It is great to have found this forum and this is my first post of hopefully many. In the last year I've gone from an earnest collector of various wallhangers and some battle ready weapons, to a true enthusiast of the art that is sword collecting and making. I have you all to blame....javascript:emoticon(';)')

So...to start, I found this sword two years ago in a small shop in Austin, Tx. It was so gorgeous I had to buy it. They had no idea of it's origins or it's age and that's where I hope you all can help.

To my eye it seems to be Viking in form, but the blade is slightly curved on one side.

- BLADE: 31"
- OVERALL LENGTH: 37"
- Fullered on both sides
- Hard handwoven scabbard
- Wooden single handed pommel
- End of the tang is hammered in to the end of the pommel to affix it.

Does anyone have any clue to it's make, age or approximate value?

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I throw the ID of this piece at greater wisdom....

Valhalla
-Kevissimo

You've got an African sword. Most of these swords date from the 18 and 1900s, although sometimes you can find them with blades from the 16/1700s.

--ElJay

Not Ethiopean, it is from the other side of Africa, the region of Mali. It is a good, old Mandingo sword. The Mandingo is a large ethnic group from West Africa that has been effected by europeans for centuries. Most mandingo swords are of cutlass proprtions and form, it is not rare to find them mounted with european trade blades.