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Old 28th February 2005, 05:09 PM   #1
Conogre
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Clearwater, Florida
Posts: 371
Default Turkish (?) Bichaq (?)

Since this seems to be the time for bringing out the wierd ones, here's another that's a one of a kind that's become a favorite over the years.
Overall length is only 8 5/8" with a 4 3/4" blade that's 1 3/16" wide for its entire length.
This is one of the best made small knives that I've ever seen with a full tang that keeps widening for its entire length, ending up a full 3/8" at the hawk-shaped pommel end.
The blade is high carbon steel that appears, upon very close examination, to have been hand forged with a deep fuller along the spine on both sides and an edge that almost appears to be hollow ground, in the fashion of a khodme.
The pommel and guard are both hand cast heavy bronze with the blade mounted much as a kard or choora, while the grips are a rich rosewood.
Even the scabbard is unusual, very heavy shaped leather that swallows nearly the entire knife when sheathed and that has green and orange leather decoration stitched onto a tooled black base with fine copper wire and the whole thing pierced with 20 brass openings that supply ventilation to prevent rusting as well as a pleasing appearance, and finally finished off with white leather trim and attachment loop.
While the whole piece is of fairly recent manufacture (probably 20 years, maximum) what appears at a glance to be a gaudy tourist piece is in fact a finely handcrafted utility /hunting knife of even a back up weapon of last resort.
Has anyone else ever seen a Turkish or Ottoman knife style with such a wide blade for its length?
For that matter, am I corect in thinking that this is where this little sweety originated?
As you can probably tell, this knife has grown on me and continues to do so the longer I own it, to the point that I think I'd prefer it as a hunting/skinning knife to any western knife that I've ever owned.
Mike
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