Kaskara for Comment...

[stephen wood]

Based on the images I can't really decide whether the 36" blade is trade or native - certainly older than the hilt arrangement and scabbard. I seems to have a "lumpy" quality which I associate with locally made blades but the fuller looks "imported".

I've never seen the particular style of grip covering - a single piece of leather with a darker binding to support the crossguard - on anything earlier that mid 20th century. The guard itself appears to have a "truncated reverse langet" beneath the binding, again, in my experience an indication of relatively a recent date. Note the langet "lays" across the guard rather being forged into a neat X.

The marks are quite interesting: Cross/Orb (Drum), Lion (very nice one), and (I imagine) a Fly under the langet. All familiar and in this case all locally applied - all engraved apart from the fly which is stamped. Also Stars, Moon some decorative swags and a partially worn Arabic Inscription. It certainly ticks a lot of boxes in terms of marks.

The scabbard seems in quite good condition - maybe missing a metal chape. There are some numbers on one of the triangular flaps and a reference to a Mrs Fitzgerald of Nairobi.

Given the condition of the hilt and scabbard - they didn't see use after refurbishing - I imagine it might be an older blade rehilted then sold to a (singularly fortunate) traveler.

You comments and questions are, always, most welcome.

[Edster]

Stephen,

Nice kaskara. Great to see a kaskara put up for comment for a change. My guess is that its a native blade. My guess re date; mid-20th century, but I'm not sure why. maybe serious sharpening wear. Blades have been made by a group of craftsmen using the same simple technology for many years. Of course some had greater skill than others, but variation seems to be small, maybe in skill in fullering. I think most kaskara blades may have been made in Kassala since about the 60's due to the concentration of several sword smiths there and national distribution of swords and knives made there. Of course other blade making centers existed previously.

Engraving is nicely done, but shallow. The engraving would have been done by a separate craftsman that the blade maker. They would work on order of a customer, but the individual would have had a suite of design markings and may have had a career of several decades. I've seen the lion on a Kassala-made kaskara. Fuzzy memory says that the man who did it died about 1960.

Cross guard is welded in the manner of the individual maker. I can't date it. Virtually no standardization until the one-piece design came along in about the 60's.

We kaskara fans have a very limited number of attributed swords on which to made assessments. My limited knowledge is based on a single snapshot in Kassala 30 years ago. Active blade makers at the time each had their own "maker's mark" based on variations on the half moon face made by a crescent stamp and a punch. Other variations used by retired or deceased smiths were also remembered. I have no knowledge about what has happened to the cadre of smiths in the meantime. No doubt successors make blades for use by urban Sudanese grooms in marriage ceremonies, but I doubt they are used as weapons much these days. Local politics since mid-80s may have limited sword production/distribution.

Again, nice kaskara. Thanks for sharing.

Ed

[stephen wood]

Ed

many thanks for your insights. I actually came across an article about swords in Suakin/Sawakin on sudan.info just the other day but sadly the whole site has just disappeared There was an interview with a sword maker or seller - the gist was that swords have become a fashion item or are used for dancing and have lost their status as historical weapons. I managed to salvage some of the photos...

I am going to be giving another talk on Kaskaras at the Arms and Armour Society meeting in February next year.

[Edster]

Stephen,

Great photographs from the article. Wonder if/how the Port Sudan sword smith's work is different from the smiths in Kassala. Nice full fullered swords in the smiths hand. Also, one photo looked like there were some cross guards for sale separate from swords. Wonder if the article is a relatively current date. By the way I found the article:
http://www.ssig.gov.my/wp-content/up...ng-from-Hi.pdf

Ed

[stephen wood]

...glad you found it, Ed. I get the impression it is contemporary.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by stephen wood

I am going to be giving another talk on Kaskaras at the Arms and Armour Society meeting in February next year.

Good to see you posting after a while Stephen. I hope that after your talk you'll be able to share it with the forum. Didn't you give one some years ago?

While my focus is on the other side of the Sudan, I am always intrigued to see what others discover in their research of the kaskara. You've shown some pretty neat examples over the years!

[stephen wood]

...now it has arrived I think it's a native blade - a great deal of the shaping of the blade and guard has been done with files. Still, it's actually quite a good one and older than the grip and scabbard. Surely not 19th century though...