Samburu/Maasai spear

kronckew · 9th July 2016, 09:35 AM

the black area on the blade section looks deliberate & not a result of patination, it is very black compared to the dark brown patination of the rest of the exposed metal on the shaft. since getting it i have wiped it down with ballistol & the black has not rubbed off any colour. it is fairly smooth and there is no thickening of the blade near the edge as if it were an added harder section it tapers to the edge smoothly from the ridge. it doesn't appear to be paint, but maybe chemically enhanced. could be a result of heat treating the blade portion then grinding the white edge to final sharpness. the 'white' of the edge shows grind lines parallel to the edge, not perpendicular. the transition from the white edge to the black interior is crisp, uniform and distinct. the oxidation on the shaft and sockets is a lot darker and uniform than that on the thicker, heavier lion spear next to it. there are a few areas of the white edge that had some rust developing.

aside from there being no way this is gonna fit in any luggage i've ever had, i read elsewhere here on the forum that the main difference between 'tourist' and indigenous working spears is none, that exactly the same ones are made for both markets. the younger samburu (and the elderly) do use shorter versions according the the ref. in post 1.

luckily i only paid a fiver for shipping from within the UK, and the spear itself did not cost me much more than that. i find the occasional gem amidst the dross.

an excerpt from the ref. i listed earlier:

9th July 2016, 09:35 AM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,224	the black area on the blade section looks deliberate & not a result of patination, it is very black compared to the dark brown patination of the rest of the exposed metal on the shaft. since getting it i have wiped it down with ballistol & the black has not rubbed off any colour. it is fairly smooth and there is no thickening of the blade near the edge as if it were an added harder section it tapers to the edge smoothly from the ridge. it doesn't appear to be paint, but maybe chemically enhanced. could be a result of heat treating the blade portion then grinding the white edge to final sharpness. the 'white' of the edge shows grind lines parallel to the edge, not perpendicular. the transition from the white edge to the black interior is crisp, uniform and distinct. the oxidation on the shaft and sockets is a lot darker and uniform than that on the thicker, heavier lion spear next to it. there are a few areas of the white edge that had some rust developing. aside from there being no way this is gonna fit in any luggage i've ever had, i read elsewhere here on the forum that the main difference between 'tourist' and indigenous working spears is none, that exactly the same ones are made for both markets. the younger samburu (and the elderly) do use shorter versions according the the ref. in post 1. luckily i only paid a fiver for shipping from within the UK, and the spear itself did not cost me much more than that. i find the occasional gem amidst the dross. an excerpt from the ref. i listed earlier: Attached Images Last edited by kronckew; 9th July 2016 at 09:46 AM.