Unusual African knife or short sword

[Ian]

Interesting piece. Excellent suggestion Wayne. Gutta percha originally came from Malaya and was introduced into Britain in the early 1840s. Sudan was also linked to Britain in the mid-19th C, so there may be a connection there for introduction of a British domestic knife with gutta percha scales into the region. There is a possibility that the scales might also be bakelite (a later synthetic resin/plastic), but they look unusually dark for bakelite.

Originally Posted by kronckew

The grip scales look like they could be cast/moulded in Gutta-percha, a tree resin frequently used for such and made impressing designs like that possible. I doubt you could do that in horn. It was used extensively from the 1840's thru the early 20th Century. It is still used for human dentistry, as an inert and safe filler for the void left by a root canal procedure.

See Antique Gutta Percha Handles