West African sword for I.D. & comment

mrcjgscott · 1st March 2016, 08:33 PM

Dear Colin,

I can contribute absolutely nothing of worth to your original query, but I have found the sword, and the resulting discourse of great interest.

Many thanks for posting it up, and to everybody else for the enlightening discussion.

Kind regards,

Chris

Iain · 1st March 2016, 08:54 PM

With regards to guards... Swords on the western side of the Sahel and into West Africa don't seem to typically have much of a large guard.

True, older takouba have sturdy box like guards, but these are still relatively narrow and certainly don't afford the hand protection of a kaskara style guard.

Perhaps with these broadswords with the cylindrical hilts, it was simply not a concern. These have always appeared to me in a way to be a natural progression from turned knife handles simply fitted with a bigger blade once those became available.

In any case, I am sure had the users felt a particular need for one there was more than enough exposure to both takouba and European swords on the coast for a native cutler to create one. The only conclusion I can draw is that the lack of a guard indicates the users were not interested in having one, or the tradition of the form was more important. After all the spear and the trade musket dominated warfare.

Jim McDougall · 1st March 2016, 10:49 PM

Iain, first of all I neglected to thank you for the comments on the character of the blade and thoughts toward galvanized steel. Your astute analysis on these blades is always outstanding in truly understanding the differences we should be looking for.

Also, excellent thoughts on the guard situation. It does seem that these open hilts would be simpler to produce and in most cases the guard would be unnecessary of course. I have seen some examples of West African/Sahelian swords with European style guards, but they seem far more an anomaly.

Chris, thank you for the very kind comments on the discussion here, and it is nice to have that kind of courteous entry supporting the participants in open examination of a weapon. Much appreciated!

colin henshaw · 5th March 2016, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrcjgscott

Dear Colin,

I can contribute absolutely nothing of worth to your original query, but I have found the sword, and the resulting discourse of great interest.

Many thanks for posting it up, and to everybody else for the enlightening discussion.

Kind regards,

Chris

Hi Chris

Thanks for your courteous comment, glad you find the sword and the post to be of interest.

1st March 2016, 08:33 PM	#1
mrcjgscott Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 189	Wonderful thread Dear Colin, I can contribute absolutely nothing of worth to your original query, but I have found the sword, and the resulting discourse of great interest. Many thanks for posting it up, and to everybody else for the enlightening discussion. Kind regards, Chris

1st March 2016, 08:54 PM	#2
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,717	With regards to guards... Swords on the western side of the Sahel and into West Africa don't seem to typically have much of a large guard. True, older takouba have sturdy box like guards, but these are still relatively narrow and certainly don't afford the hand protection of a kaskara style guard. Perhaps with these broadswords with the cylindrical hilts, it was simply not a concern. These have always appeared to me in a way to be a natural progression from turned knife handles simply fitted with a bigger blade once those became available. In any case, I am sure had the users felt a particular need for one there was more than enough exposure to both takouba and European swords on the coast for a native cutler to create one. The only conclusion I can draw is that the lack of a guard indicates the users were not interested in having one, or the tradition of the form was more important. After all the spear and the trade musket dominated warfare.

1st March 2016, 10:49 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,295	Iain, first of all I neglected to thank you for the comments on the character of the blade and thoughts toward galvanized steel. Your astute analysis on these blades is always outstanding in truly understanding the differences we should be looking for. Also, excellent thoughts on the guard situation. It does seem that these open hilts would be simpler to produce and in most cases the guard would be unnecessary of course. I have seen some examples of West African/Sahelian swords with European style guards, but they seem far more an anomaly. Chris, thank you for the very kind comments on the discussion here, and it is nice to have that kind of courteous entry supporting the participants in open examination of a weapon. Much appreciated!