Maasai Big Knife

Tim Simmons · 25th October 2005, 05:27 PM

Hello, go to search and enter 'seme' Leather sheathed sword in particular and a lot of information is in the archive. I do not think there is anything specific about the giraffe mark. Tim

Freddy · 25th October 2005, 07:34 PM

Nothing wrong with this 'seme'. It looks like a good working knife/sword. It's probably not very old. This blade is most certainly made from some kind of European machete, hence the mark on the blade.

I had a look around on the internet, but up to now I couldn't find this brand name. Perhaps an older brand (before internet days) ?

An older and forged 'seme' has a typical rib in the middle of the blade. Something we don't find with the newer pieces. These are often ground down from a piece of metal or a machete (like yours).

Here's an older type :

To see some nice, older examples, go to this site http://anthro.amnh.org/

Then choose : Collections Database (top left on this page)

Then go to : African Etnographic Collection

You will find a search engine : type MASAI and SWORD

By the way, this site is worth exploring.

25th October 2005, 05:27 PM	#1
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,855	Hello, go to search and enter 'seme' Leather sheathed sword in particular and a lot of information is in the archive. I do not think there is anything specific about the giraffe mark. Tim Last edited by Tim Simmons; 25th October 2005 at 05:48 PM.

25th October 2005, 07:34 PM	#2
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	Nothing wrong with this 'seme'. It looks like a good working knife/sword. It's probably not very old. This blade is most certainly made from some kind of European machete, hence the mark on the blade. I had a look around on the internet, but up to now I couldn't find this brand name. Perhaps an older brand (before internet days) ? An older and forged 'seme' has a typical rib in the middle of the blade. Something we don't find with the newer pieces. These are often ground down from a piece of metal or a machete (like yours). Here's an older type : To see some nice, older examples, go to this site http://anthro.amnh.org/ Then choose : Collections Database (top left on this page) Then go to : African Etnographic Collection You will find a search engine : type MASAI and SWORD By the way, this site is worth exploring.