ID for Chadian/Tebu/Fulani/Tuareg swords?

xerg · 23rd November 2007, 12:36 AM

Wow thanks for the replies! I'm very excited to go back tomorrow and see them in the daylight when I'm not totally exhausted and burnt out on shopping.

I'm most attracted to the tall, dark one in the center of the group shot I sent out. It bears the characteristic "leaf shaped flaring" at the tip of the scabbard and looked like it had a very nice blade to boot.

Any idea of -ballparks- on cost?

Any good way to tell Kaskara made for the tourist market vs. real ones? In my photo I would assume that the two on the left (red and black) are tourist pieces and the rest may be real to one degree or another.

I noticed that some hilts were wrapped with leather, some were wrapped with rope and one was naked metal. The darker ones tended to be leather and the lighter ones had rope. What does this signify?

One of the blades was engraved with abstract, geometric symbols. Is this normal?

Also, another request for ID: I'm not sure if you can make it out in the smaller pic, but there's a sword hanging on the wall to the far left that is slightly curved and appears to be different from the Kaskaras pictured in the center. Any inkling as to what that might be?

Thanks for indulging my questions. Chad might be awesome for sword and dagger shopping, but its internet leaves much to be desired and I can't do the amount of research I'd like to do on my own!

Emanuel · 23rd November 2007, 01:06 AM

Xerg, I agree that the two red and black ones on the left are likely tourist toys. Either one of the long ones in the middle may be all right, but it all depends on the blades. In all likelyhood they will have thin, flexible blades made from truck leaf springs. The geometric motifs look like half-moons right? That's common and there's been loads of discussion about them. Like David said, use the search function.
Here are the two threads I mentioned in my PM
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ed=1#post38757
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ed=1#post41015

The hilt materials vary greatly but usually there is a combination of leather and wood...I would personally stay away from the white metal (aluminium?) one but others may disagree. There was one gorgeous example posted a while ago with very high quality hilt and guard.

The curved piece on the left side? It looks like many things and I can't tell from this pic. Take more pics next time you're there.

Regards,
Emanuel

23rd November 2007, 12:36 AM	#1
xerg Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 7	Wow thanks for the replies! I'm very excited to go back tomorrow and see them in the daylight when I'm not totally exhausted and burnt out on shopping. I'm most attracted to the tall, dark one in the center of the group shot I sent out. It bears the characteristic "leaf shaped flaring" at the tip of the scabbard and looked like it had a very nice blade to boot. Any idea of -ballparks- on cost? Any good way to tell Kaskara made for the tourist market vs. real ones? In my photo I would assume that the two on the left (red and black) are tourist pieces and the rest may be real to one degree or another. I noticed that some hilts were wrapped with leather, some were wrapped with rope and one was naked metal. The darker ones tended to be leather and the lighter ones had rope. What does this signify? One of the blades was engraved with abstract, geometric symbols. Is this normal? Also, another request for ID: I'm not sure if you can make it out in the smaller pic, but there's a sword hanging on the wall to the far left that is slightly curved and appears to be different from the Kaskaras pictured in the center. Any inkling as to what that might be? Thanks for indulging my questions. Chad might be awesome for sword and dagger shopping, but its internet leaves much to be desired and I can't do the amount of research I'd like to do on my own!

23rd November 2007, 01:06 AM	#2
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Xerg, I agree that the two red and black ones on the left are likely tourist toys. Either one of the long ones in the middle may be all right, but it all depends on the blades. In all likelyhood they will have thin, flexible blades made from truck leaf springs. The geometric motifs look like half-moons right? That's common and there's been loads of discussion about them. Like David said, use the search function. Here are the two threads I mentioned in my PM http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ed=1#post38757 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ed=1#post41015 The hilt materials vary greatly but usually there is a combination of leather and wood...I would personally stay away from the white metal (aluminium?) one but others may disagree. There was one gorgeous example posted a while ago with very high quality hilt and guard. The curved piece on the left side? It looks like many things and I can't tell from this pic. Take more pics next time you're there. Regards, Emanuel