Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


1054 - Large Saharan Tebu (Toubu, Toubou) Knife or Short Sword

Though clearly with several typical Toubu features, this knife or double edged short sword is atypical in having a wide blade with nearly parallel edges up to a spatulate (rather than acute) point and in being larger than usual in size. The Toubu (Tebu, Toubou) are a Saharan cultural group within the current political boundaries of Chad, Niger and Libya. The robust double edged blade is just under 15 inches (38 cm) in length and is 2¼ inches (5.7 cm) wide. Faint forging marks remain on the blade, although well smoothed out, and there is a central panel on both sides with a slightly concave to flat bevel to the edges and point. Shallow parallel lines track the contour of the edge. The hilt is typical with red-brown and black leather and snakeskin trim. The typical blunt spiked pommel / counterweight is in proportion to the size of this blade. A dark leather sheath features similar snakeskin trim and has a red-brown woven leather arm band. The blade shows patchy old corrosion spots, some with very light pitting. Overall sheathed length is 23¼ inches (59 cm) with a weight of about 28 ounces (794 grams).




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