin