27th April 2023, 02:51 AM | #4 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 408
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The silver blade inlays on a kaskara are new to me, impressive. That doesn't negate that an owner wanted to add them. Silver does have protective qualities. although usually added to the grip. The wavy lines may be to indicate snakes which were a protective talisman. The other inlays are likely symbolic as well. The central fullers don't look as sharp as would likely be in an imported trade blade. This could just be the lighting on the foto. Is the blade tapered in thickness? In the late 19th C. some Solingen blades were made with a blade mill, a small adjustable rolling mill that would quickly thin a red hot billet into a sword blade without anvil forging. In that case the blade would likely be the same thickness lengthwise. Local blades always had a forged distal taper. The blade tang appears to be penned to the wood grip piece. That would indicate a tang hole. I'm not sure if Sudanese made blades had that feature.
I agree the date was added later where a flower was removed and the blade smoothed. Have no idea for the meaning. The cross guard is good quality likely forged in the early 20th c. Best, Ed Last edited by Edster; 27th April 2023 at 02:54 AM. Reason: Added about protective silver |
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