Thread: Bichaqs?
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Old 20th February 2005, 08:41 AM   #2
Yannis
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Athens Greece
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Ariel

I watched these knifes a lot. I talked with people they bid on them. The small one is more recent, around 1960. The engraving writes “Chania Crete”. This is the second biggest city of the island.

The big one "took all the money" (a greek slag expression that fits here ). It is very well made. End of 19th century or early 20th. These old ones are rare. More rare than silver yataghans, because they were made only in Crete island. This one was intact that makes it more rare.

They exist a lot in houses of cretan families but they will not give them anymore to any collector. They are usually of their great parents and almost any of them are accompanied with stories of fights against Turks or Germans. With a lot of raki of course.

They still make knifes like these in Crete but the old masters are gone and the quality today is very low.
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