Kaskara for comment

Battara · 11th April 2011, 07:10 PM

Yes I agree - very common to have European blades on these swords.

Edster · 11th April 2011, 11:28 PM

Mefidk,

Very nice sword. I can't add more about the blade. However, due to the "tassel" and general (excellent) decoration on the handle, I'd place it from Kassala. Could very well be in the 1910-20 period. I have one very similiar attached with that provenance. Sorry I couldn't select just one picture.

Best,
Ed

Edster · 11th April 2011, 11:38 PM

Sorry, can't get to photp to attach. Its in my Sword and Knife Makers of Kassala paper in the archive. P.6, Fig. 2 Hadendawa Sword.

Mefidk · 12th April 2011, 07:23 AM

Thanks for the appreciative remarks folks

Iain: I hadn't realised that there was so much trade that so many makers produced blades specially for the Sudanese market. Was it just German makers or did the other European bladesmiths have a share in the market? I guess the British were not too keen on arming the Sudanese at the time

The oriental arms sword is a very close match for this - thanks for the link. Yes, 109cm is the total length. I was surprised by the length because my other has a 84cm locally made blade (I guess this is kind of the Sudanese equivalent of the Indian armoury tulwar). The others I've seen have all been of the same basic type. I guess that I have just not been lucky enough to see any good quality swords before.

Ed: Thanks, great info. I managed to find the paper ( here if anyone is interested http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/hunley/kassala.pdf ) - an excellent and very useful work btw.
Certainly does look like there are strong similarities between mine, yours and the oriental arms sword. Do I take it that you are suggesting that this style of decoration was produced exclusively in Kassala, or is the style more general?

Chris

Iain · 12th April 2011, 08:47 AM

Chris,

As far as I know kaskara imported blades tend to be German. There are I think, a number of factors in this. The main one being that Solingen as a blade center by this point was industrialized and simply the biggest blade production center in Europe. It still accounts for 90% of all knives made in Germany even today!

I am not sure why Solingen zeroed in on takouba and kaskara blades but they seem to be the main folks in the trade. Italian blades tend to show up in nimcha and other coastal types. Wilkinson made patterns to order for Ethiopia, which were supplemented by Solingen products as well. Essentially Solingen were the big players and covered just about every market. I've often wondered if this flurry of export activity was due to a reduced need inside Europe for military pattern swords. With a large number of makers based in a single city I would imagine their production capacity far outstripped regional and national needs, so they had to look farther afield. Many period travelers note the European blades for sale in the Sahel and quite a few specifically mention German blades, not other countries.

While I'm more familiar with the takouba situation on the western side of the Sahel, generally speaking there was a massive import market for European manufactured goods such as needles and other products that the Europeans had industrialized at this point. The cost of manufacturing was so divergent between the Sahel and Europe that even when factoring in transport the European product could often essentially undercut the locally made item. This doesn't apply perhaps so much to swords but illustrates in general the trade relationship and level of integration between Europe and the Sahel.

About length, this varies as you've already seen. Some European blades are shorter, some are longer. Same with the native blades. Many of the native blades, particularly older ones, are by no means "bad" quality. They must have performed just fine at the time. They're is some resemblance to munitions grade talwars in that the large number of locally produced blades fulfilled a need among the average tribesman to own a kaskara. I would assume the imports were reserved for those with rank, money and social status.

Edster · 13th April 2011, 12:31 AM

Chris,

I think the tassel is stylistically of the Hadendawa. However, I can't say that they were made exclusively in Kassala. Could have originated in other sword making areas of Eastern Sudan, primarily in Atbara. But I have seen high end Atbara swords with the harlequin silver handle and no tassel. Atbara sword makers would serve both a Nile Valley tribes as well as the Hadendawa market. All this said, I'd bet on it being from Kassala.

Regards,
Ed

Iain · 15th April 2011, 10:00 AM

Hi Ed,

Few questions if I may, I'd always associated the silvered/metal domed ;pommel kaskara with Darfur. Would that region still have been furnished by cutlers from the eastern Sudan, at Kassala and Atbara? Maybe in an analogous situation to the western Sahara were most mounting was carried out in the larger Hausa cities.

Second point I wanted to raise was about the tassel. Is this a fairly recent addition? I've seen both these cloth tassels and leather braided thongs. Older swords I often see neither - although perhaps that's just due to loss of material over time.

11th April 2011, 07:10 PM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,273	Yes I agree - very common to have European blades on these swords.

11th April 2011, 11:28 PM	#2
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 411	Mefidk, Very nice sword. I can't add more about the blade. However, due to the "tassel" and general (excellent) decoration on the handle, I'd place it from Kassala. Could very well be in the 1910-20 period. I have one very similiar attached with that provenance. Sorry I couldn't select just one picture. Best, Ed

11th April 2011, 11:38 PM	#3
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 411	Sorry, can't get to photp to attach. Its in my Sword and Knife Makers of Kassala paper in the archive. P.6, Fig. 2 Hadendawa Sword.

12th April 2011, 07:23 AM	#4
Mefidk Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 157	Thanks for the appreciative remarks folks Iain: I hadn't realised that there was so much trade that so many makers produced blades specially for the Sudanese market. Was it just German makers or did the other European bladesmiths have a share in the market? I guess the British were not too keen on arming the Sudanese at the time The oriental arms sword is a very close match for this - thanks for the link. Yes, 109cm is the total length. I was surprised by the length because my other has a 84cm locally made blade (I guess this is kind of the Sudanese equivalent of the Indian armoury tulwar). The others I've seen have all been of the same basic type. I guess that I have just not been lucky enough to see any good quality swords before. Ed: Thanks, great info. I managed to find the paper ( here if anyone is interested http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/hunley/kassala.pdf ) - an excellent and very useful work btw. Certainly does look like there are strong similarities between mine, yours and the oriental arms sword. Do I take it that you are suggesting that this style of decoration was produced exclusively in Kassala, or is the style more general? Chris

12th April 2011, 08:47 AM	#5
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,709	Chris, As far as I know kaskara imported blades tend to be German. There are I think, a number of factors in this. The main one being that Solingen as a blade center by this point was industrialized and simply the biggest blade production center in Europe. It still accounts for 90% of all knives made in Germany even today! I am not sure why Solingen zeroed in on takouba and kaskara blades but they seem to be the main folks in the trade. Italian blades tend to show up in nimcha and other coastal types. Wilkinson made patterns to order for Ethiopia, which were supplemented by Solingen products as well. Essentially Solingen were the big players and covered just about every market. I've often wondered if this flurry of export activity was due to a reduced need inside Europe for military pattern swords. With a large number of makers based in a single city I would imagine their production capacity far outstripped regional and national needs, so they had to look farther afield. Many period travelers note the European blades for sale in the Sahel and quite a few specifically mention German blades, not other countries. While I'm more familiar with the takouba situation on the western side of the Sahel, generally speaking there was a massive import market for European manufactured goods such as needles and other products that the Europeans had industrialized at this point. The cost of manufacturing was so divergent between the Sahel and Europe that even when factoring in transport the European product could often essentially undercut the locally made item. This doesn't apply perhaps so much to swords but illustrates in general the trade relationship and level of integration between Europe and the Sahel. About length, this varies as you've already seen. Some European blades are shorter, some are longer. Same with the native blades. Many of the native blades, particularly older ones, are by no means "bad" quality. They must have performed just fine at the time. They're is some resemblance to munitions grade talwars in that the large number of locally produced blades fulfilled a need among the average tribesman to own a kaskara. I would assume the imports were reserved for those with rank, money and social status.

13th April 2011, 12:31 AM	#6
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 411	Chris, I think the tassel is stylistically of the Hadendawa. However, I can't say that they were made exclusively in Kassala. Could have originated in other sword making areas of Eastern Sudan, primarily in Atbara. But I have seen high end Atbara swords with the harlequin silver handle and no tassel. Atbara sword makers would serve both a Nile Valley tribes as well as the Hadendawa market. All this said, I'd bet on it being from Kassala. Regards, Ed

15th April 2011, 10:00 AM	#7
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,709	Hi Ed, Few questions if I may, I'd always associated the silvered/metal domed ;pommel kaskara with Darfur. Would that region still have been furnished by cutlers from the eastern Sudan, at Kassala and Atbara? Maybe in an analogous situation to the western Sahara were most mounting was carried out in the larger Hausa cities. Second point I wanted to raise was about the tassel. Is this a fairly recent addition? I've seen both these cloth tassels and leather braided thongs. Older swords I often see neither - although perhaps that's just due to loss of material over time.