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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 456
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The seller thought it was Tuareg but that doesn't seem likely. After looking through some threads here the closest I could find was in this thread which was described as being Manding. It's not a perfect match to mine but it's somewhat similar.
The pommel and guard look leather but they're actually made from some sort of waxy fabric, perhaps oilcloth or tincloth. I attached a closeup of the fabric, you can still see some sort of spotted pattern on the fabric. The blade is 56 cm long and 34mm wide at the base. It's 6mm thick at the base and tapers to a false edge towards the tip. There's no fullers, ricasso, or markings/stamps of any kind but it looks like a European blade to me. Maybe a briquet? The steel has swirl marks on it so somebody must have cleaned it harshly at some point. |
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#2 |
Arms Historian
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
Posts: 9,883
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I think the Sierra Leone and generally those West African regions are most likely. The blade indeed appears to be a European hanger blade, probably quite old, possibly late 18th c.
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#3 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Olomouc
Posts: 1,693
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 456
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Thanks both. I've been looking at the blade closely to see if there are any faint markings that might provide a hint, but so far nothing. They may be hidden by the hilt. There is an "S" shaped thing but I think it's just a flaw in the steel rather than a mark.
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Olomouc
Posts: 1,693
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I would agree that's not a mark but rather just a surface scratch or aberration in the steel.
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#6 |
Arms Historian
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
Posts: 9,883
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I agree on that 'mark' Iain. On the blade, it seems like a simple and 'wedge' type, and as Blue Lander noted, perhaps it may indeed be a briquette. I have seen many with these kinds of blades, and that would probably bring the blade into 19th century....these were around pretty much through the century.
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