african dagger

ronpakis · 13th November 2005, 04:44 PM

Hello all,

i know its an african dagger but can anyone tell me something about age and region.

thanks for any information

Lew · 14th November 2005, 04:18 PM

Hi Ronpakis

Your dagger is from the Hausa tribe in Nigeria. It seems to be old early 20th century is my guess?

Lew

Freddy · 14th November 2005, 06:30 PM

I think Lew is correct.

The dagger looks 'genuine'. By this, I mean that it's a well made dagger. Look at the spine (is this the correct word ?) of the blade. To give an age for these daggers is always difficult. They are still used today.

This type of dagger is often offered on ebay. The ones with a completely flat blade are made for the tourist trade.

Look at the following daggers. I bought them for just that reason. Their blades are not entirely flat.

These are armdaggers found all over the subsaharan region and also into Nigeria. The reason for this is the system of long distance trade by caravan.
These daggers are carried on the upper arm.
They are made by a caste of blacksmiths of the Tubu-Daza in Northern Chad.

Length of both about 29 cm (in sheath)

ronpakis · 16th November 2005, 07:33 PM

thanks for the effort and responses.

sander

13th November 2005, 04:44 PM	#1
ronpakis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: netherlands Posts: 75	african dagger Hello all, i know its an african dagger but can anyone tell me something about age and region. thanks for any information Attached Images

14th November 2005, 04:18 PM	#2
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Hi Ronpakis Your dagger is from the Hausa tribe in Nigeria. It seems to be old early 20th century is my guess? Lew

14th November 2005, 06:30 PM	#3
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	I think Lew is correct. The dagger looks 'genuine'. By this, I mean that it's a well made dagger. Look at the spine (is this the correct word ?) of the blade. To give an age for these daggers is always difficult. They are still used today. This type of dagger is often offered on ebay. The ones with a completely flat blade are made for the tourist trade. Look at the following daggers. I bought them for just that reason. Their blades are not entirely flat. These are armdaggers found all over the subsaharan region and also into Nigeria. The reason for this is the system of long distance trade by caravan. These daggers are carried on the upper arm. They are made by a caste of blacksmiths of the Tubu-Daza in Northern Chad. Length of both about 29 cm (in sheath)

16th November 2005, 07:33 PM	#4
ronpakis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: netherlands Posts: 75	thanks for the effort and responses. sander