Kampi-Kaska-Kouba

[Jim McDougall]

Iain is of course spot on with the Tunisian classification, and few know these North African swords as he does. Actually Spiral, yours was a most reasonable observation, and frankly these weren't accurately identified until a number of years back (indeed Iain I believe it was Martin). They would show up occasionally as complete anomalies until I believe enough showed up in Tunisian areas to classify.

From what I believe has been determined, Tunisia was one key point for entry of European blades in the 19th century, and it would be reasonable to expect that many would remain in those regions while the larger volume entered the southward trade routes. It seems some of these have turned up with 'backsword' (single edge) blades (as seen here) and as the Saharan markets preferred broadsword blades, it would explain why these might have stayed in the Tunisian entrepots.

The Tirri book does indeed have a number of such errors, but in the time he was preparing it there were a number of controversies with a number of forms. I always considered the book useful in good degree for a collectors guide, more of a handbook, as it is full of well photographed examples of the often more pedestrian degree weapons usually encountered by collectors.
Personally I would prefer that he would have added references or cites, and some of the errors can be pretty misleading.

These blades both appear to be Solingen cavalry pallasche blades of latter 18th to early 19th c..