Battle Axe for Comment

broadaxe · 28th September 2011, 01:01 PM

Afghan.

rickystl · 28th September 2011, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broadaxe

Afghan.

Hello. Is there a reason you believe it to be Afghan? Thanks.

broadaxe · 29th September 2011, 05:14 PM

Yes, I've encountered this kind before, several times. There was a period on ebay when a vendour from the USA had dozens of them (posted as Afghan), every one was unique (being hand made) but the general line were the same, as well as the decorations with inlaid brass or copper. Best source: I remember an article from the early 80's, days of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and there were several photos of Mujahidun warriors packing this type of axe exactly. The fore & aft langets, long blade relative to its width are all Afghan characters.

rickystl · 30th September 2011, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broadaxe

Yes, I've encountered this kind before, several times. There was a period on ebay when a vendour from the USA had dozens of them (posted as Afghan), every one was unique (being hand made) but the general line were the same, as well as the decorations with inlaid brass or copper. Best source: I remember an article from the early 80's, days of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and there were several photos of Mujahidun warriors packing this type of axe exactly. The fore & aft langets, long blade relative to its width are all Afghan characters.

Thank you so much for your reply. Most helpful. Interesting. Rick.

Atlantia · 30th September 2011, 10:33 PM

It's possible, there are Afghan versions of Indian axe types.
Or put another way, there are very similar axes from both and as the origin of this type isn't clear it's entirely likely that it's used across a wide area.

I have to say that I've not seen this type definatively ID'd as Afghan, but I have seen examples of this type that I know came from India... Some of which are for sale from sellers IN India.
And Broadaxe has seen similar ones positively ID'd as Afghan.

The copper decoration isn't unusual, but the copper cover on the backstrap is unusual in my experience.
It might be possible to identify the area of origin from a specific feature, but I'm not sure anyone has actually done the research on these simple forms to that extent.

Look at the problems I encountered trying to ID my pair of axes!
So Ricks axe.... Indian, or Afghan?
Almost certainly one of those two I'd say

kronckew · 1st October 2011, 07:24 AM

many moons ago when these axes were used seriously in combat, the area of northern india/pakistan/afghanistan was not so specificly assigned to those countries, pakistan did not exist, and the area was essentially known as the hindu kush/northwest frontier and comprised of a large number of small tribal states. i would assume (always dangerous) that there was enough interaction between the inhabitants of the area (i.e. war) to spread a variety of weapons about the area, local copies and versions made in more dedicated manufacturing centres also would blur the boundaries (as would recently made repros). it is likely that an exact location of manufacture will remain unknown, but it appears to be from that general area. in any case it's a very nice axe and i'd be proud to have it in my collection.

one sort of interesting but obscure tidbit i came across was that if you map out the worlds population density & figure out the mathematical centroid, the point falls in the hindu kush.

broadaxe · 1st October 2011, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

many moons ago when these axes were used seriously in combat, the area of northern india/pakistan/afghanistan was not so specificly assigned to those countries, pakistan did not exist, and the area was essentially known as the hindu kush/northwest frontier and comprised of a large number of small tribal states. i would assume (always dangerous) that there was enough interaction between the inhabitants of the area (i.e. war) to spread a variety of weapons about the area, local copies and versions made in more dedicated manufacturing centres also would blur the boundaries (as would recently made repros). it is likely that an exact location of manufacture will remain unknown, but it appears to be from that general area. in any case it's a very nice axe and i'd be proud to have it in my collection.

one sort of interesting but obscure tidbit i came across was that if you map out the worlds population density & figure out the mathematical centroid, the point falls in the hindu kush.

Exactly the point - we must not regard modern borders as historic nor sealed. I've seen recently a lot of similar axes posted on ebay as Indian by Indian sellers, but somehow there was always a slight difference.
I'm familiar with the axes posted above by Atlantia, to my best opinion they are Indian though their shape is quite unusual for that region.

30th September 2011, 10:33 PM	#5
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	It's possible, there are Afghan versions of Indian axe types. Or put another way, there are very similar axes from both and as the origin of this type isn't clear it's entirely likely that it's used across a wide area. I have to say that I've not seen this type definatively ID'd as Afghan, but I have seen examples of this type that I know came from India... Some of which are for sale from sellers IN India. And Broadaxe has seen similar ones positively ID'd as Afghan. The copper decoration isn't unusual, but the copper cover on the backstrap is unusual in my experience. It might be possible to identify the area of origin from a specific feature, but I'm not sure anyone has actually done the research on these simple forms to that extent. Look at the problems I encountered trying to ID my pair of axes! So Ricks axe.... Indian, or Afghan? Almost certainly one of those two I'd say Attached Images

1st October 2011, 07:24 AM	#6
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	many moons ago when these axes were used seriously in combat, the area of northern india/pakistan/afghanistan was not so specificly assigned to those countries, pakistan did not exist, and the area was essentially known as the hindu kush/northwest frontier and comprised of a large number of small tribal states. i would assume (always dangerous) that there was enough interaction between the inhabitants of the area (i.e. war) to spread a variety of weapons about the area, local copies and versions made in more dedicated manufacturing centres also would blur the boundaries (as would recently made repros). it is likely that an exact location of manufacture will remain unknown, but it appears to be from that general area. in any case it's a very nice axe and i'd be proud to have it in my collection. one sort of interesting but obscure tidbit i came across was that if you map out the worlds population density & figure out the mathematical centroid, the point falls in the hindu kush. Last edited by kronckew; 1st October 2011 at 07:36 AM.

28th September 2011, 01:01 PM	#1
broadaxe Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 334	Afghan.

29th September 2011, 05:14 PM	#3
broadaxe Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 334	Yes, I've encountered this kind before, several times. There was a period on ebay when a vendour from the USA had dozens of them (posted as Afghan), every one was unique (being hand made) but the general line were the same, as well as the decorations with inlaid brass or copper. Best source: I remember an article from the early 80's, days of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and there were several photos of Mujahidun warriors packing this type of axe exactly. The fore & aft langets, long blade relative to its width are all Afghan characters.