Inauthentic Throwing Knife
In the style of the Mbajna, Central African Republic / D.R. Congo
Iron, rope, accumulation
Provenance dates to 2017
This piece is typical of the material coming out of Africa in recent years, much of which reportedly comes from Kinshasa. First purchased in 2017, it is probably less than two years old.
Mbanja throwing knives are flamboyant, uncommon, and highly sought after, so they’re a natural target for copyists. While this example’s silhouette is comparable to old Mbanja knives, there are a number of significant disparities with traditional Mbanja design.
The first mistake is subtle: the lines of the bevels don’t follow the lines of the edges. Most apparent in the upper angular sections, this is a characteristic not present on original Mbanja knives, as it represents a carelessness in production.
A more glaring error is that the patterns of the incisions are incorrect. Compared to antique Mbanja knives, the incision designs seen here, especially on the spur and the crown, are excessive and inconsistent with traditional designs.
The handle is wrong, which is not necessarily a problem by itself. Many throwing knives that lost their handles were fitted with replacement handles that stray from the original guidelines. But this handle is no replacement – it is composed of twisted rope (a material common among recent creations) that is lathered in an unknown sludge to simulate age. Simply put, the handle is neither original nor old.
Finally, looking at the iron, there are two significant problems. The iron shows no signs of forging or hammering, and the entire knife was clearly cut from a single sheet. Take the spur, for example: this element should have been either hammered on to the stem (a separate piece of iron) or cut off from the piece of iron that composed the stem. On this example, the spur is neither – it is a continuous piece of iron that wasn’t cut and drawn out from the center, nor was it hammered on.
Interestingly, there are a few attributes that give this piece some credibility (perhaps at least demonstrating its birth in Africa rather than in Europe). The incisions seem to have been executed in a manner close to the original style, likely with the proper tools. While the incision designs are incorrect and the patters disjointed, their execution seems correct. This suggests manufacture in Africa, but not by the Mbanja.
UPDATE: In August 2021, we threw this knife to test its aerodynamics. Incredibly, on the third throw it flew for 160'5" (48.9 meters) demonstrating that the aerodynamic characteristics of the original design were effectively reproduced in this inauthentic example.
On the fourth throw, the grip disintegrated which revealed some important details (see below). First, with the grip now absent from the bottom, we can finally view the bottom of the butt, which has squared edges and appears crudely cut. This proves its inauthenticity, and demonstrates that the manufacturer never intended for this sloppy detail to be seen. Second, the disintegration of the grip reveals the weakness of the coiled vegetal fiber design, which couldn't last more than three throws. Genuine grips of leather or vegetal fiber are woven and not coiled (metal grips, which are more rigid, can be coiled).
17.75 in :: 45 cm
InventoryID #13-1063
Not For Sale
