[russel]

Hello all,

A while ago I chanced upon this Yataghan at a more than reasonable (two figure) price. Having long imagined one of these was out of my budget range, I took it despite the condition. I hope members will add their thoughts and comments.

I am hoping for a translation of the inscriptions and stamp. My apologies to those who replied to my original post of this some time ago - a series of stupidy mediated delays hindered more pictures until now.

I would also really appreciate any tips on cleaning and repair. I am quite a novice. I have read many of the posts both here and on other fora, but to be honest I am rather nervous about it all, particularly around the gold(?) decoration.

The old girl has certainly seen better days. Apart from the obvious rust (which I think is manageable), the ears, while firmly attached to eachother, are loose about the tang; one of the bolsters has lifted from the blade; and there are some stones missing. I am hoping to get a jeweler friend to make and mount replacements for me. What stones/gems were used? I have seen examples with red or green stones, is there any significance to this? (stop, go... maybe I should use Amber! :-)

Most significant of the damage are the bends in the blade. Aaargh! I appreciate that I may never truely remove them, although I would like to minimise them as much as possible. The photographs don't show it well, but there is a gentle bend half way and slight of nearer the hilt towards. Overall the tip is about an inch left of the centreline.

Thanks for a fantastic forum, I look forward to your comments.

Cheers, Russel