Baron Osazuwa nKante

Sword Project for East Kingdom Arts & Science Championship 2016

Several years ago I was gifted a sword by Master Ket. The scabbard was in poor shape but I was
no less excited to receive it. My inquiries about the sword pointed me west of the Sudan. Through a
posting on Ethnographic Arms & Armour Forum(http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15920),
I found out the talisman markings and handle shape most likely meant the Tebu people of modern day
Chad/Cameroon, West Africa. The front of the scabbard was covered with crocodile skin, with the
bottom portion of the covering missing. The back of the scabbard was covered in monitor skin. The
scabbard was lined with a thick paper/cardstock, covered in a layer of thin fabric. The tang was wrapped
in a fabric gauze and covered with the same monitor skin to serve as a handle.

Photographs by Baron Osazuwa nKante

 I settled on a sword from the Mandingo region of Cameroon as the inspiration for my project.

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14266&highlight=cameroon

I started by removing the monitor skin, crocodile plates and fabric from the scabbard and
handle. The size and shape of the original handle made it too uncomfortable for me to wield properly.
So I decided to cut off the flared sides of the 'mushroom' pommel. Using a blowtorch to soften the
metal, I hammered out the newly altered tang until it was extended by about 3 inches. I carved an
hourglass shape handle from a piece of scrap wood. Luckily the all the salvaged monitor skin was just
enough to cover the new handle. I drilled a small hole straight through the handle, then heated the
metal so it be able to burn through the wood as I inserted the tang. A short piece of the tang extended
through the handle and was folded down to secure the blade. A piece of white hair-on cowhide I had
from a previous experiment in traditional tanning methods, served as the base for my new scabbard. I
then attached the salvaged crocodile plates to the hide scabbard. I finished the piece with some metal
work. I used a piece of copper to create a end cap for the leather scabbard.