Thanks Stu, and happy new year to you as well,
I think this does look functional also, and it seems to me the goatskin and character of the scabbard would suggest it would be from some remote tribal use rather than made for sale in souks specifically. That is structly presumption on my part as I have never travelled to these places, and I am going mostly on information picked up through the years from others who have been in them.
As I mentioned I picked up one of these years ago which I was told had been among a good number of similar ones in Yemen, and that they had been used or for use during the civil war going on there in the 1960s. While it seems bizarre that swords would be still in use, it must be remembered that even then in remote regions, tribesmen still wore sabres. Many examples could certainly have been ersatz pieces cobbled together by less than skilled persons. This kind of fabrication has been seen in so many cases in times of strife, and these kinds of pieces are truly hard to identify and substantiate.
To me it seems that weapons made for tourist consumption and commercial stock would be a bit more consistant in the components and somewhat better assembled. On the other hand, as Ibrahiim notes, perhaps these industrious souk suppliers know this and deliberately fabricate random like composites.
The best proof is in the actual handling and the feel of the weapon. It is almost impossible to guage this factor from pictures.
All the best,
Jim
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