Engraved Sword w/snakeskin,lizard skin Scabbard

Conogre · 25th March 2005, 09:39 AM

I agree fully on your thoughts in regard to African weapons, Tom, just not kaskaras or even takoubas, which are heavily Arabic in influence and actually atypical for what is commonly thought of as an "African" weapon.
Most of the Bedouin or Taureg swords that I've seen with completely flat blades were primarily tourist pieces.
As I've said before, my very first ethno sword was a kaskara with a rather poor and very thin native made blade but it is none the less lethal because of it and is definitely fullered.
True Telek daggers, on the other hand, are notorious for having very thin, flat non-fullered blades so the blade shape alone doesn't make it "wrong", although many of these do tend to show hammer marks and such, not just smooth, flat metal.
I have to admit that the "wrong" feel to this sword is hard to define, and I think Ariel may have hit on it in the other, original (and hijacked...sorry, sorry, sorry **blush**) thread when he made the comment about scabbards made out of the whole crocodile....simply put, too much reptile leather to be believable, and likewise, the same about the Arabic inscriptions/etching/lettering, just too much in the wrong places!

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25th March 2005, 09:39 AM	#5
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	I agree fully on your thoughts in regard to African weapons, Tom, just not kaskaras or even takoubas, which are heavily Arabic in influence and actually atypical for what is commonly thought of as an "African" weapon. Most of the Bedouin or Taureg swords that I've seen with completely flat blades were primarily tourist pieces. As I've said before, my very first ethno sword was a kaskara with a rather poor and very thin native made blade but it is none the less lethal because of it and is definitely fullered. True Telek daggers, on the other hand, are notorious for having very thin, flat non-fullered blades so the blade shape alone doesn't make it "wrong", although many of these do tend to show hammer marks and such, not just smooth, flat metal. I have to admit that the "wrong" feel to this sword is hard to define, and I think Ariel may have hit on it in the other, original (and hijacked...sorry, sorry, sorry blush) thread when he made the comment about scabbards made out of the whole crocodile....simply put, too much reptile leather to be believable, and likewise, the same about the Arabic inscriptions/etching/lettering, just too much in the wrong places!