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Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES
Hopefully this is not a Chinese copy of an African sword  Just think of it having the market flooded with chinese made repros of this type of stuff 
Lew |
I think that unlikely.....why produce a 'copy' of an unfamiliar, plain sword from a continent thats not world famous for it's sword production ? Hardly good business sense.....even for the 'fake-makers'.
With the weight, thickness of the blade and its lack of adornment I believe this to be a functional weapon. Dahomey (Benin), Cameroon or neighbouring Nigeria seem likely. Considering the French involvement with Dahomey its not unreasonable to suggest that this sword could be a native copy of a 'cabbage cutter', the nickname for the short French issue side arm.
The area historically had many craftsmen that used 'lost wax' casting of bronze and brass ......again suggesting the same area. And as Ian has pointed out...the chevron 'motif' suggests Dahomey.
Lew .. when I receive the sword and if I find a stamp ' frabrique' en Chine'
I'll let you know