Konda Sword

Konda Sword — 25-Inch Hand-Forged Twin-Fullered Central African Machete-Sword

The Konda Sword is a 25-inch hand-forged Central African short sword named for the Konda people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The same blade form is also known as the Ikakalaka — a name used by several Congo-basin peoples and widely adopted in collector and academic literature — and Spanish-language sources call it the espada Konda. This Everest Forge interpretation is twin-fullered, with two parallel grooves running the full length of the blade to shift the centre of balance back into the hand, and is forged from leaf-spring 5160 high-carbon steel, oil-tempered for shock resistance. It is the flagship of the Everest Forge Konda — Ikakalaka family, ships worldwide with duties and taxes prepaid, and is fully customisable through the options panel above.

What Is a Konda Sword?

A Konda sword is a broad, forward-curving Central African short sword named for the Konda people of the upper Congo basin. The same blade form is widely known as the Ikakalaka — a name used by several Central African peoples for this family of Congo-basin short swords, and the term most often used in collector and museum literature. In practice Konda sword and Ikakalaka sword are two names for the same blade tradition, and you will see both used by collectors of African material culture.

In form, this blade sits between a heavy short sword and a true sword: longer and more balanced than a working machete, broader and more dramatically profiled than a European single-edge sword. Historically these blades carried both a practical role and a cultural one — carried by warriors and tribal leaders across the Congo, often engraved with symbolic motifs, and treated as both weapons and signs of standing.

The Everest Forge Konda Sword is the 25-inch interpretation of the pattern — the flagship of a three-blade family that also includes the 18-inch Konda Machete and the 30-inch Konda Machete-Sword. The 25-inch sits in the sweet spot: long enough to handle and display as a true sword, short enough to balance cleanly in one hand.

Why This Konda Sword Has Twin Fullers

The most distinctive feature of this 25-inch Konda is the twin-fullered blade — two parallel grooves running from just below the handle to within a few inches of the tip. Fullers are not decoration. They serve three structural jobs:

• Mass reduction. Removing steel from the centre of a wide blade drops the overall weight without sacrificing strength along the spine and edge.
• Balance shift. By taking weight from the forward portion of the blade, the centre of balance moves back toward the handle — turning what could be a tip-heavy chopper into a sword that handles cleanly in the hand.
• Stiffness. A fullered blade is stiffer along its long axis than a flat blade of the same thickness, similar to how an I-beam is stiffer than a flat plate.

Twin fullers, side by side, are the visual signature of this Konda Sword and the structural reason it handles the way it does. They are also why the blade looks the way it does in photographs — the parallel lines catch light along the full length of the steel.

Konda Sword vs Konda Machete vs Konda Machete-Sword

Everest Forge forges three Konda blades. They are not three sizes of the same thing — each one is built for a different role in a collection.

If you have arrived here from a search for konda machete, the 18-inch Konda Machete is the closer match. If you searched for a large, two-handed or greatsword-style Konda, the 30-inch Konda Machete-Sword is the closer match. The 25-inch on this page is the centrepiece sword.

Konda Sword Specifications

All weights and dimensions are approximate. Every Konda Sword is hand-forged one at a time, so no two are identical.

Customise Your Konda Sword

The Konda Sword is fully customisable through the options panel at the top of this page. Every variable below is selectable before you add the sword to the cart:

If you want a Konda Sword built outside these options — a different steel, an unusual handle material, an etched panel along the blade — submit a Custom Forge request instead, and we will build it to specification from sketch to finished blade.

Customise This Konda Sword

Historical Background

The Konda Sword — also called the Ikakalaka in much of the literature on Central African weaponry — takes its name from the Konda people of what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo, part of the broader Mongo-speaking world of the central Congo basin. Across this region, Central African smiths forged a family of broad, forward-curving short swords that ranged from compact working blades up to long ceremonial swords, and the Konda — Ikakalaka pattern is one of the most recognisable members of that family. Unlike the standardised cavalry swords of Europe or the Middle East, these blades were never mass-produced. Every blade reflected the hand of its smith and the customs of the community it was made for — one reason no two original Konda or Ikakalaka swords look exactly alike, and one of the reasons hand-forged examples remain so collectible today.

Historically, Konda-type blades were carried in both fighting and ceremonial roles. Many examples that survive in European and African museum collections were objects of rank as much as weapons — held by chieftains and warriors of standing, sometimes engraved with symbolic motifs and used in displays of authority. The blade form, with its broad belly and flared profile, became one of the defining shapes of African blade culture.

How the Konda Sword Is Forged

Every Konda Sword from Everest Forge follows the same hand-forging process in our workshop in Tokha-3, Kathmandu:

• Leaf-spring 5160 high-carbon steel is heated and hammered to the Konda profile by hand, then drawn out to length.
• The twin fullers are ground in by hand along the length of the blade.
• The blade is normalised, hardened and oil-tempered in sequence — oil rather than water, because oil produces a tougher, more shock-resistant edge.
• The handle slabs are shaped from seasoned hardwood (rosewood by default), fitted to the full-tang and mechanically pinned through.
• The edge is hand-finished on the bench, the leather scabbard is hand-stitched to fit, and the finished sword is photographed before it ships.

Care and Maintenance

The Konda Sword is forged from high-carbon spring steel, which is tougher than stainless but will rust if neglected. Care is simple:

• Wipe the blade down with a dry cloth after handling — skin oils accelerate corrosion.
• Apply a light coat of mineral oil, gun oil or camellia oil every few months for storage.
• Store the sword in or beside (not always inside) the leather scabbard — leather traps moisture if the blade is stored in it permanently.
• For light surface rust, a fine steel wool and a drop of oil restores the finish.

Shipping, Returns and Customs

Every Konda Sword ships worldwide on a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) basis. Duties, taxes and customs clearance fees are calculated and prepaid at checkout, so there is nothing extra to pay when the sword arrives. Standard shipping is via tracked DHL or FedEx, signature required on delivery.

Production time is approximately 2 to 3 weeks for a standard Konda Sword, longer for heavily customised builds. If you need it by a specific date, contact us before ordering and we will confirm the timeline.

Konda Sword — Frequently Asked Questions