Kaskara for Comment.

katana · 4th August 2009, 10:47 PM

Hi Valjhun,
this is a very nice Kaskara, I especially like the flared cross guard

and the croc hide grip

.

Where abouts is the balance point on your sword ?

Regards David

stephen wood · 10th August 2009, 10:25 PM

...why do we think such a crossguard is from Darfur? Is there any evidence?

Jim McDougall · 27th August 2009, 08:10 AM

Stephen,
The Darfur attribution comes primarily from the Graham Reed article on kaskaras from Darfur, in which this characteristic is seen on examples with other hilt features with some consistancy. The much more simple examples from eastern Sudanese regions, especially the Mahdist examples, have crossguards usually not quite as flared, no central X, and some even have brass crossguards.
I would suspect there may be more symbolism found in this feature, and this would be an interesting topic to discuss further.

Best regards,
Jim

10th August 2009, 10:25 PM	#2
stephen wood Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 227	...why do we think such a crossguard is from Darfur? Is there any evidence? Attached Images

4th August 2009, 10:47 PM	#1
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Valjhun, this is a very nice Kaskara, I especially like the flared cross guard and the croc hide grip . Where abouts is the balance point on your sword ? Regards David

27th August 2009, 08:10 AM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,661	Stephen, The Darfur attribution comes primarily from the Graham Reed article on kaskaras from Darfur, in which this characteristic is seen on examples with other hilt features with some consistancy. The much more simple examples from eastern Sudanese regions, especially the Mahdist examples, have crossguards usually not quite as flared, no central X, and some even have brass crossguards. I would suspect there may be more symbolism found in this feature, and this would be an interesting topic to discuss further. Best regards, Jim