Identifying/Conserving a Kaskara from the late 60s or earlier

[dbpro]

I'm posting regarding a family heirloom that I would like some additional information on. From 1969 through early 1971 my father was posted in Asmara, Ethiopia. We went as a family, I was 4 years old at the time so I have some memory of our time there, but all of the information I'm sharing in this post is second hand. My father was responsible for maintaining electronic equipment in Asmara and in the surrounding region. His travels occasionally put him in contact with some local Masai tribes. During one of those trips, my father traded some goods--clothes that would no longer pass inspection, for example--for a number of native items, one example of this is the Kaskara pictured below. I'm providing all these details to underscore that the provenance of this item is fairly certain, i.e. it at least 50 years old and sourced in Ethiopia.

I've lurked here for a little while and read Ed Hunley's work on the Kaskara. Based on what I understand from this, my father brought back a Sulimani Daud. It appears to have a leather handle, with a plain pommel, and the scabbard is also fairly plain. As it passed into our hands, there is no metal tip protector to the scabbard. There's a lot of overall wear. When my father retired from the military, this sword went up on the wall in his bedroom and has received no TLC for over 40 years. The blade itself has a number of graphic etchings, most prominently the "man in the crescent moon" and the "fly". There is also an etching of a person's head in profile and what I believe is a lion of Judah. Happy to post any additional images, if needed.

Since I'm now the official custodian of this sword, I'd like to know more about it and conserve it better. The blade has some staining and what appears to be a little rust. The scabbard could probably use some help as well. That said, I'm not interested in doing anything that will negatively impact the integrity of the sword. I want to take care of it, not shine it up for display. I would appreciate any additional information on the sword and any tips around conservation for pieces of this type.

[werecow]

You might find this guy's videos useful. He does some conservative cleaning of various antique swords with some ballistol, and occasionally a bit of autosol:

https://www.youtube.com/@Rapiersdelight/videos

[Sajen]

Welcome to the forum dbpro!

To clean a blade from rust and old grease I use a rubber gum like pictured, you can get it by Amazon. To preserve leather I use shoe polish.
After you have cleaned the blade with the rubber gum oil it with a thin coat of good machine oil.

Regards,
Detlef

[Edster]

Great to have another Kaskara fan on the Forum. Your sword was old/worn when it was collected, but it's hard to date; maybe 20s-40s. It likely had a Beja tassel based on the different shade of the wood near the pommel. The Beni-Amer people are Beja and live in Eritrea so it is likely from that group.

Regards,
Ed

[Pertinax]

Hello dbpro!

There were a lot of discussions on Kaskara on the forum. You can get answers to all your questions. Above Quick Links - hammer - Kaskara.

Regards, Yuri

[Marc M.]

Welcome, nice kaskara, the blade and engravings seem to me to be locally made and as Ed said well used. Rust removal can be done in a number of ways, steel wool, scotch brite and sandpaper wet or dry to be used depending on the resutment you desire. Afterwards oil lightly or use a mikrocrystalline wax, this wax gives a dry harder coat after drying. Leather can be treated with any leather nourishing product.
Regards
Marc

[dbpro]

I appreciate everyone's comments. I think I'm going to try the Rust Eraser and/or the Ballistol as suggested. I would be interested if anyone had any insight on the human head etching attached. Most of the rest I recognize from other Kaskara posts. I've attached an "enhanced" image that has been rotated.

[werecow]

Be careful not to overclean with the rust erasers (or with any abrasive really); they come in different gradations of coarseness, and while they feel soft and springy like a pencil eraser, they do remove steel over time.

BTW by sheer coincidence rapier's delight just happened to post another cleaning video about a kaskara just yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lua4UIGvknI

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by werecow

Be careful not to overclean with the rust erasers (or with any abrasive really); they come in different gradations of coarseness, and while they feel soft and springy like a pencil eraser, they do remove steel over time.

To remove steel with a rust rubber/eraser would be a challenge!

[Edster]

dbpro,

The "head" maker's mark was likely etched like the "moon face" to give the sword added authority of imported German blades. There are many examples on the forum. The #2 on this site gives some examples.

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23068

Best,
Ed

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by dbpro

I appreciate everyone's comments. I think I'm going to try the Rust Eraser and/or the Ballistol as suggested. I would be interested if anyone had any insight on the human head etching attached. Most of the rest I recognize from other Kaskara posts. I've attached an "enhanced" image that has been rotated.

The head on this kaskara blade is likely commemorative for Emperor Johannes IV of Ethiopia (1872-1889) who was killed at the Battle of Gallabat 10 Mar 1889. This was result of ongoing turmoil between the Mahdist forces and Ethiopia (then Abyssinia). The complexities of these geopolitics involved Great Britain, Italy, Eritrea and Ottoman Egypt and far exceed explanation here.

However the death of the Christian Emperor was of great importance to many of the tribal groups in Ethiopia, and the dramatic act of the Mahdists beheading his body and parading the head on a pike in Omdurman was long remembered.

The Battle of Gallbat took place at Metemma near the Sudanese border in March 1889. This is in the ASMARA region of Ethiopia . The Emperor was actually killed by the Beni Amir warriors of Eritrea, which suggests the possibility of Eritrean provenance for these kaskara with the head mark, however it is equally possible of Ethiopian provenance as they celebrate the Emperor himself, not the trophy element which was carried out by Mahdists.

These stylized marks of a human head are typically regarded as representing Johannes IV and these events.



As Ed has pointed out, the stylized crescent moon heads imitate the types of cosmological motif typically seen on many German import blades, which had arrived in considerable volume from 1820s onward and well circulated through trade entrepots and networks from Sudan through the Sahara.
I attached the plate Ed refers to.
These moons were seen as Ed notes to represent blade quality as on the German blades, which were highly regarded by the native people, but equally were deemed as symbols which imbued magic in the blades.

These kaskara were highly treasured heirlooms of the families who owned them, and were regarded as not only honorific symbols of paternal and dynastic power, but icons of the warrior exploits and history of the ancestors.

I trust this wonderful example that was brought home by your father will be held in similar manner representing this adventures in foreign lands, and treasured accordingly.