A very basic and bashed Saif.

[David R]

Got this one yesterday in a private sale and I am quite happy with it for the price paid. Comments on origin welcome. I have issues with the grip scales which were described as "cork" and that seems to be just what they are... I think they were banged on to make it saleable, the originals being absent, shattered or of a CITES controlled material.
There is no doubt but that it has had a hard life, but no harder than many pieces made for use in my experience.

[A.alnakkas]

While silverwire is quite common on Arab swords, it is not specifically an Arab only feature. Your sword could have been used in a wide area, but I lean towards a more simple Turkish production.

[David R]

While silverwire is quite common on Arab swords, it is not specifically an Arab only feature. Your sword could have been used in a wide area, but I lean towards a more simple Turkish production.

I have no problems with a Turkish origin. What does concern me is the grip material, it does look and feel like cork which I do not see as being original. Another factor are the rivet washers or rovings which are not typical. I am not in a rush, but unless I find some reference to cork as a period grip scale material I will remove and replace them..... Horn or hardwood seems more suitable to me.

[A.alnakkas]

I have no problems with a Turkish origin. What does concern me is the grip material, it does look and feel like cork which I do not see as being original. Another factor are the rivet washers or rovings which are not typical. I am not in a rush, but unless I find some reference to cork as a period grip scale material I will remove and replace them..... Horn or hardwood seems more suitable to me.

Use of any available, easily manipulated material is expected but I've not seen cork before. But I did see soft plastics with strange colours before.

[David R]

Use of any available, easily manipulated material is expected but I've not seen cork before. But I did see soft plastics with strange colours before.

The oddest grip material I have seen was coarse pink wall plaster, the base layer type before the fine white grade is skimmed on to finish. This was on a quite decent yatagan, and had been painted black to disguise it. That came off after I got my hands on it and replaced with buffalo horn.
This was done 20 years ago, and I would go about it differently now, more cautiously and better researched.

[David R]

The hilt was so rotten that it pulled apart with my bare fingers. I am pretty confident that the hilt was a quick and dirty fix for a sale, and probably not in the land of origin. The wire was in pieces, as was the brass strip profile round the grip (is there a term for this) not from damage, but applied in pieces. The Cork was rotten and crumbled. The hilt profile was "soldered" in a lumpy fashion, and was in places more like cement or "cold solder" or resin than metal. Finally stripped down, and the flat full tang is in places paper thin, so I wonder if it was ever meant to have the brass "profile strip" wrapped round it.

And now the photo's, which may or may not be in order!

[David R]

Due to how thin the tang is, I an inclined to go with this style of grip, as I would question if it ever had a profile strip. Comments and advise welcome.