Gav
North Africa and West Africa have been influenced by the Arabs and then the Europeans going back over 500 yrs so I really can't say if ther were any actual native sword blades? I just think the native blades were copies of European blades? You do have the shotel which is a native design but the saber types were of European origins.
Btw
What I meant by native blades for show is the hilt and scabbard were made for visual appeal (status) but the thin blade had no real combat use.
