Moroccan " pseudo-shashka"

[Jim McDougall]

[QUOTE=ariel]

Originally Posted by midelburgo

Nueva Granada, after independence, would rather buy items from England than from Spain. Actually, there exist customs list of what ships were carrying to the new country and bundles of machetes and machetes blades seem a common occurrence. From Great Britain usually.

I also have a Nueva Granada 1846 nimcha. I guess the machetes were ordered from the maker but never paid (Nueva Granada had continuous civil wars at the time) and the maker found an alternative market in North Africa QUOTE]



I am dubious about British origin. Brits usually manufactured blades of much higher quality and I would not expect them not to mark them with their own mark.

My guess it was a local Central American manufacture.

Actually British blades were not of especially high repute overall until Wilkinson advanced the quality just after mid 19th c. Even then there was always the ever present 'duel' with Solingen, and true, the British never used spurious marks in the Solingen manner, at least not in notable references.
The exceptions were Thomas Gill, Samuel Harvey, James Woolley of Birmingham whose blades were sound as they competed with Solingen in the last quarter of the 18th c.


Spain had no worthwhile production of sword blades after end of the 17th c. and even in latter 18th they depended on Solingen for sword blades. There was a Toledo works by 19th century, but again, very limited production except bayonets etc.


I have never been aware of sword making centers in Central America, thought there may have been pretty much blacksmith grade shops as in Cuba and some Mexican regions. There are numbers of such blacksmith grade espada ancha blades from Mexico.

[Kubur]

[QUOTE=Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by ariel

Actually British blades were not of especially high repute overall until Wilkinson advanced the quality just after mid 19th c. Even then there was always the ever present 'duel' with Solingen, and true, the British never used spurious marks in the Solingen manner, at least not in notable references.
The exceptions were Thomas Gill, Samuel Harvey, James Woolley of Birmingham whose blades were sound as they competed with Solingen in the last quarter of the 18th c.

To support Jim's preach, here is my samuel harvey 18th c nimcha
British blades stay popular in Morocco during the 19th c. with the koummiya. only but it's another story..

Amen

[kronckew]

My guardless pseudo-shashka nimcha? Eyelash stamps, horn grip...

[midelburgo]

British machete middle of XIXth.

Another one.

My Nimcha.

[David R]

Originally Posted by midelburgo

British machete middle of XIXth.

Another one.

My Nimcha.

Very interested in the machete with the ribbed horn grip as I have the exact same one, but with *arrantizado rather than warranted!

[Tim Simmons]

Here is one of my pseudo-shashka and I am jolly pleased with it. Yes its ww2 but having no STATE marks other than what some collectors call the snow flake stamp. I am showing it as a Russian Shashka. I have the scabbard, dragoon, but no point in showing it. I have replied here as I have read so much hot air on the subject here. Which reminded me of the oppinionated knowlegable expert but not up to speed on verriants, cross over marks, unusual manfacturing sites and trade encouraging some to shout fake, the internet is a great place for them. Yes there are lots of guardless sabres. The cavalry shashka has a particular geometry quite unlike a Dha or machette , other cavalry sabres will be close but not the same.

[Jim McDougall]

[QUOTE=Kubur]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

To support Jim's preach, here is my samuel harvey 18th c nimcha
British blades stay popular in Morocco during the 19th c. with the koummiya. only but it's another story..

Amen

Thank you for my ordainment Kubur!!! and for the support in my 'sermon'.
As has often been noted, British blades surely did find circulation in many unusual places, and Africa was of course included.

I have a takouba with a MOLE blade. Unusual to see a 'Harvey' blade in a nimcha.


The koummya story sounds exciting! Possibly there is a parable in it as well.


Peace.

[Richard G]

For what it's worth, and probably not much, I'd say the style of the lettering on the stamps on these blades is consistent with a British manufacture. I'm not saying this makes them British, just that it does not rule this out.
Regards
Richard

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Richard G

For what it's worth, and probably not much, I'd say the style of the lettering on the stamps on these blades is consistent with a British manufacture. I'm not saying this makes them British, just that it does not rule this out.
Regards
Richard

Well noted Richard, and these stamps are consistent with British produced blades of second half 19th c. and in the manner of tool type products.
It does seem the three fuller pattern so consistent with German blades of the previous century were indeed favored by these firms.

Martindale &Co. of Birmingham produced machetes of these types from about 1880s into WWII, as well as bolos etc. for Philippines. They also apparently supplied blades to Masai in Kenya in 19th c. for their seme swords and I believe the spears.