Help with knife & sword ID, please

RobT · Today, 01:11 AM

Hi Dave F,

My cane is about 34.875” (88.5825cm) OAL with a 23.5” (59.69cm) blade. So, yours and mine are about the same length. I have provided an overall picture of my cane plus a close up of the throat. The shaft is rather stoutly made of two halves of ebony bound by what appears to be silver solder wire. The colored inserts appear to be plastic. The ferrule is a length of threaded black pipe and the crook ferrule is a piece of unthreaded black pipe.
I don’t know if the same holds true for Africa, but in Europe, light construction and non-metal ferrules were often used for canes and sticks not intended for actual support or for use as a cudgel. Canes and sticks with sword blades in them were oftentimes very lightly constructed. I have seen canes and sticks with non-durable ferrules of horn, bone, bakelite, and brass. In addition, some canes were far too short to be used for support (eg some plantation canes and some forms of shillelagh). In short, the cane in Europe became an item of dress for well-to-do men and women and actual utility wasn’t always necessary. If canes and sticks in Africa carried the same symbolism of wealth and authority perhaps suitability for use as a cane wasn’t always a requirement there either.
The above being said, I would still check the tip of your cane carefully for any possible ghost of a missing ferrule (durable or non-durable).

Sincerely,
RobT

Today, 01:11 AM	#10
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 647	Here Is My Example Hi Dave F, My cane is about 34.875” (88.5825cm) OAL with a 23.5” (59.69cm) blade. So, yours and mine are about the same length. I have provided an overall picture of my cane plus a close up of the throat. The shaft is rather stoutly made of two halves of ebony bound by what appears to be silver solder wire. The colored inserts appear to be plastic. The ferrule is a length of threaded black pipe and the crook ferrule is a piece of unthreaded black pipe. I don’t know if the same holds true for Africa, but in Europe, light construction and non-metal ferrules were often used for canes and sticks not intended for actual support or for use as a cudgel. Canes and sticks with sword blades in them were oftentimes very lightly constructed. I have seen canes and sticks with non-durable ferrules of horn, bone, bakelite, and brass. In addition, some canes were far too short to be used for support (eg some plantation canes and some forms of shillelagh). In short, the cane in Europe became an item of dress for well-to-do men and women and actual utility wasn’t always necessary. If canes and sticks in Africa carried the same symbolism of wealth and authority perhaps suitability for use as a cane wasn’t always a requirement there either. The above being said, I would still check the tip of your cane carefully for any possible ghost of a missing ferrule (durable or non-durable). Sincerely, RobT Attached Images