Kaskara Cross-guards—a second essay for comment by Ed Hunley

[Ian]

4. One-Piece Cross-guard

Mohammad Tomaniye was the first person to forge the entire guard from a single piece, using flattened angle iron in 1943. He devised a template with the center of a rectangular piece pierced by a Z-type cut as shown below and the long sides are forged to the cross shape. The short stubs form the langets and the other pieces which parallel the blade. The one-piece aspect of the guard doesn't permit even a slight flare at the ends. Mr. Tomaniye's innovation allowed a serviceable unit to be produced that doesn't require the high skills of the Sammaniya, yet resulted in a product similar to the Muthamaan or Sennariya faster and more efficiently. A one-piece unit replaced one that previously required aligning and forge welding four separate pieces together. Apparently by 1984 all quillons produced in Kassaka were of this simplified type.

Figure 14 shows the flat template, while Figure 15 shows two completed forged guards. The right unit is a Sennariya style and the left side is a Muthanaan, almost a Sammaniya. Either style can be forged from the same templated sheet.

It is possible to determine by inspection the difference between the one-piece and the Muthamaan. Note the gap line on the bottom of the right unit in Figure 15. This is where the forge weld line was not completely fused. The photo the bottom of one of my sword's quillon suggests the beginning of a similar gap. Note the small lozenge end as well (Figure 17).

Comparison of Four Similar Swords' Quillons of the Sammaniya Style

I compared my four middling kaskara swords and attempted to place each into its correct type. They are shown together in Figures 16 and 17.

#1 is reported of c. 1914 vintage and is definitely a Sammaniya type. Note its flat top and bottom, horizontal facets, total of six surfaces per half, vertically aligned end lozenges, and obviously forge welled langets.

#2 is of unknown age. It has a rough finish with considerable surface scratches, no patina. It almost looks like neglected “new, old stock”, but after all it is at least 35 years old. The top is flat, but somewhat abbreviated, the facets are rather rounded, but in the ends form lozenges that are slightly askew, its hard to tell if the langets were attached separately or part of a one-piece forging. The “X” cut into the metal at the junction may be disguising the weld, but a look inside the mount doesn't confirm it either way. I would reluctantly classify it as a “Gentleman's C” Sammaniya, but then again the suggestion of the hairline could make it a close cousin to the one-piece Sammaniya-style forged from flat angle iron (Figure 15).

#3 is also of unknown age. The front facets roll over to form lozenge ends several degrees from the vertical. It has no flat top or bottom. The langet weld joint may be obscured by the “X” marks both front and back. This meets the criteria for a Muthmaan.

#4 is also of unknown age. The surfaces are rolled like #3 and the lozenges are askew and much smaller than expected. There are no joints between the body and the langets, being folded parts of the same metal template. This is obviously a one-piece and made after 1943 at the earliest. Further evidence is found in the bottom views. Note the hairline at the end of one 'V' section. That suggests an incomplete forge-weld joint, as shown in Figure 15.

In assessing the age and type of a kaskara it is important to look at the bottoms as well as the tops of the guard, and for forge-welded joints between the body and the langets.

----------Figures 14,15,16,17-----------
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