Hi Emanuel,
Exactly right!! Good point on the associations to the other weapons via the decorative schemes, that does seem very reasonable, especially coupled with the terminology difficulties. The semantics in ethnographic weapons terminology becomes even more maddening in spheres such as the Indonesian, where a weapon may be called by different names even in various villages. There, much as in the Indian subcontinent, the variation in dialects often becomes profuse, even though the variation may be subtle in degree.
The blades on the true flyssa are actually very well forged, and typically actually quite heavy. I have always considered them rather awkward because the length and weight of the blade seems disproportionate to the relatively small, unguarded grip. But, as I claim no true understanding of martial arts, and especially the exact manner in which these were used, I may be off track
Actually I hadn't noticed the idea on the naval dirks before myself, as I hadnt really none much on the small variants prior to this. While working on another project, I came across a number of portraits of European naval officers with these dirks, and the association seemed pretty compelling. It always seems that serendipity is one of the most driving forces in the study of these weapons
and yes, it is very, very addicting, and often pretty costly.
That is most often the theme here in our group therapy session!!!
But always fun, thanks for being here too !!
All the best,
Jim