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Old 8th May 2007, 04:04 PM   #11
ariel
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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Anything with a blade and a handle is a sword...
New or old?
That needs to be determined in each case, but there are many old examples incorporating different styles. The same Parang Nabur, for example, is a marriage of the native blade and European handle ( albeit, subtly changed). Bedouin swords have shashka-type handle ( borrowed from the Circassians) and a bewildering panoply of blades: European, local a la European, shamshirs , you name it. And the final concoction is locally called just Klych, no matter what components got into the final mix.
And, whether we like it or not, Bedouin Klych is a unique ethnographic weapon, no less genuine that Indian Khanda or Jawanese Kris. And what is Persian Shamshir, this purebred beauty, if not a combination of a Steppe saber with ( likely) Arabian influence on the handle.
People create weapons, and sometimes they manage to create a chimera that puzzles everybody for years to come, such as Kilij with Yataghan handle. Right now, on e-bay there is a Yataghan blade with Kilij handle( no ID, I know...), so why not the vice versa?
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