sword id requested

ariel · 10th July 2006, 12:40 PM

My vote is European blade, African everything else.

IainN · 10th July 2006, 01:38 PM

From the Congo I'd think? European trade machete?

Tim Simmons · 10th July 2006, 08:55 PM

Hmmm. The handle does look African. It could also easily be from the hill tribes of the north east frontier. What if you ignore the coned pommel? Is the bade European? I am not so sure? The scabbard construction has me in two minds. The only bit I see as distinctly African is the leather. I have a wild thought that the blade may have a resemblance to some Nepalese blades. It does not look like an adapted machete to me. It is ground so well to fit the handle? I just do not see a European blade

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Tim Simmons · 10th July 2006, 09:23 PM

I am not a machete collector but I have never seen a European machete that has not just been a flat blade of a various thickness. Cheap to make flat blades that may often quite flexable. This "T" section is something else in my opinion.

RobT · 11th July 2006, 02:37 AM

Hi All,
I'm surprised that the dha folks haven't weighed in on this yet. For my part I agree with Tim's Nagaland/South East Asia contention. I have never seen a T-rib on any European trade blade. Nor have I ever seen a trade machete with the edge rebated (either by the European manufacturer or by local craftspeople). In addition to this, the blade shows evidence of folding. I will admit that the hilt does have a bit of a sub Saharan African feel to it but when I look at it closely there's just something about it that says Asian not African. The blade certainly doesn't look like native sub Saharan African work to me. What the blade profile does look like is a naginata. (It's not of course but the silhouette looks like one.) I can't help thinking that the hilt is the key and tonight I plan a page by page search of Egerton.
Sincerely,
RobT

Freddy · 17th July 2006, 07:50 PM

My guess is that this sword is African. At first, I was thinking of the Baule from Ivory Coast.

But then, I found this pic in the African etnographical collection of the American Museum of Natural history. It resembles your sword, I think.

RobT · 18th July 2006, 02:43 AM

Hi Freddy,
I think you've found a mate to my piece. The museum blade has pretty much the same shape and appears to have a T-rib also. The hilt is also similar and has a brass ferrule plus a brass band below the pommel like mine. What really puts a lock on it is the similarity of decoration on the ferrule. Both pieces must be from the same culture. Presumably the museum's African designation is correct but I really wish they could be more specific. I'll look through Spring and Zirngible tonight to see if I can find out anything further. Thanks a lot for the ID.
Sincerely,
RobT

11th July 2006, 02:37 AM	#5
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 534	I'm with you Tim Hi All, I'm surprised that the dha folks haven't weighed in on this yet. For my part I agree with Tim's Nagaland/South East Asia contention. I have never seen a T-rib on any European trade blade. Nor have I ever seen a trade machete with the edge rebated (either by the European manufacturer or by local craftspeople). In addition to this, the blade shows evidence of folding. I will admit that the hilt does have a bit of a sub Saharan African feel to it but when I look at it closely there's just something about it that says Asian not African. The blade certainly doesn't look like native sub Saharan African work to me. What the blade profile does look like is a naginata. (It's not of course but the silhouette looks like one.) I can't help thinking that the hilt is the key and tonight I plan a page by page search of Egerton. Sincerely, RobT

18th July 2006, 02:43 AM	#7
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 534	Freddy, I think you've nailed it Hi Freddy, I think you've found a mate to my piece. The museum blade has pretty much the same shape and appears to have a T-rib also. The hilt is also similar and has a brass ferrule plus a brass band below the pommel like mine. What really puts a lock on it is the similarity of decoration on the ferrule. Both pieces must be from the same culture. Presumably the museum's African designation is correct but I really wish they could be more specific. I'll look through Spring and Zirngible tonight to see if I can find out anything further. Thanks a lot for the ID. Sincerely, RobT

10th July 2006, 12:40 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	My vote is European blade, African everything else.

10th July 2006, 01:38 PM	#2
IainN Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 31	From the Congo I'd think? European trade machete?

10th July 2006, 08:55 PM	#3
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,842	Hmmm. The handle does look African. It could also easily be from the hill tribes of the north east frontier. What if you ignore the coned pommel? Is the bade European? I am not so sure? The scabbard construction has me in two minds. The only bit I see as distinctly African is the leather. I have a wild thought that the blade may have a resemblance to some Nepalese blades. It does not look like an adapted machete to me. It is ground so well to fit the handle? I just do not see a European blade ,

10th July 2006, 09:23 PM	#4
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,842	I am not a machete collector but I have never seen a European machete that has not just been a flat blade of a various thickness. Cheap to make flat blades that may often quite flexable. This "T" section is something else in my opinion.

17th July 2006, 07:50 PM	#6
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	My guess is that this sword is African. At first, I was thinking of the Baule from Ivory Coast. But then, I found this pic in the African etnographical collection of the American Museum of Natural history. It resembles your sword, I think.