Short sword? long knife? African possibly Taureq?

[Tim Simmons]

I nearly bid on this one too! Looks rather nice with some age. Obviously you have the knife to handle but reshaping trade machete has a long tradition in west Africa and they are then truly Africanised as yours appears to be. As noted earlier pinpointing the location of many African weapons/artifacts can be tricky without some very distinctive style. I my opinion this is not Tuareg work but work from the arid areas of the coastal countries of west Africa which are well within the areas visited by the Tuareg and ofcourse goods would be traded. I have two knives coming soon from the same areas, one I believe may well be Tuareg. I will add to this thread when they arrive. Tuareg work is usually distinctive by the use of more coloured leather. I am sure other members will be able to provide many good examples. I am going have to raise my stakes good buy. Tim