This thing is amazing.

For the record this is also from David Alexander's book "The arts of War"

Alina;

Line gone now :D

Easy when there are no details to save or " Fake " :!:

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Nice! Yeah, I repositioned this 5 different times and did the scan preview a bunch until I had it just right.

Incidentally, I have a much higher resolution version of this and it is now my wallpaper on my computer.

Thanks for the PM alerting me to this thread, Alina. :)

This is an exceptional weapon. As others have noted, the workmanship is superior, easily the equal of any culture's best work, in my opinion. A sword of distinction for an individual of power and wealth.

The cruciform shape of Sudanese kaskara and the similar, oft-confused takouba of the Northern Touregs are often described as being mounted with "crusader" blades. Needless to say, actual occurances of this are so unlikely as to be almost unkown.

Unlike Alina, my area of interest does not specifically include Islamic weapons (despite hailing from Africa, I do not typically think of swords of this type as "African"-- a term evocative of more tribal weapons like the seme--and, in my opinion, the term "Islamic" is proper, particularly for weapons like the instant sword with what is likely a Quranic verse inscribed on the blade). However, one cannot help but appreciate the beauty of this kaskara

Incidentally, I believe the term "kaskara", simply means "sword", much as the term "saif" does. The swelling near the terminal end of the scabbard is typical. Most of the usual sources assert that kaskara blades are usually imported.

Thanks for sharing this, Alina!

Best,
Andrew

Thanks Alina for always finding out amazing swords!
I have to admit that this one is a pure beauty, and the scabbard is matching it perfectly. I'm sure that if we could see this sword and scabbard combination in his own context (ethnical, cultural, geopolitical, etc.) we won't find it "goofy" at all.

Cheers,

David

Hi Gordon.

I'll see if I can dig up some examples of kaskaras with croc hides.

Your comment about cultures with strong hunting/fighting traditions adorning their weapons with animal parts is something I see quite frequently, particularly in "tribal" cultures where animals are often strong "juju" or majik. The various Kachin of Northern Burma (especially the Jinghpaw), for instance have a storied history as hunters and fierce fighters. These tribesmen were recruited by the allies in WWII as irregulars to defend/patrol the Burma Road. It's not uncommon to see old photos of Kachin warriors with swords adorned with tiger teeth and claws. I've got a few like that in my collection, but I suspect my examples are more recent.

Best,
Andrew

Andrew;

Thanks! I had forgotten about the Karin and Kachin! I was thinking more Indonesian/Filipino/Micronesian, but actually the South-East Asian Hill people make total sense in this regard. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hmong examples as well (though from my understanding they aren't quite as intense as the aforementioned tribes). How about Siberian? We never hear much about those folks in the West, actually, since all of the ethnographies are for some odd reason written in Russian... ;)

Lots of interesting commentary on the Karin and Kachin from the Chindits and Merrill's Marauders during WWII, BTW, but I would wager that you are already quite familiar with those! :D

Cheers,

Gordon