Turkana Wrist Knife
I recently picked up this Turkana wrist knife. These have always appealed to me as I like unusual things! It is missing the inner leather strap but for the price of a few beers I couldn't resist.
However, I am starting to question its authenticity. I have noticed quite a few of these appearing on online auction sites, often quite cheaply. Hopefully some members will be able to confirm my fears, or allay my suspicions - preferably the latter.
My concerns are as follows:
Provenance:
This knife was relatively recently sourced (not by me) from Africa. The seller has/had quite a number of them.
Thickness:
I have seen one of these which appeared quite obviously cheap and touristy, it had a thin, flat blade with no tapers and seemed to be made from thin sheet metal. The one I have shown here is still quite thin (a little over 1/16 inch, but does have a distinct bevel (difficult to see in my photographs) starting about 3/4 of an inch from the edge. The blade also shows distinct hammer marks.
Scale:
This is where my suspicions start to rise. This item is rather small. Dimensions: overall width 5 1/2 inches; inner wrist hole 2 3/8 x 1 3/4 inches; opening 1 inch wide. If this knife was intended for use, it would have required very small wrists! I am a very slightly built guy (rude people would say scrawny), and I CAN get this on my wrist. It is fine once on, but the opening is a VERY tight fit and rather painful getting on or off. And this is without the inner leather ring which I imagine would make it even harder. Were/are the Turkana a particularly small/thin people?
So, have I an authentic piece? Or should I notch this one up to experience, toss it in the Tourista Bucket, and keep learning.
Cheers, Russel
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