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Old 3rd June 2022, 08:26 PM   #9
ariel
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Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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Caucasian ethnicities had very different moral rules toward kinjal usage. Generally, stabbing was permitted only against certain opponents: animals ( that's easy), self-defence against enemies, fight with a horse thief etc.
That is reflected, for example, in kinjals from Guria: those are massive, long, broad and heavy with somewhat blunted abris of the point. They are in effect very short swords excellent for chopping, but poor for stabbing.
However, in the neighbouring Samegrelo, kinjals are narrow , with elongated "needle point" point ( pun not intended), ideal for stabbing, but poor choppers. Meghrels had very little, if any, restriction on stabbing.

Khevsurs had long and massive kinjals with razor-sharp edges and sharp points, but stabbing was frowned upon: it was considered a mark of a thief.
Go figure.

Generally, however, all of them had maximally sharpened edges. Modern souvenirs are sold blunt.
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