Is this a Janwi?

[mrwizard]

A few weeks ago i bought this in a bundle with two aceh swords.
However, this one is clearly not from SEA ;)
It looks a lot like a koumiyya from north africa with a very long straight blade.
Blade length is 42cm and overall length is 56cm -- almost a short sword.

From what i recall these things are called "janwi" but i didn't find much information about them, except that a lot of them were made from european bayonet-blades. So i thought, i better ask here :shrug:

Best Regards,
Thilo

[CharlesS]

Yes, classic example of a janwi or genoui, and quite a nice example at that! Too bad there is no scabbbard; the scabbards are often very attractive.

I am assuming from the pics that the hilt is wood and not rhino?

Nice get!

[mrwizard]

Hi Charles,

Thank you! :)
A search for "genoui" leads to a lot more information than a search for "janwi".

Yes, a shame that the scabbard is lost but on the other hand the
blade looks nice enough to make up for it. :)


I am assuming from the pics that the hilt is wood and not rhino?

Yes, it is definitely wood, though i don't know what kind of wood.
And i also forgot to add: There is no makers mark and the steel does not appear to be wootz.

Best Regards,
Thilo

[tom hyle]

These blades are also commonly seen in (eastern) jambiya type hilts, and commonly attributed to Zanzibar

[mrwizard]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the pointers!
It took a while, but i finally discovered a picture of such a weapon in this old archived thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000867.html

Best Regards,
Thilo

[TVV]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the pointers!
It took a while, but i finally discovered a picture of such a weapon in this old archived thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000867.html

Best Regards,
Thilo

Thilo,
If you search the forum on sboula, you will find plenty of other examples of what is a Maghrebi weapon, wrongly attributed to Zanzibar in the past.
Regards,
Teodor